Bathroom issue

Solutions to imaginary problems

For some time, I have been fascinated by our feverish commitment to solve problems that do not exist. For example, several states, now including Arkansas, seem terrified that transgender youth will use the public bathroom they feel is appropriate to their new gender. The fear is that they will commit sex crimes once they have gained entry to the bathroom they weren’t born to. “Boys” now identifying as “girls” will either ogle or even rape the “real” girls.

This issue was brought to national attention when North Carolina in 2016 passed HB2, which specified that “Public Agencies shall require every multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facility to be designated for and only used by persons based on their biological sex.”

The law was subsequently declared in violation of federal civil rights legislation, but the drama was not over. Before leaving the Republican presidential primary, Sen. Ted

Cruz expressed his wholehearted opposition to transgender bathroom privileges, while Donald Trump initially seemed sympathetic to transgenders’ full bladders, but he quickly changed positions when attacked from the right.

I am told that all public restrooms for women consist of enclosed stalls. Thus it seems unlikely that a trans woman using a women’s room would result in the display or viewing of opposite-sex genitalia. Apparently there’s something upsetting about just knowing that a biological man entered the facility, but it seems unlikely that you would know.

I imagine that those women who say they would feel uncomfortable if a trans woman entered their restroom have already had that happen, more than once, but they didn’t know it. Hence, they weren’t uncomfortable after all.

Going a step beyond mere discomfort, as I’ve mentioned, there are some women who are genuinely fearful. There’s no denying the very real problem of men abusing women, sexually and otherwise. However, I can find no record of a trans woman molesting women or girls in a public restroom.

A recent Web poster points out that more Republican ministers have been arrested for sexual offenses in public restrooms. Without denying that the fears some women have are real for them, those fears are apparently groundless, like the fear of zombies or vampires. This is clearly a “solution” without a “problem.” In fact, it could be argued that transgender use of public restrooms was not even seen as a problem until laws like HB2 drew attention to the matter and made it a political issue.

While a law discriminating against any particular group of people has negative consequences for members of that group, substantial public damage was done to the great state of North Carolina and its economy. Seeing the law as blatantly anti-LGBT, numerous individuals and organizations retaliated against the state.

Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, and other performers canceled concerts scheduled in North Carolina. Others, like Jimmy Buffett and Gregg Allman, said they would keep scheduled concert dates, but were very vocal in condemning the law. Mumford and Sons and Cyndi Lauper said they would perform as scheduled but would donate all profits to LGBTQ rights organizations and efforts to repeal the law.

Prior to the law’s passage, PayPal was planning to build a $3.6 million operations center in Charlotte. Those plans were canceled in protest of the law. Deutsche Bank had planned an expansion that would have provide 250 new jobs to the state. Plan canceled.

The Center for Social Responsibility reported that nearly 1,700 companies were withdrawing from North Carolina in protest to the law. Like other solutions without problems, these ill-conceived bathroom bills are like using a shotgun to kill the mosquito on your foot—when there isn’t even a mosquito there.

On May 4, 2016, the U.S. Justice Department ruled HB2 in violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act and Title IX. That circumstance would result in North Carolina losing all federal grants, totaling billions of dollars. As noted above, this issue is still in flux.

The issue may ultimately be resolved as suggested by comedian and social critic Bill Maher: “If you look like a woman, use the women’s room, if you look like a man, use the men’s room. If you’re a bearded dude in a dress, just hold it until you get home.” When you think about it, Maher’s prescription is simply for a continuation of past practices.

Now let me be clear that I do not approve of ogling or rape—if it actually happened. Strangely, there is no evidence that it has.

Dr. Earl Babbie of Hot Springs Village is the Campbell professor emeritus in behavioral sciences at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. This column is based on a book he is writing, “Solutions Without Problems.”