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Letters to the EditorEditor, While I appreciate the efforts of The Post staff to be inclusive and to address issues pertinent to the community of both Athens and Ohio University, I was disappointed with the article and editorial about the unisex bathrooms on campus. More specifically, I think the way in which "trans" people were defined and characterized to the reading audience was grievously inaccurate. It is important when speaking about a topic, about which many reading The Post may be unfamiliar, to be as accurate as possible. Collapsing the term transgender to only specifically mean transsexual does a disservice to the readership of The Post and more importantly to trans-people themselves. First, the writers confused the terms sex and gender. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are distinct. Sex refers to an act, an intimacy between one or more bodies. Gender, on the other hand, is a system of classification. Gender is how we define people in terms of biological gender (which is assigned at birth), perceived gender, self-concept, etc. Gender is the system used to divide us and oppress us, and when I say that I mean every last one of us. It is, therefore, clear that these terms, sex and gender, are not one in the same. As well, being politically transgender means that one seeks to explode and demolish gender binaries. Therefore, the assertion that trans-people act in such a way as to appear as the "opposite gender of their biological sex" makes absolutely no sense. There is no opposite here. The assertion that many trans-folks view gender as a spectrum is more accurate but still falls short. Many see gender as an infinite diversity of expression, not confined by space limitations of such things as a spectrum, which implies two end points and a defined space in between. I do not claim to speak for all trans-people, I am trying to say that while the article and editorial were well intentioned, the information was not as accurate as possible and ignored those who define themselves as trans, not necessarily transsexual. Being trans is about rebelling against "supposed to"s or "should have"s. Being trans is about creating more space for all of us to choose and practice our myriad of gender expressions safely and consentually. Trans is not about opposites or how you look, its about smashing binaries and creating space. Collin Parker Lovell, |