You are to assume that that individual is someone who's "transgendered," and has all the rights in the world to use the women's facilities, while you, being an ordinary chick, have no right to be upset about it. At least, that's the message implicit in this story:
[Cindy] Hockham explained that two weeks ago she was changing in the women’s locker room of the [Caledon Centre for Recreation and Wellness] CCRW. She was disrobed when a man passed her to get to another part of the room, and at first she was upset.
However, she had a feeling there was more to the situation than just a man deciding to barge into the woman’s change room, and decided it best to speak to town staff at the centre.
She said she asked if a transgendered person was using the women’s washroom facilities.
The Hockhams sent their letter to members of Caledon council, telling The Enterprise that as of Monday morning, they had yet to hear back from anyone except for Ward 1 Regional Councillor Richard Paterak, who informed them he would approach their questions with town staff.
Ward 3 and 4 Regional Councillor Richard Whitehead said he simply wants to find out more. He said he can understand Mrs. Hockham feeling vulnerable, but for now, he only has one side of the story. He has not spoken with town staff about how they handled the situation. He has not found out what town's policy would be, or even if there is one, and needs to know more before commenting.
We know what the town's policy would be. It's articulated by the Ontario "Human Rights" Commission's crackpot-in-chief, Barbara Hall. In a letter to the editor of the Toronto Star, Hall explained that
someone in the midst of the decision making process for this kind of lifestyle change is considered whichever sexual orientation they choose to identify with.
“Also, there is no new transgender “bathroom” policy,” Hall wrote. “For more than 15 years, transgender people in Ontario have had the legal right to use the washroom – or changeroom – according to their lived gender identity. The elected Ontario legislature, not the human rights tribunal, put these laws in place. These laws were reinforced by Toby’s Act, in June 2012.
“We also see continued calls to segregate transgender people into separate bathroom and changing spaces, for the good of the larger majority. This is a practice based on fear and stereotypes, and is exactly opposite the vision of Ontario’s Human Rights Code, which is to build an Ontario based on inclusion, where everyone feels a part of and is able to contribute to the community.
“The Ontario Human Rights Code exists to benefit all Ontarians, including transgender people, who often have a daily battle to overcome the barriers that misunderstanding, fear and intolerance cause.”
I hate to inject a note of sanity here, where, clearly, it's out of place, but in the absence of any evidence, why should we assume that the dude in the change room was in fact "transgendered" and wasn't, you know, just some pervy peeping Tom who's an all-male man? And isn't there something wrong about a "human rights" ethos that accords all the rights to the real or fake transgendered, and none at all to women who feel uncomfortable getting nekkid in their presence?
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