Transvestites Seek Right to Use Opposite Sex Bathrooms in Argentina

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent

BUENOS AIRES, September 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Argentinean transvestites are objecting to new legislation proposed to create a third bathroom for their use in commercial establishments, according to local and international reports.

The proposed law, advanced by councilwoman Gimena Abonassar of the city of San Martín, is intended to protect women from men who enter their bathrooms dressed as the opposite sex, an increasingly common occurrence in certain countries.

"We're talking about creating a third bathroom to give a place to transvestites because of complaints by fathers of girls who were saying that they felt uncomfortable when they had to share the same bathroom," Abonassar told the French Press Agency in a telephone interview.

Although Abonassar says that local transvestite groups in San Martín support the measure, the national Association of Transvestites, Transsexuals, and Transgenders of Argentina (ATTTA) is objecting to it.

"We are against it because it seems to us to be discrimination," a representative of the association told the Spanish news agency EFE.

"The councilwoman should inform herself and legislate in favor of more integration, not to divide society," he added. "The only thing this measure achieves is more discrimination, and it is an example of the transphobia of many politicians, who don't really know what the people need."

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