Consequences of Transgender Accommodations

There's been a lot of discussion about transgender persons, and how accommodations should be made for them. This is good; society needs a lively debate over our guiding principles with regard to right and wrong, what should be done and what shouldn't.

However, there's a situation that developed in Missouri regarding such an accommodation.  A 17-year old girl who renamed herself Lila requested that she be allowed to use the girls' locker room at Hillsboro High. The School Board and Administration had previously allowed her to use a unisex faculty facility for her needs. Upon her request, they permitted her to use the girls' toilet and locker room.

Some of the girls at the school protested, as did their families and others. Their argument was that the student in question was still a male, and they didn't want to share locker room space with a male!

I'm somewhat mixed with regard to this.

On one hand, it's nice that institutions take transgender status into account in meeting students' needs. On the other hand, the girls could have some needs too. One of which is for their bodies not to be exposed to persons of the opposite sex.  Frankly, I would not want to disrobe in a locker room with males or sexually ambiguous persons present!

I remember the awful feelings of having to disrobe in the locker room when I was one of the later maturing girls.  Taking off my bra when there are fully-developed girls also present can be uncomfortable. And girls from some of the Fundamentalist sects found the very deed of disrobing to be traumatic!

I do not offer a resolution.

However, it's just like school administrations to make decisions that impact only students, and probably not giving a damn about their effect. Damn it: at least take some of the impact. None of this, "Put on your big girl panties, and deal with it."