The Transgender Dictionary

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Transphobia

(also: bigotry, cissexism, transmisia)

Table of Contents

Introduction

While not something particularly pleasant to discuss, transphobia is extremely common in this day and age. Being able to acknowledge it, identify it, and confront it is highly important for the survival and continued existence of the transgender community.

One of the many purposes of this website is to provide accurate information on the transgender community. Transphobia is inherently based on misinformation and misunderstandings of the transgender community. While most of this website ignores its existence, this page (as well as the pages regarding gender critical, transandrophobia, transmedicalism, and transmisogyny) are focused on the the negative ways we are all too often treated for simply existing.

General Information

Transphobia is the fear of, hatred of, negative feelings towards, or aversion of those who are transsexual, transgender, or otherwise gender-non-conforming. Transphobia manifests in various ways, including (but not limited to) legal discrimination, violence, anger, bullying, corrective rape, murder, infantilization, sexualization, fearmongering, and forced detransition.

Transgender people are at higher risks of being victims of violence in public spaces, of being discriminated in housing or in the work force, and of being treated as outcasts.

Certain governments in the world are against the existance of transgender people, focusing efforts on attacking our rights instead of doing something productive. Unfortunately, there are many people who would rather see the death, detransition, and discrimination of the transgender community. There are people who are painfully close-minded who feel like the existance of someone slightly different from them is grounds for murder and medical discrimination.

Transphobes will often weaponize the existence of detransitioners as an excuse to abuse the transgender community as a whole.

Public Restrooms

Public restrooms are facilities in human beings go to relieve themselves while in public spaces. Restrooms are places for urination, defication, changing tampons or pads, washing/drying your hands, freshing up your appearance in the mirror, and sometimes changing clothing (if it happens to also be a locker room). Any human being existing in a public space needs to use one at some point. Even people living with full-time ostomy bags still have to empty those bags in the toilet.

Just like anyone else, transgender people also use public restrooms. Unfortunately, there have been various movements to try and restrict transgender people from being able to use the restrooms that align with their gender identities. These movements have sometimes even resulted in laws being passed, though the ability to enforce these laws is next to impossible.

Transgender people face increased rates of harassment and violence (often sexual in nature) in locations where laws have been passed to force them into the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their assigned genders at birth. Transgender youth are especially vunerable to being abused when forced to use locker rooms that do not align with their gender identities. These laws go hand in hand with baseless moral panics regarding the typical behavior of transgender people, encouraging increased attacks against trans people who are simply trying to urinate in public facilities as they go about their lives.

Many transgender people will avoid eating and drinking in public to avoid using the restrooms due to this increased risk of harassment and abuse. Transgender people are at an increased risk of UTIs due to avoiding public restrooms due to fear of violence. The increase in laws and moral panics surrounding using public restrooms has resulted in increased fear and anxiety experienced by transgender youth simply trying to exist. These ridiculous laws are meant to try and eradicate transgender people from public life.

It is exceedingly rare for children to be subject to sexual violence in public spaces such as restrooms. Transphobes who support laws restricting restroom access often make the completely baseless claim that these laws are "protecting" children. Seeing as how these laws have been directly linked to increased violence against transgender children and teens by their peers, the idea that they are protecting anyone can be easily disregarded as fiction.

Click to jump to corresponding external resources at the bottom of this page regarding public restrooms.

Click to jump to the [public restrooms] section of the [transandrophobia] page.

Click to jump to the [public restrooms] section of the [transmisogyny] page.