College dorms a new front in U.S. battle over transgender rights

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

College dorms a new front in U.S. battle over transgender rights

By Scott Malone
June 10, 2016

BOSTON (Reuters) - As lawmakers across the United States battle over whether to allow transgender Americans to use public restrooms that match their gender identities, universities are scrambling to ensure that dorms meet federal standards.

At a time of year when the nation's 2,100 residential colleges and universities are sorting out student housing assignments, they also are poring over a May letter from the Obama administration that thrusts them into the national debate on transgender rights.

Known as the "dear colleague" letter, it makes clear that federal law protects transgender students' right to live in housing that reflects their gender identity.

Schools that fail to provide adequate housing to transgender students could face lawsuits or the loss of any federal funding they rely on.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/college-dorms-front-u-battle-over-transgender-rights-110309908.html?nhp=1

[elljay]

1. We're not going to resolve this without some help

I think we need some more guidance from professionals to come up with some meaningful solutions. I support transgender rights. At the same time, I am imagining how my shy 16 year daughter would feel sharing a bedroom and a shower with a transgender student who is 100% physically male. I'm sure it would make her extremely uncomfortable, not because she is biased against the concept of a transgender person- I'm sure she would have no problem with this at all, but because she will not want to be naked in front of a physical male, nor want the physical male naked in front of her. There is not going to be a solution that is totally acceptable to everyone and some assistance from people who are well-schooled in this field in crafting some guidelines would be beneficial.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I was in a co-ed dorm with co-ed bathrooms

on a co-ed floor... 35+ years ago @ UMASS Amherst. It was an experiment demanded by the school student council at the time, although I am not sure if the co-ed (on the floor) dorms are still there today. However both the showers and the toilet stalls had doors, so there was no "locker room" style open urinals or showers - both had doors that could be secured (although anyone tall could potentially look over the top of separation walls if they wanted). Still...no matter who was in there, there was some means for creation of "privacy" (within the context of what was a "public" bathroom).

Coming from a single sex household, it was a bit of a shock going in the bathroom area and seeing guys there shaving in front of the large mirror at the sinks, but I got over it. Young folk are more flexible in general anyway. The "relationships" on the floor, as it were, were like brother/sister for the most part, as anyone coming from a mixed-sex household would attest.

The idea of roommate assignments might be more problematic, although any type of random roommate assignment can be problematic for every conceivable reason under the sun, so it wouldn't be unique to this particular situation.

[djg21]

9. Curious?

I understand your point, and agree that this "Dear Colleague" letter is going to result in difficult and uncomfortable situations for some college students. The first year of college is a difficult enough of an adjustment without having to deal with these concerns and distractions.

But how is a transgender student (presumably transitioned or transitioning from male to female) 100% male? Many here will pile on and suggest that your comment is offensive. But this discussion needs to take place. I would not want my child to be forced or feel pressured into sharing a room with a transgendered student either.

[elljay]

11. My comment very clearly referred to not transitioned

No problem after transition, but how many have transitioned at age 18?

[Quackers]

12. As pointed out by another poster

Many choose not to transition at all.

[surrealAmerican]

15. Do you think your daughter would be happier to share a dorm room ...

... with somebody who considers themselves to be male, but has a vagina? How about a non-ambiguously female student who's gay?

Thinking back, as a shy dorm-dwelling student myself, I don't remember ever being naked in front of my roommate, nor seeing any of my roommates naked.

[One_Life_To_Give]

17. The only question is can we tell a Perv from a TransPerson.

While many have been reluctant to create a litmus test for being sufficiently trans. There are signs the administration could be looking for. And I think it fair for a University, School etc. to question the complete absence of major behavioral attributes. e.g. Failing to wear a bra/breast forms, make-up, skirt front showing moose knuckle (failing to tuck). Basic things will tell us alot without having to question whether they have started blockers (chemical castration), cross sex hormones or any type of genital confirmation surgery.

[scscholar]

2. Why do we still have gender segregation in dorm rooms?

As usual, the Republicans want to take us back to the 1950s.

[madaboutharry]

4. Actually, I think a lot of women would

have an issue with sharing a dorm room with a guy (I'm talking about two straight people).

What colleges need are LGBT living communities within the residence halls were transgender students can reside without fear of harassment and feel safe. A lot of universities are figuring this out without a lot of drama.

[EL34x4]

8. Maybe transgender students don't want their own special residence halls?

Maybe some would like to be housed among the rest of the students and treated just like everyone else?

[madaboutharry]

13. Within the resident halls.

A group of rooms set aside within the dorms for students who indicate that they want to live in those rooms.

[cynzke]

10. OH NO, A LOGICAL ANSWER, PRACTICAL SOLUTION.

The proportion of transgender students to other students is small so surely a set of dorm rooms can be designated gender neutral to accommodate transgender people. According to this link, 90% of University dorms are already co-ed. Transgender people would still remain part of the community, not be isolated. Perhaps when students sign up for a dorm room, the application form could ask the student if they are open to being assigned a gender neutral dorm room. That could free the school to then fill those rooms without worry. http://classroom.synonym.com/living-coed-vs-singlesex-dorms-5658.html

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

5. Good lord, another Kaufmanesque gimmick poster

Sigh.....

[Mike Nelson]

6. I think...

...a transgendered person belongs with their "adopted" gender. There really shouldn't be any issue. To me (a male), a person like Chaz Bono should be rooming with other men.

Now, if we're talking about those in transition, it's different. This would depend on the progress from one gender to the next. The school would confer and offer the appropriate accommodations.

When I was in college, we all used the same bathrooms. If a woman was in our room and showered, we accommodated. It wasn't a problem.

[EL34x4]

7. Not all transgender people "transition" like Chaz Bono did,

via surgery, hormone treatments, etc.

Many simply self-identify as their preferred gender. Many continue to remain sexually attracted to members of the opposite biological gender.

[Nye Bevan]

14. I don't expect my daughter to be assigned a college roommate who has a penis,

regardless of what gender that person self-identifies as, when she starts college a few years from now. And I suspect I am not alone in this viewpoint. There are probably people who consider this sentiment transphobic but I suspect that these people don't have daughters at or approaching college age.

[TexasBushwhacker]

16. Would you trust your daughter to decide for herself?

By college she will be an adult. Shouldn't these decisions be left up to the students. Some girls may not care. The same goes for the guys.