DoSomething.org and Young Allies Will Always Stand Up for Transgender Students, Even If the White House Won’t
With a single text message in July 2015, Freddie, DoSomething’s Director of Mobile Messaging, came out as transgender to 2.4 million young people.
Within hours, Freddie received 43,000 responses, including thousands of messages of love and support from allies, gay and lesbian members, and young transgender folks too.
“I’m also trans. I just want you to know I fully support you. It’s a struggle we go through but we can do it.”
“I am also trans and I’m really proud of you for coming out!”
“Im trans also. I’d like to support you any way I can because I went through the same thing and I know how you feel.”
That day, our transgender members stood with Freddie. Today, in the wake of sad and frightening news, we stand with them.
The White House on Wednesday withdrew federal policies that reduce discrimination towards transgender students in public schools.
As Buzzfeed reported:
Originally issued last May, the Obama-era policy said that a school “must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity.” As such, it instructed schools to give transgender students access to gender-appropriate restrooms and locker rooms.
Now, the federal government no longer offers these protections to transgender students. While the issue of gender-neutral restrooms is in the spotlight, protections of transgender folks “are not about bathrooms,” says transgender activist Laverne Cox. “They’re about whether trans people have the right to exist in public space. If we can’t access public bathrooms, we can’t go to school, we can’t work, we can’t go to health care facilities. This is about public accommodations. And so, public accommodations are always key to civil rights.”
“We don’t need to discriminate but to accept people for who they want to be. All genders should have the choice to choose where they want to use the restroom.” — Oluwabusola, 18-year-old DoSomething member
DoSomething.org strongly condemns the White House’s actions and remains dedicated to protecting students everywhere, especially those in the LGBTQ community and other vulnerable groups. The facts are frightening and clear: 70% of transgender and gender nonconforming people experience some form of harassment in public restrooms, and that rampant abuse contributes to the alarming suicide rates in the trans community: 41% of transgender people attempt to kill themselves at one point, versus 4.6% of the general public.
(Btw, how many times has a transgender or gender nonconforming person attacked a cisgender (non-transgender) person in a public restroom? Literally never.)
“I have friends who are transgender and they tell me how uncomfortable they feel not having a bathroom for both genders. I would like to raise awareness not just for my friend but for others in the school who feel the same way!” — Teya, 17-year-old DoSomething member
Despite the federal government’s recent protection rollbacks, states and local school districts can still maintain and adopt their own transgender-inclusive policies.
Several states have already emphasized their commitment to those policies, and you can take action right now to create safer and more inclusive spaces in your school. Join DoSomething’s 5.5 million members by signing up for one of these campaigns:
Free to Pee: Post gender-neutral restroom signs in your school to demand inclusive options for transgender students.
This Is a Safe Space: Post flyers like the one below to demand your school serve as a safe space for LGBTQ students.
Want to learn more about transgender issues and how to be an ally? Read this FAQ from GLAAD.
DoSomething.org is the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change. We’re activating 5.5 million young people (in every US area code and in 131 countries!) to make positive change both online and off.
