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变性人应该使用男浴室还是女浴室?

时间:2016-05-08 07:05:07

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What Bathroom Should Transgender People Use? 变性人应该使用男浴室还是女浴室?

The latest issue dividing Americans is about public bathrooms.

At issue is what bathroom -- men’s or women’s – transgender people should use. Transgender people are born with male or female bodies, but feel they were born into the wrong sex, according to the Intersex Society of North America.

The bathroom dispute is even more divisive than other cultural issues, such as same-sex marriage.

People can choose to attend weddings of same-sex couples or to get married to a same-sex partner. But going to a public bathroom is something most people can’t avoid.

North Carolina law sparks debate

North Carolina recently passed a law requiring people to use public bathrooms for the sex listed on their birth certificates. There are calls for similar laws in other states.

Supporters say such laws are needed to protect women and children from sexual attacks.

Peter Sprigg is a senior fellow at the conservative Family Research Council. He said people using public bathrooms or locker1 rooms have “always been able to count on being separated” from people of the opposite sex.

Opponents of the North Carolina law say it is dangerous to transgender people – making it hard for them to do something as normal and necessary as going to the bathroom.

One of the best-known transgender people is Caitlyn Jenner. She was formerly2 known as Bruce Jenner, an Olympic gold medal winner.

She wrote that allowing transgender people to use the “right bathroom” is not dangerous. There have been “no increases” in sexual assaults in the states and cities that have laws protecting transgender people from discrimination.

She said the North Carolina law would lead people to demand “that women and girls prove they are actually female” to use a bathroom.

Some people have called for boycotts4 of North Carolina and Mississippi, which passed a law allowing businesses to refuse service to same-sex couples. A boycott3 is when people deny business to a state, company or other group.

A transgender experience

Payton McGarry, 20, is one of those who oppose the bathroom law in North Carolina. He is suing to remove the law.

McGarry said his birth certificate says he was born a girl. But he felt like a male since he was a young child.

Since he started getting hormone5 treatments two years ago, his voice has deepened and his face and body became more masculine in appearance, according to his lawsuit6.

McGarry said that would make it uncomfortable both for him and for women using a women’s bathroom. In high school, he said he got pushed and hit “every time I went into a female bathroom.”

The North Carolina law says people can use either the bathrooms for the sex listed on birth certificates, or bathrooms for both sexes.

But McGarry said there are very few bathrooms for both males and females at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he is about to enter his junior year.

“Being able to go the bathroom is something that we all need to do,” he told VOA.

Boycott from both sides of the dispute

Musicians Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Nick Jonas cancelled concerts in North Carolina because they view the bathroom law as discriminatory. And New York State joined the cities of Seattle and San Francisco in banning most government funded trips to North Carolina.

The National Basketball Association and the National Collegiate Athletic7 Association said they may move sporting events outside North Carolina in protest.

A number of American businesses, including American Airlines, Apple and Dow Chemical have also criticized the law.

One business, Target, has nearly 1,800 stores across the U.S. About 50 stores are in North Carolina. Target said customers and employees could choose the bathroom they feel most comfortable using at the stores.

The American Family Association recently called for a boycott of Target. Tim Wildmon is the president of the association.

He said Target’s policy: “Means a man can simply say he ‘feels like a woman today’ and enter” the women's bathroom – “even if young girls or women are already in there.”

Target responded by saying that it understands some people might disagree with the store’s policy. And that it offers small bathrooms at many stores for use by both men and women.

“As a company that firmly stands behind what it means to offer our team an inclusive place to work — and our guests an inclusive place to shop — we continue to believe that this is the right thing for Target,” the company said.

What will happen with the dispute?

The bathroom issue is also subject of a court case in Virginia. A court-ruled April 18 that a Virginia school board was wrong to stop transgender student Gavin Grimm, 16, from using the boys’ bathroom at his high school.

The court said that policy is discriminatory. The ruling could help those suing over North Carolina’s transgender bathroom rule.

Words in This Story

bathroom – n. a room in a public place with a toilet and sink

birth certificate – n. a document that lists your date and place of birth

wedding – n. a marriage ceremony

sue – n. to use a legal process by which you try to get a court of law to force a person, company, or organization that has treated you unfairly or hurt you in some way to give you something or to do something

hormone – n. natural substance that is produced in the body and that influences the way the body grows or develops

masculine – adj. of, relating to, or suited to men or boys

uncomfortable – adj. causing a feeling of physical discomfort8

locker room – n. a place where people change clothing and, in many cases, take a shower

inclusive – adj. open to everyone


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 locker 8pzzYm     
n.更衣箱,储物柜,冷藏室,上锁的人
参考例句:
  • At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
  • He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。
2 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
3 boycott EW3zC     
n./v.(联合)抵制,拒绝参与
参考例句:
  • We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
  • The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。
4 boycotts 01a41a22ef4afb3e397c7f6affec9eb0     
(对某事物的)抵制( boycott的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉,还附带进行静坐抗议。
  • Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢?
5 hormone uyky3     
n.荷尔蒙,激素,内分泌
参考例句:
  • Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
  • This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
6 lawsuit A14xy     
n.诉讼,控诉
参考例句:
  • They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
  • He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。
7 athletic sOPy8     
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的
参考例句:
  • This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
  • He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
8 discomfort cuvxN     
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便
参考例句:
  • One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
  • She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

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