Peer Review
Scarlett Li
annotated_bibliography-_tressa_peery.docxAnnotated Bibliography
Elizondo, Paul M, I.I.I., D.O., Willy Wilkinson M.P.H., and Christopher Daley M.D. "Working with Transgender Persons." Psychiatric Times 29.9 (2012): 16-8. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
This article goes over a lot of information about transgender individuals. In essence, some people are worried about how to speak to a person who is transgender. We use the terms “transwoman” or “transmale” is association with persons of nontraditional gender. Transgender individuals may refer to themselves in several different ways including transgender, transsexual, or gender nonconforming. The population of transgender individuals is rising, however when it comes to male to female there are about 1 in 11,900 and female to male there are about 1 in 30,400 people. Transgender individuals are at a higher risk for many things including STD’s. Since policies are still adjusting and conforming to the transgender population, businesses and companies are trying to make sure that all restrooms are labeling correctly single stall restrooms with gender neutral signing. Even in the health care profession, nurses have to be sure to ask the individual where they want to be housed such as if they prefer an all-woman section and they have to ensure that all restrooms are accessible to the individual.
"S.D. may Restrict Restroom use for Transgender Students." Education Week 35.22 (2016) ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
South Dakota may be one of the first states to control the restrooms and locker rooms that transgender students at school can use, possibly setting its public schools up for legal battles with the federal officials. “This could put the state’s schools at risk of trouble with the U.S. Dept. Of Education’s office for civil rights, which has said schools are obligated to honor transgender students’ gender identity. “Several bills have been discussed and have been taken to the lawmakers for representation, and many are still being discussed as the situation is not one to be taken lightly. Some parents worry about the privacy of their own children in schools when it comes to sharing locker rooms and restrooms. For instance, if a student claims to be of a different gender than what they were born to be, they must be provided with restroom, showers, locker rooms, etc. They must have proper accommodations. Schools are not accommodating to these students put themselves at risk for lawsuits.
Shapiro, Eliza. "TranSquat App Helps Transgender Community Find Safe Restrooms." The Daily Beast Oct 07 2012. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
While using the restroom in public places is something we take for granted and tend to not give much thought about, is quite a different experience for the transgender population. For them, it is stressful, full of anxiety, and violence. While we typically look at the door of the restrooms in public places to indicate to us which door to go in, transgenders are faced with confusion. For transgender people, the closest thing to a safe place for a restroom is a gender neutral bathroom. “Research from the Task Force and the LGBT civil rights organization, has found that 26% of transgender students have been denied access to appropriate bathrooms in school and 22% in work places.” Billy Bolt, a transgender as well, has invented an app called TranSquat that has a huge database full of places that have gender neutral restrooms. These apps are in place to help those who are of the transgender community.
Eckes, Suzanne E., J.D., and Colleen Chesnut. "Transgender Students and the use of School Restrooms." Principal Leadership 14.4 (2013): 8-10. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
School leaders are accountable for providing safe surroundings for transgender students. This raises the question of where transgender students should be going to use the restroom while in school. A first grade student who identified as being female, but was born a male, sued the school in Colorado for being forced to use the other restrooms such as staff restrooms after parents showed concern for their children sharing restrooms with the opposite sex. She was allowed to use the girl’s restroom at first, but concerns grew from parents, and concerns about what was going to happen as the children got older. In Maine, the same thing happened. A student was born male but identified as a female. This resulted in a lawsuit being filed for the student. California was another complaint by a student who was female and identified as male. The family filed a complaint, which ultimately lead to the student being allowed to use the bathroom of the sex they are identified by. “There are currently 16 states that prohibit discrimination of transgender students.” Some schools have since added gender neutral restrooms within the school that give them the option of which restroom they want to use. As the issues of transgender restrooms continue to rise, school officials are forced to find possible solutions.
"Liberty Counsel Files Amicus Brief regarding Public School Transgender Bathrooms." Targeted News Service Dec 01 2015. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
In articles such as this, they discuss the violence that transgender students are faced with. As stated within this article, “public schools adopting gender identity instead of biological sex abandons science, creates hostile environments, and threatens safety and well-being of children.” Gloucester County school in Virginia requires that students use separated restrooms or ones that are selected for their biological sex, and this resulted in a student suing. Such controversy in the past, resulted in university based clinics refusing to perform sex change surgeries. It is causing issues in schools for children that are not transgender as well. They feel uncomfortable sharing restrooms and changing in front of one who is the opposite sex although they claim to be transgender and identify as the same sex they are sharing with. Staver stated “that students who object will faces charges of discrimination as well as aggression.” There are also several claims that younger children in kindergarten and elementary school could face big problems emotionally as they are told that they may be seeing the opposite sex in their restrooms. They feel as though this is damaging the psyche of students and only furthering the chances of these children having issues as they get older. These children are being taught at an early age that this type of behavior is to be accepted in public and schools.
