Why are Americans so uptight about nudity?

Question

I was listening to a discussion on the radio on my way in to work today and the discussion was about Transgender rights.
The issue being discussed was about men's and women's bathroom and locker room
 facilities and whether or not Transgender people should be allowed to use them, or should they have their own private locker rooms. 

Personally I think the USA is in the stone age when it comes to nudity anyways and it's no wonder society here is so fuct UP about it. Personally if a Transgender woman wanted to use the men's locker room, I could honestly care less. 
The Supreme Court up to this point has determined it's "not safe" for members of the opposite sex to share locker facilities.

Okay, that's pretty ignorant why? Because men can't control themselves? That's not even an issue, we're talking about women who are transitioning, or have transitioned to become male. I personally see them as being "just another dude" so it really is not an issue for me. 99% of people in locker rooms at the gym for example are only in there to shit, shower, shave, and GTFO and head off to work or class. I don't know what else they think is going on but gimme a break. Not a problem to me, but what about you? ?

FYI Transgenders actually just want to use the facilities of the sex they identify with
And they are not asking for "special facilities..." That's our close minded society pushing for that.

boywithpinkhair · Accepted Answer

It's a matter of safety to allow transwomen (that is, people assigned male at birth who identify as women) to use female facilities. Do you have any idea how many transgender women are murdered by men? Transgender women are women like anyone else, and many cannot have surgery for practical reasons (health is too poor, no means of paying, unable to get enough time off work to recover from such a MAJOR surgery, or simply because they don't want to risk their lives and cope with the possibility of incontinence, never being able to feel sexual pleasure again, and any number of other potential complications). Think of it this way: a 12 year old transgirl has not had the surgery. She clearly looks like a girl, dresses like a girl, is a girl. Should this 12 year old be forced to use the men's restroom? What about in the locker room at school, where she faces other students who are always looking for a reason to beat someone up? Transgender people are 78% more likely to attempt suicide than non-trans people: 41% of transgender people attempt suicide.

Transwomen are not predatory: they are people too. While I think Caitlin Jenner is an objectively bad person (for supporting the political party that is doing all it can to deprive fellow transwomen of basic human rights, like the ability to use public bathrooms), but she isn't a predator. Transwomen and girls are not in the locker room or bathroom to perv out, in fact a good number of them are only attracted to men: they just want to go about their business like anyone else. This idea that cisgender (not transgender) men are going to pretend to be transwomen so they can watch women undress is just a fear-mongering tactic, no different from the rhetoric of those who feared allowing African Americans to use the same facilities as whites would lead to rape, murder, and disease. There is no evidence to suggest that there is a rise in sexual assaults in states where transgender women are no longer barred from using public bathrooms. Think of it this way, a transwoman is 1.7 times more likely to be the victim of sexual assault than any of the non-trans women in the restroom. 1 in 4 trans people are victims of violence. 1 in 5 transpeople experience homelessness. As someone who has worked with transgirls as young as 10 who have been rejected by their families and contemplate suicide, I beg you to ignore the fearmongerers and have a little compassion.

3gmoney3 · Accepted Answer

Well, part of the issue is that a lot of people who identify as transgender haven't transitioned and are incapable of transitioning. Even for those who are capable, it's a pretty lengthy process. So then you get into the question of when it's okay, at what stage in the process. Can you deny the right to someone to change in the locker room of the gender they identify with, just because the hormones aren't working as well for them, or because they can't afford the hormones at all?

One of the biggest arguments from opponents (aside from just, "Ew! That's icky!") is that there's nothing to stop guys from claiming they are transgender just to be able to change in women's locker rooms and either do something predatory, or at the very least be very creepy. The counter to that, of course, is: Why should we deny one group rights just because another group can't be trusted to act responsibly? And there is a much larger issue to address with the fact that we're raising men who think that it's understandable to do something like that.

