“A Plague on Both Your Sides”: Benevolent Sexism in the Debate on Gender-Neutral Toilets

• In Event: Gendered Discourse in American Politics

Abstract

When “bathroom bills” restricting transgender persons’ access to public toilets entered U.S. politics in 2015, the debate quickly spiraled along partisan lines. More insidious, was the presence of benevolent sexism, or the belief that women must be protected. This study delineates the benevolently sexist themes in the debate through a framing analysis of 8,841 online comments on the most circulated articles about transgender persons’ public toilet access between September 2015 and September 2016. While opponents of gender-neutral bathrooms viewed men as unable to contain their sexual desires, supporters argued that women are more likely to be sexually objectified or assaulted outside of public toilets. Both sides re-emphasized a centuries-old script of sexual assault as women’s problem. Our findings suggest a pervasive shifting of the debate from the human rights of transgender persons to the protection of women, without recognizing the patriarchal substructures oppressing women and transgender individuals.

Authors

• Lindsey Erin Blumell, City University London

• Jennifer Huemmer, Texas Tech U

• Miglena Mantcheva Sternadori