In this day and age, a company being behind on the times is like social suicide. If a company goes against what the majority of its customers desire, the consequences could cost the business major profit. However, what if the company’s customers are going against what is the right thing to do?
Last week, Target announced its support for allowing transgender workers and customers to use restrooms and fitting rooms of their chosen gender identity.
“Inclusivity is a core belief at Target,” the store said on its blog.
“It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.”
However, the American Family Association, a conservative Christian activist group, decided that the new rule was too trans-inclusive and started a petition on Wednesday that now has more than half a million signatures.
The activist group claims that the retail giant’s new regulation would allow sexual predators to use the rule to their advantage, putting women and young girls in harms way because “a man can simply say he ‘feels like a woman today’ and enter the women’s restroom.”
NPR Media Matters argues that correlating transgender rights with an increase in sexual violence against men or women in public restrooms is beyond unrealistic.
On the other hand, the American Family Association claims that Target should arrange for there to be a single occupancy unisex bathroom, as well as separate gender-specific restrooms.
Since the AFA’s petition was published, another petition on Change.org has been posted, this one in support of Target.
“Transgender Americans are among the most vulnerable people in the nation – they face an epidemic of violence, particularly transgender women of color,” the petition reads.“It is time to stand up to the lies and the hate: transgender people are not a threat, they are just fellow human beings who want their basic dignity and humanity recognized.”
The petition currently needs 512 more signatures to reach its goal of 2,500 signatures.
It is about time a popular business acknowledges trans people’s struggles in the community and alleviates them of having to use bathrooms that cause extreme anxiety. The gender a person identifies with should be enough. Trans people deserve the right to choose their own bathroom; such a right should be guaranteed, not fought against.
Featured image via Flickr by Mike Kalasnik under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
