Opinion: Won't be erased

UC Berkeley’s research on gender and sexuality has contributed to our understanding of how gender and sex are entwined notions and how the production of genders engages layers of personal experience, institutions, relations of power, and shifting hierarchies and opportunities.

We all have a role to play in the safety of our TGNC community members. We can build and advocate for welcoming and inclusive environments in the institutions and communities to which we belong. It will take time to understand and accept, to deconstruct the systems that have been created. But when the alternative is harmful to our children, love and acceptance must prevail.

No matter if I feel that I made the right evaluation of which bathroom I belong in at the end of the day, I will never know if I made the right choice. I feel frustrated when people say, “just use the bathroom that most aligns with your gender identity,” because there is no binary cisgender space I can safely occupy. It doesn’t matter to me if I am in the right bathroom because the strangers around me are the final judgment of my choice.

As a primary socializing agent, schools have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to be inclusive of all students, including transgender and other gender-diverse students. In this role, educational institutions can significantly impact the degree to which gender diversity is viewed — either positively or negatively.

If you are a person of faith whose religious tradition decries LGBTQ+ people, revisit your sacred texts, and read more progressive theologians for another perspective. Especially at this time of rising violence against trans and nonbinary people, it is imperative that communities of faith act as safe and welcoming spaces for these vulnerable folk who are also made in the image of God.