The legal probl
What would be the legal problem with using the men's restroom that leads you to say that "legally they would be best using a gender neutral option"?
The legal problem would be the law, requiring single sex spaces to be operated on the basis of biological sex.
That’s more of a legal problem for the service provider to be sure, but it’s still the legal position we are in.
You've previously said that, "the organisations with decent legal advice seem to be changing their policies and signs, to provide female only, male only, and gender neutral facilities."
1. How widespread is this change?
2. Do you have any examples of facilities that have undergone this conversion?
If service providers are breaking the law by allowing trans men to use the men's restroom, then does that put pressure on the service provider to deny trans men access to the men's restroom, regardless of whether they offer a gender-neutral alternative?
Should women be accepting of trans men in restrooms in cases where they clock the trans man as a man?
How would they know they were a trans man if they genuinelY passed as male?
It’s the presence of males that is the primary concern, and in that regard the Equality Act recognises that perception can be just as significant as reality. Hence trans women are still protected from discrimination if the basis of that discrimination is that they are perceived to be women.
I asked you the same question but you declined to answer. We can come back to that.
You said that, "I think women should be accepting of all women in women’s restrooms, regardless of how they present or identify."
All women here either means
dis women and trans women, or
cis women and trans men, and I figure you meant the latter. Some trans women present as men.
So, do you think women be accepting of trans men in restrooms in cases where they clock the trans man as a man?
The question was asking whether it's OK for men - not specifically you - to refuse to accept trans men in men's restrooms.
I think they should accept trans men in men’s restrooms, for the reasons I’ve pointed out.
What if the man is the service provider who owns the men's restroom, and operates it on the basis of sex?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be saying that women should accept trans men in women's restrooms, even when doing so causes them difficulty, such as cases where they clock the trans man as a man.
You’re wrong. Read harder.
OK, I've read header and I see where I've misunderstood.
"I think women should be accepting of all women in women’s restrooms, regardless of how they present or identify, though if the person genuinely passes for male, and would be perceived as such,
that could cause difficulty for others."
What difficulty would it cause, and whom would it cause difficulty for? I initially thought that you meant it would cause difficulty for some women, but you've said that's wrong.
And how would this be compatible with your
previous prescription that the law should not allow trans men to use the women's restroom? The law is enforced by people, so it seems like you are saying people should accept those trans men in women's restrooms, while others should enforce a law that refuses them entry to the same restrooms.
Sorry, that’s not what I was meaning.
The law doesn’t say trans men can’t use women’s restrooms. What it says is that there are circumstances where it could be legitimate to exclude trans men from female single sex spaces, the specific example being rape counselling sessions where the presence of a man, or someone perceived to be a man, could cause distress and interfere with the operation of the service.
It’s not at all certain that a public restroom would meet the same threshold as the operation of a rape counselling service.
Are there any circumstances in which you think trans men should be excluded from women's restrooms?