“If sex isn’t the All Mighty Binary Universal Constant that some people
think it is, why do they place so much importance on it? The easy answer
is that it gives them an excuse to misgender and exclude trans people,
and specifically trans women. They can pretend they’re just standing up
for science, but they’re really just saying that trans women aren’t
fully women and that trans men aren’t fully men. People need to start
learning about what sex really is and what social constructs really are.
People need to stop misusing biology and spreading ignorance and
misunderstanding.”
gaywrites:
This week, the U.S. Department of Education closed the case of Jayce M., a trans man attending the Christian school George Fox University who was denied on-campus housing because of his gender identity.
After being told several months ago that he couldn’t live on campus because he’s trans, Jayce filed a Title IX complaint with the Dept. of Ed., right around the same time the Dept. clarified that Title IX does protect trans students. But the school formally (and secretly) requested a religious exemption to Title IX’s trans student protections.
In a matter of a few short months, the school was granted a religious exemption allowing them to discriminate freely against transgender students. This process usually takes years.
Jayce is simply baffled the college he knows and loves has dug in like this. “I’m shocked and disappointed that the federal government has given George Fox permission to discriminate against me and is allowing it to do so with federal funds,” he says. “But I’m not giving up. I deserve to be treated like the other men on campus. Apparently, the university disagrees, as they have made clear by forcing me to live off-campus. The university is operating under the doctrine of ‘separate but equal,’ and the religious exemption they received now gives the government’s stamp of approval to what they are doing. My own tax dollars will fund the university’s discrimination against me. I don’t understand it and I don’t think it is fair.”
So, while Jayce waits to plan his future–doing so honestly and openly, it seems the ED and GFO choose stall tactics and subterfuge. While each of his peers can make plans and move forward, Jayce once again waits–on the outside. Because it’s in George Fox’s best “religious interests”?
I am so goddamn sick of hearing about religion as an excuse to deny people basic rights.
