Soccer Mom: Unplugged

raves, rants, reviews and recounts of life in middle America

2006/10/25

NY: Transgendered people can use bathroom of their choosing.

@ 01:56 PM (37 months, 14 days ago)

The NY Daily News is reporting on the settlement of a case against the MTA.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to allow riders to use MTA rest rooms "consistent with their gender expression," the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund announced yesterday.

The group filed a complaint against the MTA on behalf of a 70-year-old telephone repair technician who was arrested for using the women's room at Grand Central Terminal.

The technician, who is assigned to the terminal by Verizon, was born Henry McGuinness but now goes by Helena Stone.

Here are my questions:

Who's going to keep the predators from pretending to be one gender or the other?

How do you verify a person is actually transgendered and not just a perv or a peeping tom?

For that matter, who's going to stop me if I swear I feel like a man, and I go into the mens' room just to keep my sons safe?

Family rights activists ought to be complaining.  Not about this decision per se, but about the fact that we have no safe way to protect our young children in public restrooms.  There seems to be an understood age (or size) at which little boys are no longer welcome in the ladies room.  If, as a mother of young boys, you haven't encountered this yet, you will.  I say size because I have one son who is abnormally big for his age.  He is about 4'2" at 5 years old.  There ought to be family restrooms or single toilet restrooms everywhere so that parents can take their children to the "potty" without having to explain cross dressing or the transgendered and without the fear that lurking in the restroom you've just sent your children into alone is someone with indecent motives.

 

Comment(s) »

  1. in Korea the bathrooms are coed. How weird was that? lemme tell ya...

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/10/25 @ 05:55 PM — (Reply)

  2. Cate - I couldn't agree more! My son is really big for his age as well. I started realizing that we were getting funny looks in the ladies' room when he was 5 or so. I let him use the men's room now, but have told him if anyone acts funny at all, he's to scream loud. Way to traumatize them over public toilets, but whaddaya do? I have long thought that family restrooms should be everywhere. Even worse maybe is when Dugg has the girls by himself. They aren't old enough to handle the bathroom on their own - he's made many an emergency exit to get back home quickly.

    I don't even want to think about having to explain transgendered people in the restroom - will they start equipping the ladies rooms with urinals so as not to offend? :roll:

    Comment by Dayna— 2006/10/25 @ 08:01 PM — (Reply)

  3. That reminds me of the time I went to King's Dominion amusement park - unaware they were having a "gay day". Dudes with eye shadow were trying to strike up conversations with me while I was taking a leak at the urinal. It almost turned into dead gay day.

    People can argue all they want about gay rights - I still say they're perverts who deserve no special treatment. Normal people don't hang out in bathrooms or out in the bushes of a park trying to have sex with strangers.

    Comment by Dugg— 2006/10/26 @ 08:16 AM — (Reply)

  4. P.C. GONE CRAZY.......whats next "seperate seating for vegitarians" ?????

    Comment by jim— 2006/10/26 @ 08:40 AM — (Reply)

  5. Cate,

    Frankly, I don't understand your concern. I don't imagine that you're going to ban homosexual males or females from their respective bathrooms, are you? The pervs may already be there, like it or not.

    Dudes with eye shadow were trying to strike up conversations with me while I was taking a leak at the urinal. It almost turned into dead gay day.


    Yeah... because they were hot for you, Dugg. They really wanted to get a piece of some hot Duggie-boy action, I'm sure. Well, maybe you should stop looking so gosh-darn-sexy! You know you're just asking to get hit on... :roll:


    I'm with you totally, Cate and Dayna, about family restrooms. They're more and more common up here in Minnesota. In fact, off the top of my head, I can't think of any place that doesn't have them (or the alternative you suggested- single bathrooms). Protecting the kids is important.

    But outside of that, I'd like to see folks be a little more grown-up about things. Most folks don't go to the bathroom for any sort of perversion. I like the Korean model that EB mentioned. Shut the stall door if you want privacy.

    Comment by Michael— 2006/10/26 @ 09:27 AM — (Reply)

  6. I didn't say anything about banning anyone, Michael, you're projecting dude. :lol: I think families ought to be using this case as an opportunity to point out the need for family restrooms. I shouldn't have to explain crossdressing to my 4 year old when a guy in drag hikes his skirt nor should I have to send my young children to the restroom alone.

    The pervs may already be there, like it or not.


    Perverts ARE already in there. Remember we aren't talking about family restaurants or Wal-Mart, we're talking about the transit system. I've been in a lot of gas stations, rest areas and truck stops between Florida and New York (I-95) in the last 15 years (a few bus stations and many metro stations, too) and there is no shortage of freaks out there who use the toilets as a free 'motel'.

    All I said was that this opened the door even wider for them. Because now there is no visual distinction at all between who should/shouldn't be in the john.

    And that I want family restrooms!

    Comment by Cate— 2006/10/26 @ 09:55 AM — (Reply)

  7. Why not have six bathrooms, male, female, male transgendered, female transgendered, gay male and gay female. It all makes perfect sense to me.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/10/26 @ 11:00 AM — (Reply)

  8. and for those utterly confused they can always use a bush.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/10/26 @ 11:00 AM — (Reply)

  9. :lol: Hey - I used bushes up and down the Andes. Not as convenient for a woman, mind you, but still useful in a pinch.

    Comment by Cate— 2006/10/26 @ 11:06 AM — (Reply)

  10. Suppose the aclu won some sort of crazy court case where gay public restrooms were mandated. How many different ones would there need to be?

    Comment by Barry G.— 2006/10/30 @ 05:40 PM — (Reply)

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