cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/65235734
On August 8, police arrived on the scene of Long Branch Lagoon Water Park in Dodge City, Kansas, to the sight of three self-described “bearded, burly men” who had been in the women’s bathroom and changing area. The manager of the municipally run property allegedly screamed and rushed children out the door.
The men knew this was likely. They didn’t agitate any of the women; they didn’t remove their clothes or make crass comments. They simply used the gendered spaces that the state of Kansas requires them to use by law, because these men are transgender.
“Supporters of SB244, including Attorney General Kris Kobach and Senate Majority Leader Ty Masterson, billed it as a way to keep men out of women’s spaces; it clearly requires some men to enter women’s spaces,” a press release sent to news outlets reads. So, these men took action—using malicious compliance to prove their point.
“Segregating people by suspected genitalia does nothing to improve public safety; it does quite the opposite by opening Kansans up to sexual harassment and discrimination. At no point should anyone be asking anyone else what genitals they have in public.”
The men, dressed in yellow “Compliance Crew” shirts, were part of a small group of trans-masculine Kansans who used the women’s room at facilities across the state that day in a coordinated action. They were also spotted at a zoo, a library, a museum, and other parks. They were in Emporia, Great Bend, Garden City, and Dodge City. At the library, at least one patron complained; at other places, the men used the bathroom and received dirty looks, and simply left the space without confrontation.
But at Long Branch Lagoon, members of the Kansas Compliance Crew resorted to having to describe their genitals to police in order to resolve the matter and avoid arrest.
“The men had a discussion with the manager and police and explained the situation, including uncomfortable descriptions of their bodies,” the press release said. Furthermore, both the manager and the police reportedly said “they had never heard of SB244 nor been notified by any government entity of its passage.”
“I could easily continue using the men’s restroom under the radar,” said Ray Vieux, who participated as one of the demonstrators.
Except then you end up with trans people barred from all domestic violence shelters. The trans woman will be barred from the women's shelter because they assume she has a certain kind of anatomy and physical strength and judge her a threat accordingly. Most cis people are comically ignorant about trans people's bodies and believe garbage stereotypes about trans women just being "men in dresses." In reality most trans women are biologically female. When she tries to go to the men's shelter, she will be told she's not safe there. And really, she wouldn't be. Meanwhile trans women face violence and abuse at rates far far higher than cis women.
Not necessarily, a legal definition of woman could include trans women too, the question is then how do you get recognized as such… fortunately I am not a politician and don't have to have an opinion on everything…
Given the insane amount of bureaucracy and red tape we have to go through just to get meds, it wouldn't be too hard. The nuance is in finding a way to include those who only seek to transition socially, not medically. Honestly a therapist's letter might suffice.
I've been on HRT for 12 years, and I still struggle obtaining refills sometimes
You could do it in a way similar to how name changes are. My name change wasn't terribly expensive, but it was kinda a pain in the ass. Hell you could make it an optional part of the name change process as well.
Ideally you won't have to publish it in a newspaper (archaic bullshit I had to do), but other than that the whole having to schedule with a judge and go on public record and under oath saying "this is what I'm doing, I'm not trying to do anything nefarious, this is just how I'd prefer to live my life".
But yeah, the therapist (or social worker) thing also works, I know some US states allow for them to sign off gender marker changes.
And yeah, any time I move or change insurance getting hormones is a pain in the ass, even when I can just tell a Dr what dose I've been on since bottom surgery
I had to do a similar thing for my US name change. When I changed my name in my home country, I just had to sign an affidavit stating it's for trans related reasons.
There's plenty of ways to go about it, we just need legal recognition but apparently that's too much to ask for
Sure. But context matters. No one who wants cares enough about a non-existent problem to create a formal and enforced definition of "woman" is going to do so in a trans-inclusive way.