And herein lies the heart of the difference. I care about "is safe" far more than about "feels safe".
And I very much oppose exposing person B to actual danger so person A can avoid a fear that does not appear to reflect reality
How many transwomen have been attacked in male restrooms?
You’re so fond of hand-waving away the accounts of women being subjected to inappropriate behavior from males in our female spaces… but you haven’t provided any evidence of the harm you claim transwomen would face.
Apparently the fears and discomfort of male-women are accepted on bare assertion, but those from female-women only count if they reach some “scientific” standard that only you can determine.
Put up or shut up.
it’s known that trans women are sexually assaulted ( by men) at rates at least as great as cis women. The concern for trans individuals’ safety is very real.
But let’s not forget the source of fear of assault and rape: men.
Who want cus women to just ignore concerns because they have no interest tion of being safer for women to be around.
If men were not violent towards women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, cus women would have no fears of trans women in showers and locker rooms because we would have no fear of assault, rape and murder at the hands of those with male appearing bodies.
It’s women’s fault of men raise us because we dressed too sexy or were out alone too late or drank too much or were teased.
It’s women’s fault fur being ‘bigoted’ against make appearing bodies in our women’s only intimate spaces. We have to let them in because men pose such a genuine threat to trans women ( indeed, they certainly do! No sarcasm at all). But that’s women’s fault. We should all just put out on demand unless it means cheating on our husbands or boyfriends.
Men are perfect.
Some or perhaps many men, or even most, but not the broad brush all men. I have no idea how many but your post does not reflect on me.
Of course #NotAllMen. But Loren is one of those people who are fond of posting statistics and statistics show that most violent crime is committed by men. Most rapes are committed by men. Most assaults, most murders, etc. etc. are committed by men, by substantial margins.
My entire point in all of this is that a number of male posters expect women to welcome trans women into women only spaces (and of course we should, I do not disagree) but refuse to comprehend the reticence of a lot of women to wish to have transwomen who still have penises in showers or locker rooms where we are undressed because it simply is not possible to tell by looking which male (and people with penises look male) are threats when they are unexpectedly in women only spaces and which ones are just one of us girls.
Most people (of any sex/gender/age) experience violence at the hands of someone they know, often someone they know quite well. This is particularly true of sexual assault. Proximity provides access and opportunity. Too often the person who assaults us, who rapes us or tries to rape us is someone in our group of trusted people: fathers, uncles, grandfathers, teachers, coaches, ministers/priests/youth group or scout leaders, boyfriends or husbands, cousins, brothers, the guy we went out with, the uber driver, the doctor, the friend of our brother or cousin or, neighbor. You get the picture. It's rarely a stranger. Almost always for most of us, we can trust any of these guys. But unfortunately some of us learn at a very young age that some of these people cannot be trusted.
So it's pretty.....rich to read men telling me that women who are hesitant about welcoming trans women who retain a penis and perhaps deliberately other masculine features that we are bigots for objecting to seeing a person with an exposed penis next to us at the gym shower room. Frankly, it could be at the best, startling, and it could be traumatizing for the cis and for the trans women. PTSD is very real. Upthread, I recounted how, standing in my childhood kitchen, washing dishes, I very nearly stabbed my sister in the stomach when she came up behind me and startled me the way kids do. Because the person who assaulted me was very fond of sneaking up behind me and grabbing...various body parts. Or simply acting like a normal person as I knew him when he wasn't being someone who assaulted me, tried to rape me, or once, tried to murder me. I just never knew. Frankly, that is one of t he reasons I put off dating for a long time: I was worried that I'd go to the movies with some perfectly nice guy who might put his arm across the back of my seat and I'd flip out on him. Which he wouldn't have deserved. I had never heard of PTSD and wouldn't hear of it for another decade or two but that's what I was worried about. Not me getting hurt but me hurting someone who did not deserve it.
Which is why I wholeheartedly advocate for shower and dressing room stalls with doors. Women's bathrooms already have doors so there's much less risk of being inadvertently startled or frightened.
Loren prefers to call me a bigot and tell me in the same breath that protecting women (cis and trans) from trauma or worse is too expensive. Most of the men responding in this thread think it's a non issue.
And it is.
For them.
I mean what a perfect set up: They get to get rid of transwomen who make them uncomfortable by forcing them on women, get to call women ugly names for objecting, get to object to small measures that would make everyone feel safer and they get to further groom women into believing that we have zero right to any sort of privacy or bodily autonomy and are subject to whatever men say is good for us.
Not directed at you, personally but:
Fuck that noise and the SOB it rode in on.