In its issue dated August 7, 2017, Bloomberg Businessweek dedicates its title to the founders of Stripe, on of those famous “unicorns” (startup companies valued over one billion dollars). At the Stripe headquarters in San Francisco, labels with the following text are fixed to the restroom doors:
We believe that gender is non-binary. Please use the restroom that feels most comfortable to you.
(Stripe, quoted after Bloomberg Business Week of August 7, 2017, page 41)
Stripe is still less known than its big competitor PayPal but quite powerful nonetheless. The company was founded by John and Patrick Collison, two brothers from Ireland.
Although Ireland is mainly Catholic, the country became the first in the world to introduce same-sex marriage based on a referendum and a large-majority vote.
As we know, Donald Trump does not know any books and has probably never read one entirely.
So here is a book suggestion for the President:
Trump and the bathrooms... ©Beacon Press
The title and subtitle of this book already say a lot. The two authors uncover the many wrong ideas, urban legends, myths and rumors that come between the reality of transgender people and the social norms, which are often absurd.
The book owes its title to one of the 21 myths: You’re in the wrong bathroom! The book also discusses the relationship between transsexuals and feminists, gays and the mentally ill.
For each of these 21 myths, the book opposes a traditional (often strongly simplified) idea to someone’s real-life situation, which is much more complicated indeed. A highly recommended read!
* Laura Erickson-Schroth and Laura A. Jacobs, You’re in the Wrong Bathroom! And 20 Other Myths and Misconceptions about Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People. Boston, Beacon Press, 2017, 200 pages. ISBN: 9780807033890 (print edition) or 978-0-8070-3388-3 (e-book).
Frank-S / MensGo