There are a lot of consideration at play here, and I think it's going to take some time for us, as a society, to deal with them. The fact that we're beginning to discuss it openly is at least a bit of a step forward.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Well we just voted here in Houston in what has now been dubbed "the bathroom law" to not give transgendered individuals the right to use their new gender bathroom. Of course the law was about equality for all, but some how the 24/7 airing of commercials featuring men following young girls into bathroom stalls freaked everybody the F' out to the point where they voted, hell no. I just think people forget how long the rights people do have now, took for those individuals to get. You have the clear thinking freedom set that just says, why is this an issue, but those set have to fight against the old ancient or highly conservative or religious set who will do everything in their power to hold on to the old ways and to convince others to do the same. More information is needed, more sitting down with people and explaining trans people to them, more hand holding, more campaigns. It will eventually happen like gay marriage, but again, that took nearly 60 plus years to accomplish.

GraysGirl · Accepted Answer

I hate this issue. If you are not equipped with female body parts then your not allowed to use our locker rooms. Idgaf if you dress up like one. If you're younger than 18 and going to high school then no way are you going into the girls locker room. No you don't need your own personal space. You're litterly getting all these chemicals and hormones in your body. You're confused.

now if you're older than 18 fine whatever do what you want but dont bring that to the impressionable teenage mind.

Hate my opinion if you want too but in America I have my right to protest even in untasteful agreement.

Another thing. If I dont support things things why am I hated? And when I support them I am encouraged?
You can think what I think is wrong and I can think what you think is wrong does that mean we have to have on each other? No it just means were both supporting what we believe in.

udolipixie · Accepted Answer

Why are Americans so uptight about nudity?
In my opinion it is not nudity that Americans are uptight about going by female fashion, female objectification commonly used in media, acceptability of males being topless, and porn usage. It seems Americans are rigid about having clear definitions of who you are and ensuring there is no abuse of the 'rules'. I wouldn't put it past the majority of hetero cis guys to claim to be transgender in order to go about the female locker rooms.

I have no issue with transgenders who have had surgery using the locker room of their gender identity.

In my opinion a suited solution would be a males locker room, female locker room, and mixed locker room.

sjoes006 · Accepted Answer

I'm upset to see over 59% responded give them their own space. I honestly don't have a problem with a trans born to either sex in my locker room. We already share locker rooms with gay guys and lesbians and it isn't a problem so it won't be any different with trans people.

I would have a problem with gawking or staring from anyone straight or otherwise but I think the LGBT people are sensitive enough to this through their own experience to never present a problem even if they wanted to which they don't.

Anonymous · Answer

not gonna lie, this doesn't have anything to really do with you (don't take it personally), but i really hate (that's a little strong)... i'll say annoyed with people who get so "self righteous" about what American society does different than "the rest of the world" (mainly in conjunction with europe). like the people who think guns are wrong and should be illegal or nudity is not a big deal or the whole pot issue (ok, that's more on potheads, but still). as if what everyone else (again, almost exclusively with morals aligned with europe) is "right" just to make them appear smarter or more "worldly" (maybe not the right word, but i'll stick with it). now, with that said, i have a lot of friends all around the world (mostly in Europe, but every other continent as well and have lived in italy for a time and traveled to other parts of the globe as well. i point that out just in case someone wants to say i'm having an "america is the greatest and fuck e'rryone else" mentality.

just because some countries don't value nudity as a big deal doesn't mean it isn't. certain cultures value nudity much stricter than us as well (like the vast majority of asia). does that mean they're wrong? hell, it's virtually taboo for japanese people to hold hands in public... is that wrong? i don't hear people lecturing them about it. ok, that's my rant on that... and yes, i realize that it wasn't actually part of the question, but i felt the need to get that out there and off my chest.

back on to the point, i just don't want to see a dude's junk regardless of whether or not they are transgender or not and i don't want them seeing mine either. however, if they are transgender, i don't care about what bathroom they use. but from a psychological standpoint from the transgender person, that's a different story.

there are a few issues i see, but this is the main issue i see: so, let's say your sex is male, but your gender is female. you cross-dress and everything. so, if a you identify your gender as female, should they be allowed to use the female bathroom? keep in mind that the only thing keeping you from actually identifying is the fact that you haven't had a sex change (yet). conversely, hypothetically, for whatever reason someone gets a sex change but identifies still as their original sex, should they be allowed back into their original room because they still identify with that original gender?

