Transgenderism Marches Onward
Transgenderism Marches Onward
There’s long been the transgender “T” at the end of LGBT, but focus remained on the lesbian “L” and the gay “G.” Until recently. Now that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay and lesbian marriages, transgenderism is the new hot topic. It’s unclear when the “B” that stands for bisexual will come to the forefront.
Obama Transgender Restroom MandateAlthough estimated to be a lifestyle chosen by fewer than 0.3% of the population, big changes at schools and in public spaces are underway to provide accommodations to transgender students, teachers, and staff. Sometimes those accommodations put others at risk.
Children as young as kindergarten are now exposed to questions of gender, and given confusing lessons that ask them whether they feel like a boy or a girl. Many say some children are being encouraged to disregard their actual biological sex.
Some parents and public officials believe the desires of a few are endangering the rights and safety of children. The impact on women’s rights according to Title IX, particularly in sports, could be called a war on women.
Some parents and politicians are pushing back against activists. Their efforts may have little chance of succeeding because the federal deck is stacked on the side of rejecting biology. On June 27, the Heritage Foundation received clarification from the Department of the Interior that the National Park system abides by President Obama’s transgender bathroom and shower policies. On June 30, another branch of government confirmed its denial of biological sex differences. The military will not only allow people to serve openly as whichever sex they choose, regardless of their physical attributes, but the military will also provide hormone therapy and sex-change operations.
NC Holding Fast
The Obama Justice Department and the Department of Education threatened to sue North Carolina if they didn’t comply and repeal HB-2, a law that requires males and females to use school facilities according to the sex listed on their birth certificates.
After the North Carolina legislature passed and the governor signed HB-2, the mainstream media began to relentlessly attack the state. Entertainers cancelled shows. The Department of Justice filed suit against North Carolina, demanding that the law be repealed.
North Carolina’s Republican Governor Pat McCrory made it known that he has no intention of repealing the law. In fact, on the same day the Justice Department filed suit against him, he filed a lawsuit against it.
More States Join NC Fight
When Obama issued a sweeping federal guideline meant to bully North Carolina and any other states that might not comply with his transgender vision, several states stood with North Carolina.
Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin have joined the lawsuit that North Carolina filed against the Obama administration. They accuse it of turning “educational settings across the country into laboratories for a massive social experiment, flouting the democratic process, and running roughshod over commonsense policies protecting children and basic privacy rights.”
Teachers unions, activists with whom the union aligns, and federal officials want to transform the nation into a social justice battleground. The National Education Association (NEA) union is allied with various radical transgender organizations, including Gender Spectrum and the Trans Youth Equality Foundation.
The NEA states that children should be “addressed by the name and pronoun that corresponds to their gender identity” and that students should be told there doesn’t need to be a change on their records in order to change their gender identity. At many schools, parents have no part in gender identity changes; they are neither asked nor informed. It’s left up to the child and the school.
Making It Seem Accepted by All
Reports and polls about what other people think sometimes influence public opinion. If everyone else seems to accept something, some individuals will wonder if their thinking is somehow flawed, and question whether they should change their position.
A poll taken about North Carolina’s law stating people must use facilities according to their actual sex seemed to say that North Carolina residents resoundingly oppose the law. It was widely reported, including in the Los Angeles Times, that only 35% of North Carolinians support the law, making it seem like legislators passed and the governor signed a law that few in the state wanted. But those who read the actual poll question will discover the sneakiness of pollsters with an agenda.
In April, RABA Research pollsters asked 688 North Carolina voters: “Do you approve or disapprove of HB-2, the state’s new anti-transgender law?” Most people would certainly respond that they are against an “anti-transgender law.” Pollsters asked a loaded question that sought not public opinion, but confirmation of their preconceived opinion.
In May, a Rasmussen poll of 1,000 people indicated that 33% of those questioned support Obama’s Department of Education shared-bathroom policy. They found these results:
Fifty percent (50%) of Democrats favor allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms of the gender they identify with. Just 13% of Republicans and 30% of adults not affiliated with either of the major political parties agree.
Pollsters asked this question: “Do you favor or oppose allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms of the opposite biological sex?” Among those who have school-aged children, those most affected by the policy, 55% opposed federally imposed shared bathrooms and 13% are “unsure.” This question only addressed bathrooms, not locker rooms and showers that are to be shared in the Obama administration transformation.
Last November, after the Obama administration directive about sharing all facilities to Illinois School District 211, Rasmussen asked the question, “Do you favor or oppose allowing transgender people to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex?” The response was 64% negative. (RassmussenReports.com, 5-17-16 and 11-6-15)
Will Feminists Stand Up for Girls?
Only a few liberal voices seem to be worried about the safety and rights of young women. One is Kathleen Sloan, who formerly held leadership positions in the National Organization for Women. In an article she wrote opposing a proposal to add gender identity protections to the Delaware Constitution, Sloan says, “The politics of the gender identity movement that is sweeping the country is bringing with it a multitude of problems for women and girls.”
Sloan continues, “To women’s rights advocates and feminist leaders like me, laws that include gender identity raise a number of red flags for their unintended consequences for women.” Sloan is concerned about physical safety for women and girls, and “the loss of safe sex-segregated spaces such as public bathrooms, changing rooms, and even domestic violence shelters.” She says, “When access to such public spaces is based only on a subjective belief that one is a woman, this effectively allows men to claim a gender identity and enter women’s spaces at any time.” Sloan says, “I implore Delaware’s legislators to consider these realities and remove the gender identity portion of the equal protection bill; do it for women’s sake — your own, your partner’s, your daughter’s, and your sister’s.” (DailyWire.com, 6-24-16)
Women Athletes an Endangered Species
Another issue is men who feel like women competing against female athletes. Although Title IX has nothing to do with gender identity, government officials say protections for transgender students are guaranteed by that 1972 statute that was meant to assure females equal education and school sports participation and funding.
At a recent track meet in Alaska, a female who is usually a top competitor was beat out of a competition by a male whose gender identity tells him he’s a female. But he has the upper body strength, larger lung capacity, and all other male attributes that make him stronger and give him more endurance than most women.
Illinois Families Sue District
District 211 in Illinois is accommodating a male who wishes to be a female in the girls’ locker room with use of screens. Thirty-one parents and students are suing the district because they believe this is an infringement on the privacy of students.
The Obama administration threatened this district outside of Chicago with the withdrawal of federal funds and forced them to capitulate. For more complete coverage of this Illinois district’s dilemma, see Education Reporter April and May editions.
Regarding the change in military policy that makes the government responsible for so-called sex-change surgery, the Secretary of Defense claims it has something to do with the U.S. Constitution. The Heritage Foundation explains it differently, and in a way that applies to all the other transgender issues. On June 30, Heritage wrote at DailySignal.com: “This decision has nothing to do with the Constitution and everything to do with politics and a gender ideology run amok.”
