A transgender teen in Virginia is suing his school after they have implemented a policy stating that transgender students must use the bathroom facilities designated for their biological sex.
Gavin Grimm, a 16 year old student at Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Va., came out as male in April 2014 and initially received a huge amount of support from his school. Gloucester High agreed to change his name in their records and allowed him to use the male restrooms on site.
Grimm’s transition was widely accepted by other students at the school and there are no records of any complaints made by his peers. However, parents of students (and even local adults with no ties the school) began to complain.
In meetings organized by the school, speakers referred to Grimm as a “young lady” and a “freak,” completely undermining his gender identity and demonstrating ignorance towards the LGBT community. Other speakers voiced concerns that by granting Grimm access to male restrooms, the school was enabling privacy breaches, and even acts of sexual assault, to take place.
Grimm has spoken out about finding himself in the center of this discrimination, saying:
“All I want to do is be a normal child and use the restroom in peace. I did not ask to be this way, and it’s one of the most difficult things anyone can face. This could be your child. I’m just a human. I’m just a boy.”
Since these meetings, the Gloucester High school board made the decision to ban Grimm from using the male bathroom facilities at the school and have stated that each student must use the facilities deemed appropriate for their “corresponding biological genders.”
The school has provided a set of three single stall toilets for Grimm’s use which have been labelled as ‘unisex.’ Forcing Grimm to use these unisex bathrooms or the restrooms specifically for girls undermines his gender identity and Grimm, quite rightly, made the decision to sue his school for access to the male bathroom facilities.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the school for violating Title IX of the 1972 education amendments prohibiting sexual discrimination which, as the ACLU lawyers argued, includes an individual’s transgender status. The ACLU lawyers stated that the school’s implementation of new regulations, whereby anyone with a “sincere gender identity issue” is provided with a private toilet facility, only further Grimm’s humiliation by acting as a constant reminder that he is “different.”
Grimm has the full support of the Obama administration, who have stated that it is a violation of federal law for schools to refuse transgender students the use of facilities that correspond with the gender that they identify with.
This incident is the latest in a string of public discrimination against the LGBT community, including a protest staged against this homecoming queen last month. Grimm has been praised by LGBT activists for taking a stand.
His case is becoming widely recognized as a civil rights issue at a time that when equality is being threatened by Republican legislators over a similar issue.
Featured image by MyDoorSign.com via Flickr, under this Creative commons license.
