A bill is currently in the works in Virginia that will specifically target LGBTQ students. Bill HB 781 was created by Delegate Mark L. Cole, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, to criminalize transgender bathroom use. Claiming to be a champion of sorts for parents complaining about boys using their daughters’ bathrooms in their elementary schools, Del. Cole filed the bill to clarify the controversy surrounding transgender rights in schools. With what he calls “common sense legislation,” Del. Cole has made himself the author of a dangerous bill that would mean seriously negative consequences for the transgender community.
The bill would require school districts to create and implement policies restricting students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their “anatomical sex.” Rumor has it that this would mean “genital checks” conducted to ensure students are following this policy, but Del. Cole assures that this won’t be necessary, since biological sex should be “obvious” given how students do their business in the bathrooms. Instead, birth certificates can be double checked too– you know, if pulling down your pants in front of a teacher or school resource officer (SRO) is too invasive.
Should this bill pass and force APS to create implement these toilet rules, students can potentially be fined up to $50 for using a bathroom that does not correspond to his/her anatomical sex. Most likely, this will be enforced primarily by peer governance and local police authority. Come one come all, enlist in the Potty Police! Since SROs have much better things to do than check every bathroom every day, it’s up to students to watch out for their fellow students. Heaven forbid an anatomical boy uses the girls bathroom, or vice versa! Training is not required to join the Potty Police, all you need is some ignorance and lack of empathy. Throw in some ill spirit and self-importance and you’re a shoo-in. As a member of the Potty Police, you get to be the judge, if someone doesn’t quite seem feminine or masculine enough for your taste, pounce. Tell an SRO or an administrator, and if it just so happens the student you accused was intentionally using a bathroom or locker room that isn’t meant for him/her, the student will receive a $50 fine and you can be proud knowing you have successfully discriminated against an entire demographic. Nice work!
The bill hasn’t passed, but it looks like some of our own student body will be exemplary proponents if it does. Unbeknownst to most of the students, there is a unisex bathroom somewhere in the school that is available for the use of students uncomfortable using the bathrooms to which they are anatomically assigned. For the privacy of the students who would use this restroom, the location has not been publicized*.
It’s disappointing to know there are human beings walking around the school who wish harm on their classmates simply for not identifying with a certain gender. Gay marriage has been legalized, but apparently there aren’t enough measures put in place to protect individuals who may fall somewhere in between male and female. If the Potty Police isn’t ridiculous enough, discriminating against your classmates is more than unneccessary. If students ever feel unsafe relieving themselves (you know, as humans naturally do) because they are afraid the kid sitting next to them in math class might have them written up for a $50 fine, or inflict harm on them, we’ve failed. As classmates, we have a civic duty to contribute to a safe environment of learning, not some twisted battle ground where we target each other for sexual preferences or gender identification. At the end of the day we’re all just trying to get that diploma and have some fun in the process, so please help ensure that rights to privacy and bathroom usage are guaranteed to all.
*Note: if you genuinely wish to know the location of this bathroom for your use, please reach out to your guidance counselor or trusted teacher.
