This link from Language Log shows how China is becoming more progressive than we are with their bathrooms. For the life of me, I can't understand why people here are so worried about people with gender changes using the other bathrooms. What on earth could happen?

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
What on earth could happen?

Bigots could have to stop telling other people how to live their lives. Can't have that now, can we?

Fear.
Fear that they may see something. Fear that they may be approached. Fear that they will be attracted by someone or something. Fearing the same things for their children. They need strict separation to keep that fear at bay. We may think it's stupid, but it all comes back to fear about trying to maintain who they think they are and should be.

Perhaps, but why should other people's fear (and most of the people I know are fine with it, so everyone doesn't have that fear) drive our laws? I suppose that's the million dollar question.

[BTW, is it people's fear or peoples' fear?]

I don't think it is fear. I think it's far worse - hate.
I have long felt that in words like homophobia and Islamaphobia the "-phobia" isn't appropriate. These words don't really mean a fear of something they mean an unthinking hatred of it.

Some people just hate anything and anyone that doesn't fit into their own worldview - be that political, religious or whatever.

I'm not sure we have a general suffix to express "hatred of" but "phobia" doesn't fit the bill for me.

I think you are right that it's hatred, and not fear.