The mere act of walking through the door of a public bathroom or locker-room can be a stressful, scary experience for some transgender or gender-nonconforming (TGNC) young people. Bathrooms and locker rooms tend to invite extra scrutiny of people’s appearance based on comparisons to gender stereotypes, whether at school, a gym or a public place.

The bottom line is that everyone should be allowed to use the restroom or locker room that matches their gender identity, regardless of whether they are making a gender transition or appear gender-nonconforming.

There is no rule that you must look a certain way to use a certain restroom. That’s “gender policing” and it’s harmful to everyone, whether a transgender person, a butch woman, an effeminate man or anyone dressed or groomed in a way that doesn’t conform to someone else’s gender standards. Not to mention the possibility of harming yourself by “holding it”—putting off using a bathroom out of fear or intimidation.

If you’re stopped or harassed, make sure you’re safe and then report the incident to police, school administrators or other authorities. You do have the law on your side: Courts have increasingly found that discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination, so it’s not acceptable to institute different kinds of bathroom rules for transgender and non-transgender people.

To read more, read Lambda Legal’s fact sheet on bathroom use. For further information, contact Lambda Legal at 866-542-8336 or visit www.lambdalegal.org/help.