1derweye · Answer

It's a little like asking why the French speak... French.
Despite the waves of various cultures at erratic times of influx, there are subtle dispositions that permeate on levels Social Scientists will never be able to identify.
Acceptable behavior is layered by influences as obscure as a predisposition for a certain threshold of temper in Quakers or humility in the Irish escaping the Potato Famine. Most mass-migrations of emigrants to our country are from stressed-populations. For example the South Vietnamese and the Jewish from Europe.
Applying Human Nature to a mass-consciousness isn't difficult to imagine. When these peoples came to our shores it was like a collective sigh of relief. Sure, life was difficult for them in whole new ways. But it was still better. There is a "protectiveness" passed down to following generations to be good citizens, not ruin a good thing, because the old one was terrible. Some attitudes that can evolve are a little like "overcompensation's" of a particular morality/values... or the adoption of ones that waft through society not overtly detectable unless your sensitive to the behaviors they encourage. Nudity is has an "air" of decadence to Conservative cultures. Even though it doesn't have to take on a conservative label, just disregarding it in favor of other concerns, can be the form an attitude plays out. The abandonment of traditions leaves a vacuum that gravitation's in progress will fill. The extremes in behaviors of individuals can prompt sweeping changes by leaders making an example of their constituents. The traits that discourage Nudity, if only that one manifestation of the collective consciousness makes it through, is unconsciously embraced. It's assumed that's a good way to show they care about integrating, to some degree, into our melting pot.
Besides, the first large groups here were the PURITANS, after all!

Ginnyweasley97 · Answer

a lot of americans have it in their minds that this is a christian nation. when really freedom of religion applies to all religions. A lot of judgmental christians believe in censorship. the last time i wore short because it was hot as balls out (and i had shaved so i was not making that go to waste) a bunch of judgmental christians stared at me like i needed jesus. I could not care less if i shared a locker room with a transgender person. Honestly i could not care less if the free the nipple campaign goes anywhere but honestly i am not fully on board because i think we have bigger problems like child marriage.

GirlScout · Answer

I agree that the US is crazy OTT about nudity and censorship, but they are still heavily Christian. I can't believe they blur was crack on tv, here you can have full in naked bums in adverts... there's no shame in a bum!

About the transgender... well, I can slightly understand. People are used to changing in front of the same gender, they aren't going to be comfortable changing in front of a woman with a dick, and should we have to make sure everyone but normal, un-gender confused people are happy? No, it's about experimenting happy, not just those who are different.

In some places there are mixed changing rooms, it has to do with the society doesn't it...

ichot · Answer

This boom in gender identity issue really just feels like a symptom of a greater unaddressed issue.

Anyways, fuck it. Just do away with gender separated rooms. Anyone everywhere, penis or vagina doesn't matter anymore. Trans people made this happen. It's the most economical solution.. How can you build a new restroom into an already existing building without having to tear most of the building down to install new ventilation/water works/plumbing? You can't. Otherwise it will just be a portable restroom like ones you may have seen at fares or out-door events. And Trannies don't like that.

Curmudgeon · Answer

I am reminded of the old British comedy bit: "No sex please! We're British!" Since much of American language, culture and people are derived from the Mother Country, I suspect it is that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XsJGdPe07o

I am reminded of a beach on Crete I visited, where the American, British, Canadian and Japanese tourists all were clustered on the bathing suit section, and the rest of the Euros were all over in the naked section.

Mustachekitteh · Answer

Most people are just to sensitive. Though I kind of think religion plays a bit of a role when it comes to people freaking out over other people being naked. I kind of feel like most Americans just want to shame anything. If it's different or exposes more then they shame it.

