Transgender and gender non-conforming people are forced to define their gender for the sake of conforming to society. If they decide to define their gender openly, and it is not within the gendered lens of what society perceives that person to be a part of, this then becomes a safety issue. Life is constantly gendered. This is problematic for everyone as it limits what people are able to do. The politicization of gender through vices of bathroom use is one of the problems that is largely faced by transgender and gender non-conforming people.
Being able to openly identify with your gender identity is a luxury that is mainly afforded to cisgender and non-queer people, while people who are considered to deviate do not have this luxury. With the simple task of walking into a bathroom everyone is forced to out themselves or to conform to whichever binary gender they “fit” into. It is generally perceived in society that there are only natural males and natural females, as this is the general attitude of society, which creates a “war” rooted in eugenics-based perceptions. As bathrooms are gendered they only include binary genders which exclude transgender and gender non-conforming people, the refusal to include queer people allows for queer people to be regarded as “unnatural.” The existence of gendered bathrooms highlights people who do not fit or identify within the binary, as well as people who “look” or are mistaken to be trans. Evidently, through the politicization of bathroom politics, this has been allocated for the social policing of who is and who is not allowed to use bathrooms. Through the policing of bathrooms by society has resulted in a “good” case to be dirty looks, comments, slurs, etc., and extreme cases of death and injuries.
As gender is the social policing based around genitals it becomes a major part of our identity through the socialization of gender through gendering practices of gender markers. The misclassification of someone’s gender inherently becomes the misclassification of one’s identity. From the physical policing of gender through "The identification of citizens or subjects is as vital a function of modem statehood as establishing and policing territorial borders" stems the social policing of gender (Currah and Moore 113). "The natural attitude, in short, is a constellation of beliefs and practices that cements a link between genitals and gender" (Currah and Moore 114). The cementation of genitals and gender allows for the natural attitude to stay the dominant view which contributes to transphobic rhetoric and viewpoints. The natural attitude creates a power dynamic that results in lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming lives being taken. In order to have a cohesive and substantive solution to the politicization of gender, there needs to be a social shift in view that dis-equates gender and genitals.
Within the politicized issue there needs to be organizing around systematic change not just retrofits. “They may instead engage in forms of advocacy that are focused less on creating systemic change and more on promoting personal and community resilience, such as establishing support networks with and for other trans students” (Goldberg, Smith and Beemyn; 68). The idea of personal and community resilience starts on an individual level, this being a simple conversation that sparks a new idea within another person, this going with the idea that we are all pieces of each other, which collectively results in a communal change in an idea. This communal change or exchange of ideas can result in resistance to policy especially when talking about politicized issues.
Regarding the issue of bathroom politics, bathrooms should not be divisive or express gender in the slightest. The terminology of “all gender” or “gender-neutral” allows for the hyper-awareness that bathrooms are usually gendered, inherently causing people to be implicitly reminded of the social categorization of gender and bathrooms that run deep within all of us. Sufficiently stating restrooms, bathrooms, etc., and what’s in there is a more equipped way to degender currently gendered bathrooms. When building bathrooms for newer buildings the standard needs to be enclosed rooms with both urinals and toilets, floor to ceiling doors that divide each stall (if there are stalls), and locks that state whether the bathroom is vacant or not. This allows for the safety and privacy of everyone as they do their business. As this model is based on the singular level while allowing for the privacy of everyone who uses the bathroom. This eliminates the fear of social policing as you are the only one in the room.
Common discourse surrounding pro-gendered bathrooms outlines concerns for safety specifically of women. While trying to err on the side of caution is valid in most cases, in this, the concern is rooted in transphobia and concerns surrounding gender policing. The safety of all will be improved if bathrooms are degendered, as degender bathrooms allow for more privacy, and thus protection. If a person is willing to go through the trouble of acting as another sex with the idea in mind to actively target those of the other sex, then they will do this regardless if the policing gender was prevalent.
Gender matters way too much, the expectation to know your identity labels is rooted in a place of privilege afforded to cis people. The idea of personal and community resilience starts on an individual level. What urges people to organize for change first happens with an acknowledgment that there is a need for change. Once people recognize that there is a need for change and then assess how necessary or drastic that change needs to be, they then have to decide whether they are capable of assisting in that change. Having to misgender yourself in order to meet your needs should not be a qualification in order to use the bathroom.