‘You Really Want Me In The Same Bathroom As Your Husband?’: Transgender Woman Says LGBT Community Needs Protection
A transgender woman, Kelly Lauren, has taken to social media to bash Houston, Texas, for failing to pass Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). The ordinance would have “banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” However, one of the main complaints of those who voted against the proposal was the potential for a transgender woman to use the women’s restroom and vice versa. In response to the failure to pass the anti-discrimination ordinance, Lauren posted a photo to her Facebook account that showed what it would look like if she entered a men’s restroom and asked women, “Do you really want me in the same bathroom as your husband?”
In response to the failure to pass Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), transgender performer Kelly Lauren used a little comedy to point out why she believes the measure should have passed without question. Lauren is a drag performer at Hydrate Nightclub in Chicago and identifies as a female. The performer tells the Huffington Post that no woman should want her in a men’s restroom with her husband because she could “get into trouble” because she is “that kind of girl.”
“I am 54 years old and have been performing for about 37 years as a drag entertainer. I am transgender… The picture was taken several months ago but I reposted it when all of this nonsense happened… All I have to say is that I would get in way more trouble in the men’s room than I could ever possibly in the women’s restroom because I am that kind of girl.”
The photograph shows Lauren standing in a men’s restroom in full women’s attire, the men can be seen staring at her low-cut top as she watches them use the restroom.
Kelly isn’t the only transgender woman speaking out about the failure to pass HERO. Krystal Summers also posted to her Facebook acting confused as to why any woman would be comfortable with their man in the same bathroom with her, noting that it is “not very smart” because many men “already have a wandering eye.”
Since posting the image to Facebook, Lauren has received lots of messages of support. Social media in general seems to be siding with Kelly Lauren that they would not want her in the bathroom with men, while others simply note they would rather have a transgender person in their restroom than many other common annoyances they face.
You don’t want a transgender woman in the ladies room? Well I don’t want Sue who gabs on her cell phone when I am peeing. Get over it. #HERO
— Carol Fitzpatrick (@crl_fitzpatrick) November 4, 2015
Others just wanted to know why transgender woman even uses the men’s restroom anyway, as there wouldn’t be a bathroom check station asking to see your female or male parts before entering.
#hero failed in Houston over the bathroom issue; what transgender woman uses the men’s room? What about equality? We all lost today. — Thrilla (@Frontrunning) November 4, 2015
Advocates for the bill claim that the opposition won by focusing on the bathroom issue and even dubbing HERO “the bathroom bill.” Of specific concern was the wording of the bill, which could potentially allow a person to use any restroom they pleased by simply stating they identified as a person of the other gender despite not legally changing their name, undergoing surgery or having hormone treatments.
What do you think about Kelly Lauren’s response Houston’s voters decided not to pass HERO? Do you think the vote truly lost over the bathroom issue or was there more to the loss than just gender identify and restroom use?
[Image via Facebook/ Kelly Lauren]