I honestly had no clue what to vote for in the poll. There wasn't an option saying,"They can use which ever place that matches the gender they became and mentally feel like."Since in bathrooms there are stalls. So it's not like women see each other peeing or anything. For guys sure most of the time they don't use stalls I guess. Still that option still exists.

I don't care if men and women used the same bathrooms since they're would be stalls with doors you can lock with only you in them.

Agrojag · Answer

America was a country founded by people with very conservative religious principles and that has stayed with our culture ever since. We don't mind watching people's heads explode in all of its gory splendor but we'll be damned if you display nudity or talk about sex.

throwit · Answer

I think it should only be allowed if you've had surgery. They're separated because of the equipment, not their orientation. They don't make gay people switch locker rooms

OldTimeFlicksChick · Answer

1. Why can't say that its okay for both transgender women and men to be in the locker of the gender they relate to? That should be an option just saying...

2. The USA isn't in the stone age because in the stone age everyone was okay with nudity, DUH. They are more stuck in the mid to late 1800 when it really became a taboo thing. While America promotes sex in the media in normal society it is more frowned upon. There are a lot of theories about this, one of those being that a lot of people that first came to America were attempting to leave Europe due to the danger they were in from their religious beliefs. So thats why some people say that nudity is frowned up.

John_Doesnt · Answer

I vote that both are okay and I agree with you about how fucked up the debate is. The anti-gay crowd doesn't seem to understand that rape and sexual assault are still illegal. It's also ironic that the "pure, Christian side" manages to come up with the most depraved situations for what could happen. A normal human being shouldn't automatically think "rape" when they hear someone using the bathroom.

Anonymous · Answer

I think transgender people should be able to choose where they want to go. Have a gender neutral place as well as the gendered places so that people can go where they feel comfortable in their gender identity. To call them perverts or creepy is just close minded.

Anonymous · Answer

It's not about men not being able to control themselves. It's about some people not being comfortable to shower etc. in front of people in the body of the opposite gender. If a girl is not comfortable changing in front of someone with a dick, then her feelings are just as valid as the feelings of the transgender person who doesn't want a separate space just so they don't feel excluded.

Endeavor · Answer

I was going to bash you for you faux poignant headline, but you handled yourself better in the rest of it. They don't seem to correlate with one another.

I don't think this particular issue has anything to do with nudity. I think there are still too many people that don't see being transgender as a thing. So when it comes to bathrooms/locker rooms, they just see it as a boy trying to be where they are not supposed to be. Vice versa as well, but that's the one people worry about. It's much more about "stranger danger" and I guess the repulsion of transsexualism.

I'm on the fence about it. Some girls have expressed being uncomfortable and kind of scared about that proposition and I kind of get it (someone might try to exploit it), but an mtf trans girl will feel the same way having to use a male bathroom. They could potentially be in a lot more danger.

Anonymous · Answer

I think thansgendered people should be allowed to use the locker room of their preferred gender. But with limitations so we don't have men in the girls locker rooms claiming to transgendered, you must be in a certain phase of your transition, otherwise people will abuse it I believe.

Possible_Mate · Answer

i think it's fine. the trans gendered can should be able to go where they feel comfortable. and trying to force them to go into their own space is just exclusion and not going to help anything.

Jager66 · Answer

I wouldn't care if there was no such thing as gender locker rooms but if we have to have them then make them for everyone or accept women with penis and men with vaginas, or what ever.

CasaNorba · Answer

because the majority of us associate nudity with sex. lets not forget that we are all perfectionist and we believe that only people who with flawless bodies have the privileges to come out their cloths

Mesonfielde · Answer

I think the whole thing comes from the idea that men cannot control themselves and this idea makes people feel threatened and uncomfortable.

spuitkaas · Answer

I couldn't care less. I see men in the girl's room if the guy's room is occupied and the other way around.

Why are Americans so uptight about nudity?

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