Explore approaches for talking about transgender people and restrooms in a variety of contexts, including: education about who transgender people are and the issues they face, building support for (and helping calm concerns about) nondiscrimination protections, and opposing harmful anti-transgender bathroom ban laws.
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Talking About Transgender People and Restrooms
Partners
The Bottom Line
Talking About Transgender Youth Health Care
Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. September 2024. “Talking About Transgender People and Restrooms“. MAP’s Talking About LGBTQ Issues Series. https://mapresearch.org/messaging-guide/talking-about-transgender-people-and-restrooms/.
Related resources
Support for Transgender People is Higher Than Headlines Suggest
This partner brief from MAP and Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) offers new analysis which shows that transgender people are widely accepted and supported by their families, workplaces, faith communities, and more.
Talking About ID Update Bans
Identification documents are vital keys that open doors to so many parts of everyday life. Learn about conversations that can help conflicted audiences understand what’s at stake when states seek to ban transgender people from updating the gender marker on their ID.
Bans on Transgender People Using Public Bathrooms and Facilities According to their Gender Identity
These laws prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms and facilities—such as locker rooms, shower rooms, changing rooms, and other sex-segregated spaces—according to their gender identity in certain circumstances or places.
Bans on Transgender Youth Participation in Sports
Laws banning transgender youth from participating in school sports vary in scope across age ranges, but commonly including both K-12 schools and college settings.
Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth
Bans on best-practice medical care represent one of the most extreme and coordinated political attacks on transgender people in recent years. These laws target transgender youth by blocking their access to best-practice medical care.
Bans on Insurance Exclusions of Transgender-Related Care
This map reflects laws and policies that bar health insurers from explicitly refusing to cover transgender-related health care benefits and those that explicitly permit insurers to refuse to cover gender-affirming care.
Transgender People
An estimated 2.8 million people ages 13 and older in the U.S. identify as transgender. These resources offer an overview of the policy landscape for transgender people and the impact on the health and wellbeing of transgender youth and adults.
LGBTQ People
LGBTQ people in the United States have families, work hard to earn a living, pay taxes, and serve their communities and their country. MAP offers a collection of resources addressing the many aspects of LGBTQ people’s lives.
The Harm of Banning Care for Trans Youth
This letter to the editor, penned by MAP’s Kellan Baker, appeared in the New York Times in response to a February 2026 guest essay by Jesse Singal.
