6-year-old Coy Mathis is a transgender individual who was born male and first identified as a girl at 18 months. Coy was banned from using the girls' restroom at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, CO in December 2012. Coy was “passing” as a girl; passing meaning to the eye no person would have any doubt that there is anything different about Coy as a little girl. Coy, who dresses as a girl and is recognized as female on her passport and state I.D., had no issue with using the girls' bathroom prior to this incident. After a year without any issues, Coy's parents were informed that, "Coy was no longer going to be able to use the girls' restroom and they were going to require her to be using the boys' room or the staff bathroom or the bathroom for the sick children." (CNN,2013) Mathis' parents soon filed a complaint with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Since 1924 the gay rights movement striving for equality has swept the United States especially in regards to the media (Information Please Database, 2014). Great progress has been made for the acceptance of those who differ from the norm. However, it seems the struggle for people that are transgender has made less progress. Being transgender, as defined by the Merriam-Webster, is when a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex assigned at birth due to genitalia. Due to the fact that transgender individuals are still seen as abnormal in many peoples’ eyes, the idea that gender cannot be determined at birth and is actually determined by the mind of a person is not widely accepted. A lot of people struggle with this concept and find it extremely difficult to imagine being born into the wrong body if they are cisgender (the organs you are born with match the gender in the brain).

This issue has made lots of aspects of life difficult for children who know that they are transgender at a very early age. In particular, bathrooms at school are an extremely pressing issue. Transgender kids and teens are having their personal rights and freedoms stripped from them by being forced into bathrooms of a gender they do not identify with. It is degrading and being a teenager is difficult enough as is, these kids should be getting support starting on a school level. Although it may seem absurd to let someone use a bathroom that has different organs, in actuality there is no issue because the bathrooms are broken up by gender not by body parts. There is a saying that sums this idea of having gender and sex being separate entities; gender is between your ears, sex is what is between your legs, and sexuality is between the sheets.

One person who made a case against allowing the law to be passed that grant transgender children to use the bathroom of their choice is Jack Hibbs. Hibbs is a Pastor in California, a state that is attempting to pass legislation granting rights to transgender individuals. One of Hibbs’ main arguments is that “Teenage boys will do whatever they can to sneak a peek at some girls in the school while they are in the bathroom. Some kid will pull a stunt and claim to be transgender just so he can get access to the girls’ restroom, claiming he had the right under the California law (Kyle Mantyla, Right Wing Watch, 2014) He even goes further to say that this “peeping Tom” will encounter bullying and harassment from other kids after being seen coming out of the girls bathroom.

Another argument that has been made is that there will be inappropriate conduct and harassment from transgender students to cisgender students. A woman in California stated that the transgender girl at her daughter’s school was a sexual predator. In the investigation, nothing has been found to prove her claim correct, and many believe that this is an act to have the state of California repeal its laws protecting transgender students.

Although there are some valid points in these arguments, they are both illogical. There will always be little boys that will pull pranks and will attempt to go into a girl’s bathroom. The argument about trans kids being a sexual predators hasn’t been proven and was most likely started by a close-minded individual who only sees gender as male and female based on the body parts you were given at birth. Furthermore, both arguments only hold true to a specific case.
The overall result of passing laws like California is attempting to do would be a great benefit to thousands of kids across America. In fact, it is estimated that there are around 10,000 children in the United States that have significant gender identity problems and are experiencing discrimination (CNN, May 18, 2014). The statistics prove that one case of a crazy teenager won’t have a very large negative effect in comparison to the massive positive effect it will have for transgender teens and kids.

Although there is controversy and debates about which bathroom transgender individuals should use, there are many instances where the idea of civil rights and morality wins out. There is already large-scale progress being made to grant rights to transgender students throughout America. Currently, there are 16 states, plus Washington DC, that have explicit no-discrimination laws (American Civil Liberties Union, 2003). California has always been a leader in advancing the LGBT communities rights. California’s School Success and Opportunity Act was signed on August 12, 2013 and went into effect on January 1, 2014, allowing allowed transgender students to use all facilities and participate in programs that match their gender identities. One of the most significant things about this is that there have been no incidents of anyone pretending to be transgender, proving more over the falsity of the claims Hibbs was making.
As if that isn’t enough, there is already a law in place that should be protecting all transgender students from harassment based on gender at school because of its federal status. Title IX of the Education Amendment Acts of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funds. Moreover, it bans harassment based on a student’s departure from traditional gender stereotypes. However, many courts are still struggling with this issue (American Civil Liberties Union, 2003). Once again, the primary issue comes down to the opposing beliefs that there are only two genders defined by the organs a person is born with, and the belief that there can be many genders and gender is based off of an individual’s mind and their personal identification.

In conclusion, children—no matter their gender—should be taken care of and protected. Refusing to pass laws concerning the rights of transgender individuals is reinforcing discrimination and is discriminatory in its self. Nationwide legislation should be passed to guarantee these individuals their gender rights. It is baffling that it does not already exist. There should not be an issue with making a child or teenager feel comfortable at school. At the end of the day, we are all human beings striving to figure out who we are. No one has the right to tell someone who they are not. No person has the right to tell someone what their gender is, or and what they can and cannot do based on that specific gender.