A student identifying as female walks into a public bathroom. Upon seeing her, another female student slaps her across the face and yells at her before storming out. Though most people would be horrified at this kind of unnecessary violence, I learned through a Sustained Dialogue meeting the other week that such incidents are an all too common occurrence for the University’s transgender community. As someone who never questions which bathroom to walk into, the stories I heard about the University’s often ignored and marginalized transgender students were both revelatory and disturbing. The anecdotes I heard made me seriously question what signals the University is sending to a group that too often gets overlooked during our public conversations about tolerance.
It’s very dangerous being a transgender or transsexual person in the year 2014. Despite the fact that gays and lesbians outnumber transgender people six to one, transgender people face a murder rate that is 50 percent higher. Worldwide, about five transgender people are murdered every week because of their gender identity. But of states with hate crime laws, 30 — including Virginia — currently do not have any protection for sexual orientation or gender identity. Even though Americans are growing increasingly accepting of same-sex marriage, at least 40 percent of the country still opposes it in various opinion polls
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=1961
http://www.gallup.com/poll/163730/back-law-legalize-gay-marriage-states.aspx, and rising acceptance of gay marriage hasn’t necessarily spread to support for support for trans people.
So where does this leave the University? While there are no easy solutions to changing an entire climate at a school that only began allowing female undergraduates in 1970, there are a few basic steps that can signal that the University is serious about being an inclusive place for trans people. In 2005, several cities, including New York, passed laws to officially make public restroom use based on an individual’s gender self-identification instead of birth sex. In the coming term, Student Council should pass a resolution officially endorsing this position. Such a resolution would require the University to allocate no new funds for relabeling bathrooms; rather it would send a message to our transgender community that they can use facilities in a manner consistent with who they are.
As powerful as the anecdote I heard was, it would be a mistake to think that even formally ending discriminatory policies against transgender and other students will solve the University’s issues with inclusiveness to all people. Addressing hostile attitudes toward the trans community will take public figures like singer Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!’s leading and provoking discussion, community members having open discussions with peers about the pain of stigmatization and more organic interaction with people from all orientations. These are not changes that are going to happen overnight, but they are certainly not impossible to realize either.
At the University at least, there are reasons for optimism. Based on the success of the Love is Love campaign during Valentine’s Day week, students are clearly interested in having a positive public dialogue about issues of gender and sexual orientation. As last week’s court decision suggested, Virginia may finally become a place for all lovers. Let’s make sure it’s a place for all genders as well.
Gray Whisnant is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. His columns run Wednesdays.
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