please excuse my terminology regarding gender appropriate toys, I personally don't believe in gender appropriateness being autistic myself and being much more male typical in interest, I was just using the most commonly used phrases as I'd assumed that would make it the most understandable. @midgebabe I must agree your wording is much better, I was writing it while rushing to get to the tip before it closed so in all honesty didnt put much thought into my wording.
But I do think it highlights the conditioning which children experience from a young age, that unfortunately although I'm glad to see the many refute the idea of gender appropriate, does still prevail much too often in society.
@Datun could you please provide a link to these statistics, as ive been unable to locate them and am rather interested to see, As i've tried to find research surrounding the issue, but kept coming across the phrases that its not possible due to crime beings classified as male/female not as transmale/transfemale and therefore not able to differiniate. The only time I've been able to find record of if a individual is trans is if it is directly linked to the crime e.g. transfemale reacting violently due to provoctation over being trans etc.
@Fairenuff I think its a difficult one thinking about it. I think part of the way its been handled is potentially to blame for the reaction of people towards transgender issues. I personally think that due to the proven and often comorbid mental health issues that arise around transgender that more access to appropriately training psychologists should be available, not to treat it as a illness but to offer support and understanding. By doing so would also help to stop this idea of boys mascaraing as girls to gain access to them while there vulnerable and to potentially help children experiencing a vulnerable process themselves and would also help normalise the situation as people would feel more comfrotable that a child who identifies as female is genuinely a female in everything but sex. Im suprised that individuals can just decide to claim they identify as the opposite gender and thus gain access to as I personally agree that is a safeguarding issue and thus causing fear and discomfort in others, specially in situations like changing rooms and thus very likely contributes to uncertainty and fear of transexual individials. Removing segregated changing facilities may not always be appropriate because ofc the protection children is important, and a female or male has the right to feel safe in a space dedicated to a specific gender, and i wasn't aware that people could simply say im female so im getting changed with girls. That I would also take issue and concern with, how much concern would be dependent on age. In my childhood throughout most of lower primary boys and girls got changed in the classroom. That was it. I feel that by removing all gender specific areas it may remove a child's ability to feel safe, specifically changing rooms for teenagers. But I'm a bit confused how allowing a teen who has identified fully as the opposite gender for years, is the same issue as all teenagers changing in the same room?
Toilets I find more of a gray area, as ultimately no one is going to see you while your on the toilet, you are not in a exposed position so I'm not 100% sure why its such a issue, It's been done successfully in universities, but they make use of toilets which don't have space below the door or above the door so theres no way anyone could see or gain access to a person in the cubicle. But they do so while still providing gendered toilets else ware. Which may potentially be a option going forwards, providing larger mixed toilets which are secure in design (to prevent fears over 'peeping') while still providing provision for smaller set of male/female toilets for those who really feel uncomfortable.