“As a trans man, I have the immense privilege of blending in. But these laws force me to choose between safety and obeying the law.”

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/65235734

On August 8, police arrived on the scene of Long Branch Lagoon Water Park in Dodge City, Kansas, to the sight of three self-described “bearded, burly men” who had been in the women’s bathroom and changing area. The manager of the municipally run property allegedly screamed and rushed children out the door.

The men knew this was likely. They didn’t agitate any of the women; they didn’t remove their clothes or make crass comments. They simply used the gendered spaces that the state of Kansas requires them to use by law, because these men are transgender.

“Supporters of SB244, including Attorney General Kris Kobach and Senate Majority Leader Ty Masterson, billed it as a way to keep men out of women’s spaces; it clearly requires some men to enter women’s spaces,” a press release sent to news outlets reads. So, these men took action—using malicious compliance to prove their point.

“Segregating people by suspected genitalia does nothing to improve public safety; it does quite the opposite by opening Kansans up to sexual harassment and discrimination. At no point should anyone be asking anyone else what genitals they have in public.”

The men, dressed in yellow “Compliance Crew” shirts, were part of a small group of trans-masculine Kansans who used the women’s room at facilities across the state that day in a coordinated action. They were also spotted at a zoo, a library, a museum, and other parks. They were in Emporia, Great Bend, Garden City, and Dodge City. At the library, at least one patron complained; at other places, the men used the bathroom and received dirty looks, and simply left the space without confrontation.

But at Long Branch Lagoon, members of the Kansas Compliance Crew resorted to having to describe their genitals to police in order to resolve the matter and avoid arrest.

“The men had a discussion with the manager and police and explained the situation, including uncomfortable descriptions of their bodies,” the press release said. Furthermore, both the manager and the police reportedly said “they had never heard of SB244 nor been notified by any government entity of its passage.”

“I could easily continue using the men’s restroom under the radar,” said Ray Vieux, who participated as one of the demonstrators.

  • antianarchist@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    1·
    11 hours ago

    Again. If you call yourself a transwoman and clearly have a full beard, I understand that the public gets upset.

      • antianarchist@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        6·
        11 hours ago

        I should definitely sleep. I totally read something different and I don’t know why. Now I can see that it is about trans-men being forced to use the woman’s bathroom. That’s stupid.

        Sorry for my confusing comment. Will edit it.

    • NEZ27@lemmy.zipEnglish
      2·
      11 hours ago

      You are fundamentally misunderstanding.

      Trans people, men or women, present the way they feel. And, until this bullshit bathroom law, would do exactly as you are saying, they would use the restrooms that matched the gender they present as. But this law makes that illegal. Now they are told to use the bathrooms that match their birth gender.

      Now they comply and the cops still get called.

      All of this was called out when these dipshit bills were being passed too. And let’s be real, some women look butch and some men can have slighter features. They also get caught up in this trans panic bullshit.

      These laws were made to remove certain people from public spaces. Trans people can’t legally go to the bathroom if it doesn’t match their birth gender, and when they do they still get chased out because they do not look like their birth gender anymore.

      Millions of dollars focused on specific genitals pissing and shitting in specific toilets.