Given their minor victory in East County, will a segment of the population deploy operatives throughout the county to troll lockerooms looking for signs of non-heteronormative physiques?
Will the gender police soon be on the prowl in a locker room near you?
In January a 17-year-old teenager told the Santee City Council she was scared and felt unsafe when she saw a transgender woman’s behind in the Santee Y’s lockeroom.
The girl and the woman had not interaction.
Not long after the story grabbed headlines internationally a swell of protestors gathered outside the YMCA demanding it change policies so that it would ultimately discriminate against transgender people by limiting their access to the facility’s amenities. They effectively shut down the community hub the two days they protested in front of its doors.
Waving their proverbial “Protect the children!” banner, they packed Santee city council chambers and railed against transgender rights, the nation’s declining moral compass, and “wokeism”.
Some called for the city to end its relationship with the Y, which provides a plethora of activities for families, seniors, children, students, as well as low to moderate income individuals.
The YMCA, remember is not a government run facility. It is a non-profit organization that operates on donations and grants and memberships. Not anyone can walk in off the street and use their pool or weightroom. They have to pay to play. And in that way it’s a private organization that can establish its own policies and rules, while at the same time adhering to state and federal laws.
Wisely, and admirably, the Y has chosen a policy of inclusion.
Nonetheless protestors wanted the Y stripped of public funding and their lease with the city terminated.
The Santee YMCA withdrew its application for HUD funds and recently announced it will pursue a no-nudity in common areas policy and their lockerooms will be redesigned to encourage privacy. The approach may ultimately be implemented countywide.
Will those changes make their way to the South County YMCAs? Maybe. Will that same public outrage manifest when there is a mass shooting and children are slaughtered on campus or elsewhere? Doubtful.