Bowers, Grant, and Wendy Lopez. "Which Way to the Restroom? - Respecting the Rights of Transgender Youth in the School System: A North American Perspective." Education Law Journal 22.3 (2013): 243-66. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
Problems arise when it comes to the rights of transgender individuals and it makes it more complicated when it comes to a child. This applies to the rights and needs to transgender individuals at school as well. Issues are more than just that of which restroom should a transgender individual be able to use, but also when it comes to sports teams, dress codes, name and record changes that must take place at school when a child has been identified as a different sex and name. It is now becoming that transgender individuals should be allowed to play on the sports team of the gender they are being identified as. For example, a male student has now been identifying as a female, therefore he would be able to play on the girls’ sports team. If one is being identified as a female, that student would be able to use the locker room designated for that sex. School members are responsible for keeping the peace inside of the schools, and this includes any form of bullying that may occur. Transgender individuals face discrimination in many ways on a daily basis. They are often outcasts, and are not accepted as being part of a group. School officials walk a tedious line when it comes to discipline among the other students that have a tendency to bully the transgender individuals.
Craft, Edwin M., and Kevin P. Mulvey. "Addressing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues from the Inside: One Federal Agency's Approach." American Journal of Public Health 91.6 (2001): 889-91. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration works in partnership with the states, communities, and private organizations to address the needs of many people. Recently, they have also chosen to reach out to the LGBT community. It is a proven fact that individuals of the LGBT community are more susceptible to drug abuse, living in poverty, alcoholism, and depression, as well as other bad habits. With programs in place to help individuals better understand those who are transgender, it may strengthen the community and bond between the two. When persons of professions such as doctors, school faculty, and people in general have a better understanding of how to treat transgender individuals, it helps to have a sense of peace so to speak. They feel more comfortable around each other. With people of the transgender community facing so many issues, it helps to have programs in place that offer assistance to them as well. Counseling programs are available as well as others to help transgenders in their transition and help them to feel more comfortable as part of the community. They need a place they can belong and feel normal without being judged.
"Restroom Rumpus; Transgender Life." The Economist Jan 30 2016: 36. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
“These children have fewer rights than prison inmates,” says Tom Morrison, a Republican State Representative in Illinois. Prison inmates argue about letting a female guard watch them while they shower violates their right to privacy, and now they are facing the same thing in schools with transgender students. Students are being forced to share locker rooms as well as restrooms with transgender individuals, and it is raising quite the concern. In Illinois a bill was passed stating that individuals had to use the restrooms according to what sex they are on their birth certificate, and that specific bathrooms must be present for transgender students. Several states on working on passing similar bills that would force transgender students and individuals to use their designated restrooms according to their birth gender. This issue is raising havoc in many states and communities and it is a pressing issue that is yet to be resolved. Many representatives have voiced their opinions, but it is argued that transgender individuals go all day without using restroom facilities due to the harassment they endure, and it is causing health issues such as urinary tract infections, dehydration, and more. “Title IX , an amendment tacked on to the Higher Education Act in 1972, says that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education programme or activity receiving federal financial assistance". This is causing much debate over the transgender issue at hand. Will this issue ever come to a solution?
Brown, Elizabeth Nolan. "Why Aren't there More Unisex Bathrooms?" Reason 07 2014: 68-9. ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
Lately the transgender community's drive for more gender-neutral public restrooms has drawn a fair amount of responsiveness, support, and disapproval. The production of unisex bathrooms seems like a rational resolution to the complicated problem of figuring out who gets to use the restroom where. Providing restrooms where all people are welcome shouldn't be obligatory; there are several reasons why such a directive is a bad idea. Public restrooms have not always been gender assigned. Transgender individuals believe that this would be the easiest solution to the problem of where they are to use the restroom. However, how does this make others in the community and schools feel? It has been reported that several students have stated that it makes them feel uncomfortable as they are sharing locker rooms and changing clothes in front of someone of the opposite sex, even if they claim to be of the same sex. They are more vulnerable when they are in locker rooms and restrooms and they feel as though they are being forced to share with individuals of the opposite sex, hence invading their privacy and rights. Many public places still have restrooms that are labeled for men and women, but more and more places are installing restrooms that only hold one individual at a time and are not gender specific. This seems to be the most likely choice to solve the problem as it is a growing epidemic.
Kozubek, Michael. "Termination of Transgender Employee Ruled Illegal." Inside Counsel (2012)ProQuest. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
