yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Gavin Grimm's Story | Gender Revolution


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

[Music] Ground Zero in the fight over transgender bathrooms is this quiet town in Southern Virginia. The unlikely face at the center of it all: Gavin Grim.

"When you realize you were trans, you actually went to the doctor?"

"I went to a gender therapist who specialized in seeing transgender youth, and it was very apparent to her very quickly that transition had to be done as quickly as we possibly could, because I was suffering greatly."

"You and your mom went to school when you were sophomore; you explained to the school what was going on, and my understanding is your high school was pretty accepting and receptive, is that accurate?"

"I was assured that I would be respected at the school. I would be called exclusively Gavin and exclusively by male pronouns at Loster High School."

Gavin initially used the bathroom in the nurse's office, but it was inconvenient to get to from his classes. Since he was already using the men's room at restaurants and movie theaters, he asked the principal if he could do the same at school. The principal agreed, and Gavin says he used the boys' room without incident for nearly two months.

"For me, it was a matter of going in and going out and minding my own business, as most everyone does in a bathroom. But then the School Board got involved."

The School Board ruled that Gavin could no longer use the men's room. Instead, they gave him the option to use three unisex bathrooms, something Gavin wasn't interested in.

"The problem is I'm not looking for a compromise. I'm not looking for separate but equal. I'm looking for the same opportunities that my peers enjoy every single day, and that includes using the same restroom as any other student."

"When you first learned your case was going to be heard before the Supreme Court, what was your reaction?"

"The Supreme Court aspect of it is daunting, if only because it's the Supreme Court. I mean, this could go really well or it could go really wrong, and I have to be prepared for that reality. But regardless of what happens, the end will justify the means because even if we suffer a loss, we've generated a conversation that's moved the nation in the right direction. And if we win and it's after I graduate, I'm still doing good for a lot of other [Music] kids." [Music]

More Articles

View All
Shark Awareness Day | Pristine Seas | National Geographic
For more than 400 million years, sharks have been vital to the health of our oceans. Sharks are apex predators, by balancing food webs and keeping prey populations healthy. Sharks keep ecosystems healthy. With all these, all these sharks around the submar…
Feedback
So now I want to talk a little bit about the concept of feedback. This is a really important concept. It was developed in the 1920s, the idea of using feedback, and it was done at Bell Labs, Bell Telephone Laboratories. Remember we talked about this on th…
Summiting the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic
We’re high on a snowy mountain in Pakistan where a group of Nepalese climbers are struggling through harsh winds. It’s two o’clock in the evening. Think this is one of the hottest climbs we have ever met. [Music] That’s Ming Maggioja Sherpa. He goes by …
How the Quantum Vacuum Gave Rise to Galaxies
We take it for granted that our universe contains planets, stars, and galaxies because those are the things we see. But the only reason these big structures exist is because of the nature of nothingness - empty space. But to understand why, we have to go…
The Threat of AI Weapons
I’ll explain more at the end, but let me set up this clip in five words: robot killers, Stephen Fry, watch. Autonomous weapons have been described as the third revolution in warfare after gunpowder and nuclear bombs. They could mount rapid devastating at…
How much I pay in taxes on a $163,800 per month income
What’s up you guys? It’s Graham here. So, as most of you probably know, I don’t have a life because I’m constantly sitting here reading and replying to all the comments. And it’s a good thing I do that because anytime I see a recurring question or any sor…