Journal #1

Last Friday I had walked into the bathroom at my local WalMart as a transgender woman (male transitioning to female) was walking out. Two men stopped the woman and confronted her and proceeded to tell her she “Needed to use the men’s restroom” as “She” was a man and did not belong in the women’s restroom. Before I could intervene, the woman boldly stepped up for herself and told the two men that she did belong and was in fact a woman. She then confidently replied asking if they had nothing better to do with their time aside from verbally assaulting people. While I am glad she was able to stand up to these cruel men, there are many that cannot do this and feel as if they are invalid for their decisions or embarrassed. 

As we learned in the textbook, although “Gender is a broader term encompassing the social, psychological, and behavioral attributes that a particular culture associates with an individual’s biological sex.” (McCornack and Morrison, pg. 152) a persons body may not match with their gender identity. “Gender identity is internal to you: it is your deeply felt awareness or inner sense of being a boy, man, or male; a girl, woman, or female; or an alternative, such as genderqueer, gender-nonconforming, or gender-neutral.” (McCornack and Morrison, pg. 151) If your gender designated at birth does not match your gender identity, this may also result in transgender people as well as the above mentioned, causing restrooms to be a highly debated area. I personally believe that the restroom debate is an unnecessary one as those uncomfortable with these people using the bathrooms they desire there are gender neutral ones to choose from.