The country is heavily into this nonsense about "bathroom bills" and the false notions that allowing transgender men and women to use restrooms in accordance to their gender identities will expose women and girls to danger from predators "pretending to be women" or simply walking in restrooms "claiming that they feel like women."
Of course a lot of us know that it's a bunch of bull, i.e. the latest moral panic created to exploit fear and religious beliefs about lgbts. But here is what you don't know. The bathroom predator talking point came from another anti-lgbt talking point.
When anti-lgbt groups were hot against ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), a main point was that it would create situations in which children were "held captive" in classrooms with transgender and "drag queen" teachers.
I kid you not, as the following graphics demonstrate:
However, none of these graphics and the lies told about transgender teachers were resonating with folks. Also, the huge fight about ENDA never took place.It was replaced by the battle over marriage equality.
But it wasn't that difficult for anti-lgbt groups to pivot an ugly spin about transgender teachers to that about "transgender predators in restrooms."
From this:
To this:
To finally:
It's all a bunch of cynical lies disguised as issues of genuine concern. And it always involve the semantic idea that lgbts will harm the most vulnerable, especially children. However, this mess is also very successful and will continue to be such until we continue to call it out for the ugly propaganda that it is.
Of course a lot of us know that it's a bunch of bull, i.e. the latest moral panic created to exploit fear and religious beliefs about lgbts. But here is what you don't know. The bathroom predator talking point came from another anti-lgbt talking point.
When anti-lgbt groups were hot against ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), a main point was that it would create situations in which children were "held captive" in classrooms with transgender and "drag queen" teachers.
I kid you not, as the following graphics demonstrate:
However, none of these graphics and the lies told about transgender teachers were resonating with folks. Also, the huge fight about ENDA never took place.It was replaced by the battle over marriage equality.
But it wasn't that difficult for anti-lgbt groups to pivot an ugly spin about transgender teachers to that about "transgender predators in restrooms."
From this:
To finally:
It's all a bunch of cynical lies disguised as issues of genuine concern. And it always involve the semantic idea that lgbts will harm the most vulnerable, especially children. However, this mess is also very successful and will continue to be such until we continue to call it out for the ugly propaganda that it is.
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