The bathroom bill has developed a lot of contention in the state of Texas. It is a bill passed and restricts transgender children to bathrooms of their biological sex. This is a bill similar to one passed in North Carolina a year before. The bill ...Read More
~Posted on
May 2019
The bathroom bill has developed a lot
of contention in the state of Texas. It is a bill passed and restricts transgender
children to bathrooms of their biological sex. This
is a bill similar to one passed in North Carolina a year before. The bill is considered as an amendment of the school
hazard preparedness bill. Many people in the state find the two issues
unrelated. The bill will restrict transgender children to exclusive bathrooms that are for single occupancy
and will restrict them form bathrooms of their sex transition. Opponents of the bill have been very vocal and call it
discriminatory. They compare the bill to
the Jim Crow laws of segregation where seclusion that separate the children. The
article explores the main issue of the situation about the ability of the bill to cause separation within schools
that would result in more discrimination
of transgender children. The article claims the use of bathroom of the current
sex of transgender children is very important for the transition process. This essay
will, therefore, try and explore the
various rhetorical strategies used by the article in addressing its issues. Rhetorical strategies are simply
strategies of persuasion used within arguments to help support a particular
claim. It is also used to make responses to opposing arguments. The main claim
or argument of the article is that the passing of the transgender bathrooms in Texas
will cause separation among the children and this will cause some aspects of
segregation and ultimately lead to discrimination of transgender children. The
opposing argument is that the bill is effective in protecting students and enhancing
equality among all of the in schools.
The first rhetoric strategy used by the
article is the appeal to logos. This is a
persuasive way of arguing that applies the use of reason in the form of use of
facts backed by a sufficient amount of evidence to bring out the aspect of reason as well as logic into the argument. The
article has used a generalization of information relating to the bill. The
article explores how the state of Texas will be the first one and the only state to restrict transgender children from accessing
bathrooms they are comfortable with. The
article then follows with a statement of comparison with a situation that
occurred in North Carolina. The situation at North Carolina was met with a lot
of opposition and costs the state a lot of money. The article appeals to reason
or logos in the sense that the restriction of the use of bathrooms in school would result in more discrimination. The article also uses comparisons to demonstrate its argument. The first
comparison is between the two states of Texas and that of North Carolina. The
article uses the situation at North Carolina to show the passing of such a bill
will lead to a lot of backlashes. The
other comparisons sued is between the passing
of the transgender bathroom bill in Texas and the Jim Crow Laws of segregation
used to separate people of color and whites. The article shows the state separate but equal is applied by the bill
by establishing single occupancy bathrooms that will be separated from the rest
of the bathrooms and ought to be used by
those transgender children that may feel uncomfortable using their respective bathrooms.
The other rhetoric strategy is the use
of pathos. Pathos is the appeal to emotions. The use of factors capable of
influencing the emotions of readers can be used to strengthen an argument. The same
happens in the article where the writer of the article elicits feelings of compassion as a result of the consequences
of the bill on transgender children. The fact that the bill is affecting children paces it a very emotional sensible standpoint
for readers. The article uses an example of a little girl called Libby. She is
a transgender and her mother Rachel fears for her. This is because the state and lawmakers
she expects to protect her interest have in a way turned against her and are
now putting her and her friends in great danger. Acceding
to Rachel, the restriction of the use
of bathrooms would have a great impact of Libby who had transitioned just
before joining the elementary school. She
had recognized herself as a girl and had
been using the girlβs bathroom. However, now she will be forced to use the boyβs
bathroom which is her biological sex or be forced
to use a separate bathroom. The use of Libbyβs story is a great example of an emotional appeal. It is a sensitive example of a girl who will be directly affected
by the passing of the bill. The story paints a legitimate picture of the way
the bill will affect school children who
are transgender. The article has specifically
used this strategy to appeal to the emotions of the audience and to shed some light on the real truth associated
with the passing of the bill.
