In South Dakota, HB1008 is in the process of becoming a law to make it a requirement in public schools that people have to use the bathroom in which their original biological sex matches. According to thinkprogress.org, this bill is targeted at transgender youth because Gov. Dennis Daugaard is only allowing for gender to be determined by chromosomes and anatomy at birth. This bill is harmful for transgender students because it can trigger gender dysphoria, bullying and depression.

According to webmd.com, gender dysphoria is when someone feels like they don’t match the gender they appear to be. For example, a person who is biologically female actually feels like a male.

Gender dysphoria causes extreme anxiety and is triggered by a variety of things including clothing, outward body appearance, pronouns and bathrooms. Of course, the list can go on since everyone is triggered by something different.

Imagine being a trans student and having to decide what bathroom to use. To some, this doesn’t seem like an issue, However, it is not easy for everyone. In some schools, like UND, gender neutral restrooms are rare. So, you can either walk to the next building to find one of the few single stall  bathrooms or you can try to use the men’s or women’s bathroom.

If you are trying to transition from female to male, you can try to use the men’s room and attempt to avoid anyone finding out you are trans. Or, you can use the restroom that matches your biological sex and receive weird looks and face extreme anxiety. Either way, both are scary.

It is easy to see just how simple things like using the bathroom can lead to depression and bullying, especially in public school settings. I’m sure everyone reading this has encountered bullying at some point in their life. Imagine being a trans child and having to change in the locker room that matches your biological sex. The fear of being bullied alone would be enough to send someone into depression. Kids are not educated on transgender issues, thus people will take this opportunity to pick on the transgender child.

Depression is extremely high among transgender individuals. According to the Williams Institute, transgender people are the most at risk for suicide because of discrimination, bullying, isolation and violence. Depression can stem from a lot of things, but when you are not welcomed by a community or your family, it can be  hard having a positive outlook on life.

It’s  important that we make transgender individuals, especially young students, feel safe at school. If educators and politicians really think that education is important for America’s youth, then they should try harder to not exclude people from their community.

It’s time for people to speak up about LGBTQ related issues because bills like Daugaard’s are being discussed in other states. Everyone can sign a petition to stop Gov. Daugaard’s bill. If this bill is passed, there will be severe repercussions in the transgender community.