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Much said recently about trans women potentially using currently ‘women-only spaces/facilities, based on: 1. facilitating/empowering their right to assert their identities; 2. Protecting them from exposure to potential harm/danger from some men if they used men’s facilities;
3. A contentious insistence by some that trans women ARE women and stating/believing otherwise equates to being “anti-trans” or “transphobic”; 4. The presumable impracticality and intrinsic discrimination of creating a “third space”.
There can be little argument presumably with reference to 1 & 4, and the question of 3 will continue to be contentious. But the question regarding the potential danger at the hands of men, though valid, seems to overlook the real and verifiable dangers of violence, harassment,
rape/sexual assault etc, to which most woman seem to be constantly exposed, primarily perpetrated by some men, & I, as a man, must question why society seems to be determined to ignore or appear to virtually condone (by admitting mitigation in sentencing of) men convicted of such
such crimes?
Protecting trans women against such crimes is reasonable and valid, but what about the very real possibility that such men could actively take advantage of this ability to invade women-only spaces with the sole intent of harming women? Are we being asked to decide
Protecting trans women against such crimes is reasonable and valid, but what about the very real possibility that such men could actively take advantage of this ability to invade women-only spaces with the sole intent of harming women? Are we being asked to decide
that one risk of harm somehow outweighs the other and therefore requires women to surrender their “spaces”? Even if we consider the likely small ratios of trans women involved? Have any contingencies been proposed to prevent such harm being done to either women or trans women
in the event that such a sharing of spaces will happen? These are some of the real concerns which need to be addressed and which cannot be answered if, by simply raising them, could lead to accusations of bigotry or transphobia.
