This is a response to the petition started by Guy Montag, Anatomically correct females stay in female bathrooms and vice versa. You can see Guy Montag’s petition through the following link: https://www.change.org/p/anatomically-correct-males-stay-in-male-bathrooms-and-vice-versa 

     I would like to point out that you are talking about a situation that occurred in a men's locker room, not a bathroom, so your title is inconsistent. Secondly, how do the rape accusations correlate? A trans man in a men’s locker room or bathroom has absolutely nothing to do with rape accusations. You go into a locker room to change uniforms, nothing should be happening in a locker room that could lead to rape accusations. That fact alone makes me question what you’re even doing in the locker rooms. As long as you’re using them correctly, you shouldn’t have to worry about rape accusations. You go in, change, maybe talk to a friend for a moment, then leave. That’s all anyone uses them for. You talk about how you were uncomfortable with a trans man being in a stall to change uniforms. You had enough witnesses to write your petition, so you have enough witnesses to disprove any rape accusations that could possibly come up. Besides, the trans student was even using the locker rooms correctly. He went in, went into a stall to change, and left. That’s all he wants to use them for, to change. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can use the family restrooms to change. You also talk about how you are uncomfortable being in the restroom or locker room with trans people, but do you know what it's like being trans and going into one of those facilities? Personally, every time I go to the restroom, I am terrified. I am scared that I'll be alienated, or assaulted, simply because I need to go to the bathroom. I understand that rape accusations are horrifying, but they don't happen because you share a bathroom or locker room with someone. Until you understand how it feels to be scared to go pee, I don't think you have a place to say that YOU are uncomfortable being in an every day facility with a trans person.

     No one can control if they’re transgender. Being trans is caused by gender dysphoria and gender euphoria. Gender dysphoria is when you feel a misalignment between your biological sex and your gender identity. It causes psychological distress, and can lead to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide. Gender euphoria is a sense of joy when you feel something aligns with your gender identity. Some people experience one or the other, while others experience both. The treatment for gender dysphoria is to transition. It lessens the effects of gender dysphoria. Transitioning is social and medical. Socially transitioning is where a transgender individual changes social aspects of their life to align with their gender identity, such as names, pronouns, or which gendered facilities they use. Medically transitioning is where a transgender individual will have parts that allign with their biological sex removed or constructed, or will start hormones that align with their gender identity. Some people only socially transition, some people also medically transition. No matter how they choose to identify, they are valid men, women, and people.

    If you are so concerned about a trans person using a locker room that aligns with their gender identity that you feel the need to make an entire petition about it, some self reflection needs to be done. Transgender people are people, just like you. We have to go to the bathroom, use locker rooms, and do everyday normal things just like everyone else. There is no reason to alienate transgender students soley for the reason that they are transgender. We should not punish people for a condition that they cannot control.

     A solution to our issues would be more gender neutral bathrooms and locker rooms for students uncomfortable sharing such facilities with trans students. No student should be alienated for something out of their control. Students who discriminate against others for things out of their control (Race, gender, sexuality, disabilities, etc) should be given a class educating them on such topics and their history. The classes should also be open to adults who would like to learn more. People fear the unknown, so a proper education on what they don’t understand should ease discomfort and pull us together as a community. We need to understand each other in order to keep us together. If students continue to discriminate against others after such classes, it is up to administration to administer a punishment that seems fit. A community is only as good as its most educated citizen, so we need to keep up with the times and educate our people. 

Sources:

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria 

https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/gender-dysphoria/substance-abuse/