Last week was key in the unrelenting fight for societal equality – a fight that will continue as it has on an infinite spectrum, using countless creative methods of purpose.

The GLAAD awards (formerly the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) honored members and non-members of the LGBTQ community on Saturday; Tuesday was International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and the Department of Justice pursued a lawsuit against North Carolina for what can arguably be deemed active discrimination.

Also important, the Obama administration issued a national directive outlining rules and regulations that public schools should follow to ensure that students remain free of gender discrimination.

The directive, signed by both the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, states, “A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so.” 

Additionally, the letter – a copy of which was sent to and reported on by the New York Times – states that once a student’s parent or legal guardian establishes gender identity, the student will be treated accordingly to that identity.

Note that the letter is merely a guideline to public schools. It is an outline for treating human beings as they should be treated – with dignity and respect. 

Unfortunately, parts of the U.S. are not ready for equality, nor are they willing to implement respect … spoiler, there’s an abundance down south.

Alabama State School Board representatives are imposing a reversal, and Texas Republicans are rallying to fight against what some consider blackmail. Moreover, Mississippi legislature is rejecting what their Republican Governor feels is an act of force and many Republican-leaning states are following suit. 

One of the largest concerns – religious freedom notwithstanding – is that full and equal access to bathrooms will increase sexual assault.

Not true.

In eight out of 10 cases of sexual assault, the victim knows and often has a personal connection to the perpetrator, said Laura Palumbo, communication director at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. 

As such, perpetrators are unlikely to be strangers. I would argue that strangers are often found in bathrooms. Numbers are crucial to the conversation – please do not disregard them.

Sixty-four percent of transgender individuals will experience sexual assault in their lifetime in addition to a “combination of anti-transgender bias and persistent, structural racism,” according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality.

Claiming that equal access to facilities – locker rooms, bathrooms, etc. – increases sexual assault is a scare tactic by individuals who are unaware of the issue or are too ignorant to understand the causal mechanism behind sexual assault.  

This tired conversation is null and void and should not be considered in reference to gender equality.

Regardless of gender identity or bathroom choice, the sick reality is that those seeking to sexually assault are going to find or manufacture means to meet their ends.

Good news, however; in a quiet, yet still roaring bout of gender equality reform, Washington state implemented a set of rules last December – called the Washington State Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) – protecting transgender individuals from discrimination.

One WLAD law in particular requires that all gender segregated facilities, including those in public schools, allow individuals to use the facilities consistent with the individual’s gender expression or identity.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) built on that law, also requiring that public school officials allow transgender students to wear clothing that matches their gender identity, call students by the appropriate name and pronoun and accommodate transgender athletes. 

Feel pride, Washington.

We are one of the few states to brandish blatant equality and one of the first to pass anti-discrimination legislation protecting a historically underrepresented and marginalized group of systemically oppressed individuals.

It is pertinent here to note the different between gender identity and sexual orientation as the two are often misunderstood yet somehow drudged into the discussion.

A leading voice and authority on civil and social rights, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), defines sexual orientation as, “An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people.”

An abridged version of the HRC definition of gender identity is “one’s innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither.”

Sexual orientation is attraction. Gender identity refers to how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves, regardless of attraction. The two are not one, and the definitions alone are proof positive that in no way should societal perceptions of traditional attraction infringe upon a person gender identity. 

The letter, issued Friday, will not only inform public schools on the correct ways to recognize and value others, but will also highlight other states’ policies in regards to implementing much needed change in national gender reform.

The national conversation is starting, but the fight for gender equality has never stopped. An increased of support is still needed, however, and the message from the federal government is one step of the many to come in the right direction. 

Tyler Delong is a senior communication major from Moses Lake. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of the Office of Student Media.