If transgender people are to be afforded equal rights and protection against discrimination, then what are we to do with regard to matters such as access for transwomen to changing areas in sports centres.
The possibilities are (I think) as follows (including extremes, in order to be exhaustive)*:
1) Transwomen are not allowed to use sports centres.
2) Transwomen can use sports centres, but must arrive already wearing sports kit/swimming costume (under clothes), and must go home to shower or change afterwards.
3) Transwomen can use sports centres, but must use men's changing rooms.
4) Transwomen can use sports centres, but must use disabled changing rooms.
5) Transwomen can use sports centres, and can use women's changing rooms, but only upon provision of some sort of documentary proof of their transgender identity.
6) Transwomen can use sports centres, and can use women's changing rooms without being required to show documentary proof of their transgender identity.
Now, I'd hope anyone could agree that options (1)-(4) are non-starters. So we're left with (5) or (6). Is (5) actually workable in practice? I suspect not**. And if that's the case, then all we have is (6).
I'll try to address this quickly, first.
Regarding (5), if you accept that there are spaces in which certain demographics are allowed and certain others are not, then you also accept that there are criteria that places someone into one or the other. The very existence of a criteria requires some means of evaluating whether those criteria are met. Which also means that any individual entering those spaces is subject to challenge.
It is, of course, true that this would result in some who meet the criteria being challenged and others who do not meet the criteria not being challenged. It is not perfect, but it
is workable. But some women (both cis and trans) would end up being offended and/or embarrassed.
However, I'd suggest that if (6) is indeed implemented as part of future transgender recognition legislation and guidance, two things are likely to happen: firstly, there should be a required standard of safety provisioning within all women's changing areas - perhaps including multiple panic/assistance buttons, and even perhaps constant CCTV monitoring (which would/could only ever be accessed and viewed if a criminal/deviant act was reported, but whose presence would be clearly posted in order to act as a deterrent);
The highlighted is a non-starter. Most restrooms and changing rooms are not at government facilities. They are in privately owned bars, health clubs, restaurants, shops, etc. You are expecting people to trust an honor system that the owners, managers, and employees are not accessing the video feeds or files. Yes, it might deter violence, but creates a state mandated infrastructure for voyeurism.
and secondly, there should be a close monitoring of just how many actual acts of deviancy or sex crimes were taking place under a self-ID-transwoman regime - and if acts of this nature were seen to be becoming a genuine safety issue to females, it might then become necessary to revise or even reverse certain parts of legislation accordingly.
This is interesting.
It's been my belief regarding well written regulation is that it is examined for possible loopholes
before it is enacted. Yet here you are arguing that a
known loophole should not be addressed until after the rule is enacted, and then only if enough people take advantage of it.
That seems like a bad way of writing policy for
any issue.
I don't see an obvious solution, which is why I find these threads interesting.
As long as we are teaching girls that getting undressed in front of the opposite sex/gender (circle one) is bad/dangerous (circle one) you shouldn't be surprised when they are uncomfortable disrobing in the presence of individuals who to
their perception is that opposite.
Nor is it fair to punish or criticise them for feeling uncomfortable violating the social norms that we
still continue to teach. (And neither side is advocating that these norms go away. If they were, they would be advocating for gender/sex neutral spaces rather than gendered.)
