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Tuesday, February 02, 2016

A Rape Survivor Speaks Out About Transgender Bathrooms

There’s no way to make everyone happy about transgender bathrooms and locker rooms. So the priority ought to be finding a way to keep everyone safe.

A few months ago, I registered for “The Story Workshop” at the Allender Center in Seattle. Primarily aimed at helping survivors of sexual abuse find the purpose and weight in their fractured personal narratives, the conference promised to be intense but deeply healing.

So when three unrelated friends randomly mailed me substantial checks with notes that said, “I don’t know why, but I think God wants me to give this to you” all within the same week, I took the hint and signed up for the workshop. I had been waiting more than seven years.

I don’t know exactly what I expected. I was naively hopeful that I would get a few good writing tips that would enable me to beautify my past and approach it like one of Aesop’s fables—third-person fiction with a perfect little moral at the end of the story.

Hating the Little Girl I Once Was

That’s not what happened. One of the pre-assignments was to write 700 words about a painful childhood memory. I was surprised at the one I chose. It wasn’t a heavy hitter, so to speak. I wrote about a Polaroid picture I kept rediscovering in a shoebox at my parents’ house, and my inability to figure out why looking at it made me want to rip it to shreds.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her words:

"While I feel a deep sense of empathy for what must be a very difficult situation for transgender people, at the beginning and end of the day, it is nothing short of negligent to instate policies that elevate the emotional comfort of a relative few over the physical safety of a large group of vulnerable people."

And realize just how few we are talking about. People that promote policies like these are completely insane!

Anonymous said...

It puts a whole new spin on the "touchy-feely" liberal outlook.

Anonymous said...

I agree with this woman whole-heartedly. I have nothing against transgenders - people I consider to be transgender have had the anatomical change and after that change, should use that bathroom.

I realize not everyone can afford to have the operation. But I do not think anyone who does not anatomically fit the designation should use that bathroom.

The ultimate resolution would be no group bathrooms, but that is not an effective use of space and will be very costly.

Anonymous said...

They are looking to be considerate of the transgender persons and their feelings. But what about my feelings. We have to sacrifice for the few. If they want to be transgender then let them but stop stepping on my feelings and liberties.

Anonymous said...

Keep voting dems.

Anonymous said...

Was she raped in a bathroom by a transgender person?