More Thoughts on the Transgender Bathroom Debate

Like I mentioned in my last post, fear seems to be one of the guiding forces behind the argument against protections for transgender bathroom rights. "I know there is a lot of anxiety associated with this issue, but it seems to be based on fear rather than facts" said Maine's Human Rights Commission Executive Director, Amy Sneirson in an article for CNN. This article's main purpose is to dispel many of the popular "myths" surrounding the transgender bathroom debate. Like the Breitbart article I looked at in my previous post, this article also attempts to secure its validity by using real-life examples. However, this article may seem more credible to some audiences because of its use of information from high-status sources such as UCLA's Williams Institute, The World Health Organization, the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association. When it comes down to it however, both sources are using a similar technique of presenting a claim and then presenting evidence to either support or dispute. 

Another interesting (yet strange) article I found was on the Christian website BabylonBee.com. The article is titled "9 Things You Should Know About The Transgender Bathroom Debate." At first, judging by the title, I thought I was going to be reading a list of somewhat objective facts. However, once I got to #4, I knew the author was obviously a supporter of Trump's decision to rescind Obama's order allowing individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. The author of this article did nothing but appeal to others who already share the same ideas of them. I know the point of these blogs is not to pick sides but as someone who considers themselves relatively liberal, it was hard to even finish reading this. They did nothing to persuade me into believing them. But I could definitely imagine a right-leaning individual of the Christian Faith to really enjoy this article and also find it humorous. I definitely think humor and "poking fun" at the opposing side of an argument is an effective persuasive technique.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/health/transgender-bathroom-law-facts-myths/
http://babylonbee.com/news/9-things-know-transgender-bathroom-debate/