Flushing away scientists
Upcoming Supreme Court case may limit the participation of transgender people in STEM for generations to come
Gavin Grimm v Gloucester County School Board may end up being the biggest human rights Supreme Court case of the year, but chances are, you haven’t heard about it. It hasn’t garnered the public attention of Obergefell v Hodges. Yet this will be the first time in history that the Supreme Court has heard a case on transgender rights.
Gavin Grimm is a student at Gloucester High School in Virginia. He wants one simple thing: to use the men’s restroom at school. However, because he is transgender, the school board banned him from doing so. This case will determine whether Title IX, which protects against sex-based discrimination in all educational institutions (including colleges and universities), also protects transgender people.
This happens at a time when science as field is struggling to find its political voice. Debate rages over whether the March for Science needs to concern itself with such “identity politics.” Even the March for Science goals and principles make no mention of equity, inclusion, or standing up for the basic human rights of people doing science. What has been forgotten is that, for some scientists, these issues are not about being “on the right side of history,” but about survival.
I dare you to try it: go an entire work day without using a gendered restroom. If you have access to a gender neutral restroom, even if it’s in the building next door, consider yourself lucky. But be warned: avoiding the restroom can have adverse effects on your health, including dehydration, urinary tract infections, and kidney infections. Try learning or teaching quantum mechanics with all of that to contend with.
Transgender people are scientists and science students. We are already in classrooms and labs across the country. And we cannot continue to learn about or participate in science without access to restrooms.
G.G. v Gloucester County School Board will decide whether transgender people can participate in science for generations to come. Without access to restrooms in school and in the workplace, earning advanced degrees and working in STEM will quickly become beyond the reach of transgender people.
This is not a new problem for science and scientists, but one that remains largely unaddressed. Many states, most infamously North Carolina, have already implemented or are considering implementing legislation that limit restroom use based on an individual’s “original” birth certificate, “anatomy… existing at the time of birth,” or even chromosomes. These so-called “bathroom bills” largely target transgender women and rally support using fear-mongering based on bigoted, transphobic stereotypes of trans women as predatory or sexually deviant. Depending on the outcome of G.G. v Gloucester County School Board, it will be fair game for states, school boards, and schools to pass and enforce such rules and legislation.
I hope scientists can begin viewing human rights not as a distracting issue or political debate, but as the necessary precondition to doing science. Yet most scientists and scientific organizations remain silent on this issue. We are at risk of losing generations of bright, inquisitive minds over something as ridiculous as bathrooms. Start paying attention. Start speaking up.
