Recently, Target has decided to make their bathrooms gender neutral. I am all for making transgender people and people of the LGBTQ+ community feel welcome and comfortable. I think it is a good thing that people are becoming more accepting. 

The problem I have with this bathroom situation is that a man can walk into the women’s bathroom without being questioned. I don’t want people to have to question what gender you identify with, but if no one is being questioned, then basically any creepy pedophile who claims to be trans can walk into the women’s bathroom. 

When going to the bathroom, all that is on my mind is doing my business and getting out. Now, I feel like I have to worry about who is in the bathroom, if they are transgender or if I need to get out my pepper spray. 

The biggest problem I have with anyone being allowed into the bathrooms is that I have a little sister who is ten years old and I don’t want her to go to the bathroom by herself and get abducted by some pervert. This new bathroom policy opens the doors for predators and it’s basically an easy access key for them. 

The dressing rooms are also becoming gender neutral and the same problem arises. You can’t trust people to do the right thing. A man was arrested in Missouri for using the dressing room as an opportunity to film women changing clothes. It is disgusting that people cannot respect others’ privacy.

Like I said before, I have no problem with the LGBTQ+ community. I have a good friend named Conner who is gay and I love him. He is the sweetest, funniest person you will ever meet. I wouldn’t care if he came in the women’s bathroom with me because I know he would respect others, do his business and then take selfies in the mirror with me. The thing is you cannot tell if a person is sincere by just looking at them. You would never know that they were faking to be transgender when really they are crazy.

If anything, I think places should make more family bathrooms and instead title them as private bathrooms. This allows any gender to use it without identifying as male or female. It allows parents to take their children to the bathroom as well. This is a much better and safer alternative than allowing men into the women’s bathrooms and vice versa. 

I hate that it has to be this way because I really wish that it was not such a big deal. But, in reality, we live in a screwed up world with messed up people.