As the visible presence of transgender people in society continues to increase, we probably shouldn’t be overly surprised that young transpeople will also become more visible.? Yet, it’s apparently a shock to some that transgender children even exist, much less that they actually have needs.? In a welcome turn of events, it now appears that trans kids even have some civil rights–at least in Colorado.?
Coy Mathis is an adorable child who is six years old, a first grader, biologically male, and has apparently always known she was a girl. ?
(For the uninitiated, male and female are biological terms. ?Man, woman, boy, and girl are cultural gender terms.? Therefore, it is entirely possible for a biological male child to be a girl.? It’s different, yes, but far from impossible.)?
Coy’s suburban Colorado Springs school district, located in the same general geographical area as uberconservative religious group Focus on the Family, didn’t want Coy using the same restroom as the other girls in her school.? Extremists can seemingly always find a reason to create trouble for those they arbitrarily choose to hate.?
Coy’s family responded by:
- ?filing a discrimination complaint with the Colorado Division of Civil Rights;
- ?moving to the Denver suburb of Aurora, and
- ?homeschooling Coy. ??
On June 18th, the Colorado Division of Civil Rights issued a letter stating that they were ruling in favor of Coy.? The bigots lost this one, and young trans kids in Colorado now have a reason to be optimistic that they, too, will be able to use the restroom that’s appropriate for them in school.?
The struggle for transgender rights continues to be long and arduous, in no small part because most people don’t know that much about the transgender phenomenon.? Often, what they do know–or think they know–is either inaccurate or misinformed.? This, in turn, leads to much misunderstanding and general obstruction of progress for transpeople.? That’s why it is encouraging when the good guys occasionally win (and can go to the bathroom in peace).?
Perhaps Coy’s situation will be a harbinger of civil rights cases to come for transgender people.? Equality is for everyone, or so we’re told.? If that’s true, then equal rights for transpeople must eventually become the law of the land and across the board.? For now, we know this much: a little transgender girl in Colorado can use the girl’s restroom, and that is a sign of progress.?
Edited and published by CB
