# Transgender Service Animals **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 22, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797 "2016-02-22T14:26:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/21 "2016-02-22T15:50:47Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > I’m just asking questions. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/22 "2016-02-22T15:52:28Z")
I think in both cases, reasonable balancing or rights and interests needs to take place. “I don’t like dogs and transgendered people” isn’t a legitimate interest that needs to be taken into account. However, “I’m allergic to dogs” or “I was raped and now I’m alone in a bathroom with a penis in a place that’s supposed to be safe for me” is a legitimate interest. I don’t think documentation should be required in either case, as documentation has nothing to do with the legitimate complaints involved. And in neither case is there much faking. Believe it or not, most people don’t like to have to bring their dog everywhere(travel is the lone exception planes and hotels and whatnot), and even fewer people want to dress as a woman to get into a woman’s bathroom. The only time you’ll see men dressing as women is if the new Titanic goes down and there aren’t enough lifeboats. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/23 "2016-02-22T15:52:36Z")
Restroom choices are entirely self policed now; what kind of statistics do we have of transpersons causing a disturbance if they want to take a piss? As for any person who gets the vapors from the thought that someone with different plumbing may be using the next stall, I believe they are in the same position as those who would never accept working next to someone with a different skin tone. The problem is in their head, not in the person next to them. (I presume the set of rest-room rapists has a vanishingly small overlap with transpeople, but I am willing to be shown otherwise.) ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/24 "2016-02-22T15:52:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Yep. Look, I warned you at the beginning not to play this game. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/25 "2016-02-22T15:54:55Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > The whole idea is dumb from start to finish. The idea of men infiltrating women’s bathrooms so that… what exactly, they can pee next to a woman is just silly. If a person is peering into stalls at people, that should be illegal anyway, and their gender is irrelevant. There’s no actual issue to even worry about, the only purpose in passing laws preventing or restricting trans people from using the correct restroom for their gender is to harass trans people. That just raises the question of why we have gender separation to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/26 "2016-02-22T15:56:00Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Restroom choices are entirely self policed now; what kind of statistics do we have of transpersons causing a disturbance if they want to take a piss? > > As for any person who gets the vapors from the thought that someone with different plumbing may be using the next stall, I believe they are in the same position as those who would never accept working next to someone with a different skin tone. The problem is in their head, not in the person next to them. > > (I presume the set of rest-room rapists has a vanishingly small overlap with transpeople, but I am willing to be shown otherwise.) Okay, so if I go into a women’s restroom, the women shouldn’t complain. If they do, it just means they are haters. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/27 "2016-02-22T15:59:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Okay, so if I go into a women’s restroom, the women shouldn’t complain. If they do, it just means they are haters. Exactly! That is the ultimate question that this issue brings up - why even have gendered bathrooms at all, and if we think we don’t need them, should we consider the views of those who still do? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/28 "2016-02-22T16:01:02Z")
Of course, this means those who want to certify service animals hate the disabled. Or they hate dogs. Not sure which. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/29 "2016-02-22T16:01:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Okay, so if I go into a women’s restroom, the women shouldn’t complain. If they do, it just means they are haters. Are you using the women’s room because the men’s room is put of order, or the line is too long, or because you identify as female, or are you just wanting to be a jerk? Because jerks do not get respect or the benefit of the doubt. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/30 "2016-02-22T16:02:26Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Are you using the women’s room because the men’s room is put of order, or the line is too long, or because you identify as female, or are you just wanting to be a jerk? How would you know which? Would you go up to someone and ask? Can you demand an answer? With proof? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/31 "2016-02-22T16:05:45Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Of course, this means those who want to certify service animals hate the disabled. Or they hate dogs. Not sure which. No, but it is misguided. The purpose of a service animal is to perform specific tasks for a disabled person. According to the law, a person should be able to cite the tasks the animal is trained to perform. The dog must also be well behaved and clean. Because a clean and well behaved dog, even if it isn’t a service animal, doesn’t pose a risk to anyone. Certification would be fine if the government or private agency was willing to come to the person’s home, but if it’s like other interactions with your government, asking a disabled person to do it is asking a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/32 "2016-02-22T16:06:17Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > As for any person who gets the vapors from the thought that someone with different plumbing may be using the next stall, I believe they are in the same position as those who would never accept working next to someone with a different skin tone. The problem is in their head, not in the person next to them. So you think having separate restrooms for men and women is destined to be just as much a relic of the past as having separate restrooms for white and “colored”? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/33 "2016-02-22T16:06:59Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Are you using the women’s room because the men’s room is put of order, or the line is too long, or because you identify as female, or are you just wanting to be a jerk? > > Because jerks do not get respect or the benefit of the doubt. Regardless of my motivations, if I’m not bothering anyone, what’s the problem? Is my mere presence an offense? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/34 "2016-02-22T16:08:58Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > How would you know which? Would you go up to someone and ask? Can you demand an answer? With proof? Jerks act like assholes and therefore self identify. No questions needed. The other scenarios require no explanation to others beyond needing to pee. Ot is rude to pay too much attention to what is happening in the next stall. (I presume women’s rooms still have stalls. ) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/35 "2016-02-22T16:14:41Z")
Okay, so if I have to pee, then it’s all right. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/36 "2016-02-22T16:16:39Z")
If women shouldn’t be bothered if men that identify as women pee next to them then men who identify as women shouldn’t be bothered if men who identify as men pee next to them. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/37 "2016-02-22T16:16:57Z")
What reason would anyone have to object to someone who just needs to pee? Just don’t use the sink. That’s rude. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/38 "2016-02-22T16:18:46Z")
Well, we have gender specific bathrooms(actually, SEX specific bathrooms), so there’s obviously a reason. If that reason no longer applies, then we should just get rid of the idea entirely. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/39 "2016-02-22T16:19:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > No, but it is misguided. The purpose of a service animal is to perform specific tasks for a disabled person. According to the law, a person should be able to cite the tasks the animal is trained to perform. What if they simply lie? Anyone who would pretend to have a service dog in the first place wouldn’t have a problem with a simple lie to go with that. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797/40 "2016-02-22T16:21:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, we have gender specific bathrooms(actually, SEX specific bathrooms), so there’s obviously a reason. If that reason no longer applies, then we should just get rid of the idea entirely. I thought it would take longer for you to come around. Thank you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transgender-service-animals/746797.md?page=3)