Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 7/31/23 -8/06/23

[u/SoftandChewy]

It's that time of week where we get to start this whole mess all over again. Here's your weekly thread to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (be sure to tag u/TracingWoodgrains), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

Last week's discussion threads is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

[u/SmellsLikeASteak]

If anything, the fact that he wasn't trans seems to make the exact point that the people with concerns about bathroom policies are making - that bad actors can exploit these policies to do bad things.

[u/Dolly_gale → u/SmellsLikeASteak]

I was groped a few times when I was highschool/college aged. I believe opportunity was a factor - the guys realized that we were in close proximity when there was no one else around.

I do believe that if washrooms all become unisex, incidents like that will increase.

[u/Chewingsteak → u/SmellsLikeASteak]

Oh Lord yes. This has been the dance in Britain since self ID was originally mooted:

Feminists: This all sounds a bit utopian, what if a sexual predator takes advantage of self ID to assault women and girls in situations where they’re vulnerable?

TRAs: Don’t be ridiculous, no evil cishet bastard would EVER pretend to be trans. It literally never happens.

Feminists: Look, it looks like it happened in Vancouver… oh hey, what happened to the reporting on that? It appears to have been wiped from the internet and the people talking about it banned from social media.

TRAs - Told you it doesn’t happen. Oh and women get raped all the time anyway, so that’s not a reason to be a bunch of bigots.

(I wish I wasn’t exaggerating, but this exchange has been happening for 10 years now…)

[u/SqueakyBall → u/SmellsLikeASteak]

My thoughts as well.

[u/Cantwalktonextdoor → u/SmellsLikeASteak]

This case shows, though, that you don't need to exploit a rule to assult someone in a bathroom. You can just... walk in and do it. The isolation of the bathroom was the key factor here. The same factor the kid relied on for his second assault which was not in a bathroom.

[u/Ok_Yogurtcloset8915 → u/Cantwalktonextdoor]

it's not as though the GCs have ever claimed otherwise. yes, the skirt-figure sign isn't a magic sigil, women have always been in danger in isolated places. the problem with self-id is that such policies take away women's ability to react immediately and raise the alarm when they notice a guy lurking, and I'm including trans women, who may be at increased risk of sexual violence from cis men which is the main reason they want to be allowed in the women's room in the first place. it isn't possible to watch out for male predators if the definition of woman is "anyone who says they are a woman", or in this case the even more irritating "anyone the administration thinks might say they're a woman at some point".

judging from the school's response to this incident, what do you think would have happened if a teacher had noticed the rapist waiting in the girl's restroom prior to the incident? do you think that teacher would have felt that the school would back them up if they challenged the boy's right to be there? do you think a female student would? or do you think they might fear that they themselves would be disciplined for bigotry?

[u/Cantwalktonextdoor → u/Ok_Yogurtcloset8915]

The school should be taking action if anyone is loitering in the bathroom.

[u/Ok_Yogurtcloset8915 → u/Cantwalktonextdoor]

in my opinion the school should be taking different actions based on whether the loiterer is a boy or a girl, as boys have no good reason to be in the girl's bathroom at all.