Imagine being in a place you had to pee so bad, to the point where it hurt! here were bathrooms everywhere, yet you couldn’t use them? In the past few months that is the life of someone who is transgender. People find you perverted no matter which bathroom you use. How wrong is that? I mean don’t we just all have to pee?
These women and men, because let’s face it, your genitals do not determine your gender, now have a place to go pee safey. I know someone who identifies as transgender, and they’re one of the best people I have ever met, so why is his need to pee any less than mine? I feel as if we focus on things that are irrelevant to our society, when things such as hunger and war go unnoticed.
This summer there was a massive boycott of the national store chain Target, due to their new policy of gender neutral bathrooms sparking an outrage among people all over the country. These people believe that they have never peed in the bathroom next to a transgender person, nor that they have ever been near a transgender person in their life. Here is the shocker to all those people that do not believe in having a transgender person in “their bathroom”, you have been peeing next to them for the past, well, forever.
Thank goodness for amazing places like Target and our very own university, here in a very small rural area, Clarion University. Clarion now has gender neutral bathrooms. How amazing is it in this in the chaos of the world, that we are able to offer someone who is in a transition of their identity, to have a bathroom to themselves. Along with their gender neutral bathrooms, Clarion University has an amazing Allies club in order to help those in transition. This week, for those in transition, they have a clothing drive and give away, where anyone can donate clothes and people can come get said clothes to aid them in their transition.
Also, Allies is trying to break down the gender stereotype norms by hosting events such as the drag talent show (which if you want to attend it is April 6th, at 8pm in Gemmel’s MPR!). By hosting events such as this, the university has become one of the most LGBTQ friendly campuses in western PA. The club also has attending LGBTQplus conferences to address LGPTQ concerns in the states and in PASSHE (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education )schools. This organization on campus has been able to also have events such as the apple painting. On October 8th or “coming out day,” they had everyone paint their handprints in rainbow before placing them on the apple.
So, all my gender fluid, lesbian, transgender, gay, bisexual, queer, and whoever else I missed, keep on doing what you’re doing. You’re all beautiful and I promise us, on Clarion University, will keep helping you do what you do. We find you all beautiful, we all support you, and every one of you will do amazing, great, equal opportunity things in your life time. Always remember you do you.