In the article, "Maine Court Rules in Favor of Transgender Pupil" by David Sharp, the Maine high court overturned a ruling that school officials acted within its discretion when barring a fifth grade transgender student from using the women's restroom. Biological male, Nicole Maines, was forced to use a staff restroom instead of the one designated for students. According to the article, this is one of the first rulings in which a state high court concluded that a transgender individual should use the restroom of the gender they identify with. This article focuses on the motif of discrimination. Maines used the girls restroom until the grandparent of another student complained. By barring Nicole Maines from using the girl's bathroom, the school discriminated against her gender identity.
This ruling is both controversial and progressive. As the readings from last week explained, the millennial generation surveyed as being open-minded about various political issues. Not many hot button issues require more open mindedness than that of equal rights for the LGBT community. Since most of these rulings are starting to come to fruition now, it will be very interesting to see if society continues to rule in favor of gay rights. As the next generation starts to take over more high office positions, it will be very telling if the millennial generation can have a similar nationwide impact to that of the civil, and women rights movements of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
Great article! And excellent connection to the class readings. I want to hear more about this, so we'll talk about it in class. :)
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