here is a simple fact that is too often left out of discussions and opinions of transgender people: We are human. I say “we” because I am writing this as a transgender person.
The Morning Call published a letter to the editor,“Don’t bow to transgender demands,”which contained inaccuracies.
A 2014 study by the Williams Institute did find that harassment and rejection produced a “marked vulnerability to suicidal behavior” in transgender people. The misgendering and constant dehumanization of transgender people most certainly has an effect on us.
Another study by the Williams Institute found that in Massachusetts the state’s public accommodations nondiscrimination laws, which include gender identity, have not affected the number of criminal incidents in public restrooms. Additionally, reports of privacy and safety violations have been “exceedingly rare” and determined unrelated to the law.
My reality is this: I have a deep voice, beard, stout build, a muscular chest. I look like any other man you might stand next to in a restroom.
It takes zero effort to treat transgender people with respect, but it sometimes takes everything we have to wake up in a world where we read letters like the one I read.
Transgender Support 