Following a flush of anti-trans bills, a student in Oklahoma named Emery Jenkins was suspended three times for using the correct bathroom. Her statement on the matter was, “I am a woman; therefore, I use the women’s restroom. It’s unfair of them to take that away from me. I shouldn’t have to leave for a select few who are uncomfortable.”
This resulted in two schools having students walk out in protest against Senate Bill 615, which states that individuals must use restrooms and changing areas related to their biological sex. This bill has been praised by those who wrote it as “common sense,” with Senator David Bullard claiming, “The fact is, there are only two sexes: male and female. Our kids deserve and demand privacy and protection, and in Oklahoma, they will now get it.”
Not only does this completely alienate intersex individuals, but it also disregards gender entirely and is very discriminatory. This is not creating privacy; this is creating dangerous situations for trans youth. Trans women are far more likely to be attacked for simply existing than to attack someone in the women’s restroom, despite what many TERFs and anti-trans bigots say. According to the Human Rights Campaign, out of 32 known cases of murder of trans individuals in the US, 27 of them are trans women. Many of these cases go unreported or misreported.
On Friday, October 21, many students walked out and chanted slogans such as, “Trans people are not a threat, we are tired and upset.” Alongside students, many teachers, faculty, parents, and community members also protested.
The lack of equity and equality for students in these schools is taking a horrible toll on their mental health. Several students spoke out to KOKO.
“I’ve started to slip in my classes due to the stress of just dealing with the next thing at school. I’m missing so much school for being suspended for using the women’s restroom,” says Emery Jenkins.
“It enables discrimination and also like the bathrooms that we have available to go to, like the gender-neutral bathrooms, they’re not equidistant from all of the classrooms, like there are only one or two in the entire school,” says Darcy Spivey.
