So, what is it that scares so many people
about transgender communities?
And what's it like to live as the focus of that fear?
Jessica Williams finds out.
WILLIAMS:
butter sculptures, and butter sculptures of cornfields.
Until last summer, when transgender woman Meagan Taylor
tried to check in to the Drury Inn in the city of Des Moines.
We sat down with Taylor herself for an exclusive tell-all.
I could tell when I checked in
to the hotel that it was... it was...
Shh. I got this, real Meagan Taylor.
It was July 12, 2015.
You presented your I.D. to the hotel manager.
Hi. I have a reservation.
But she was onto you.
Fearing for her life, she took immediate action.
WOMAN:
And that's when the cops came and all hell broke loose.
But let's rewind here.
What triggered the cops to respond?
You pull out a gun, and then the cops come
and you're arrested?
None of that happened.
Well, did you pull out a knife?
♪ ♪
No.
Well, did you do drugs?
Nothing of the sort.
Well, then why the hell were you arrested?
Um, I got arrested because I was a black transgender woman.
Specifically, cops held her because she didn't have
a prescription for her hormone pills.
And this is 2016.
What were you doing in Iowa?
I was there going to a funeral.
-You were there for a funeral? -Yeah.
And did you get to attend the funeral,
-at least? -I didn't get to make the funeral at all.
How long were you in jail for?
I was in jail for eight days.
I'm sorry. I...
It's terrible. Take your time.
Ugh, I thought it was tough being a black woman.
But compared to a black transgender woman,
I might as well be a white frat dude
at a Dave Matthews concert.
Transgender women get arrested all the time,
especially black transgender women,
just by walking down the street or anything.
And by anything, she means literally anything.
Because of discrimination and profiling,
at least 47% of black trans people
will have at some point in their lives been incarcerated.
Let's underline, bold, and set fire to that
because it's 47%.
You think there'd be laws to correct this.
But instead, this year alone,
state legislatures have introduced
175 anti-trans bills.
Many make it legal to discriminate based solely
on religious beliefs.
And then you have these bathroom bills.
REPORTER:
who use public restrooms that don't match
the gender on their birth certificate.
WILLIAMS:
Just listen to Colorado representative
and Elmer Fudd look-alike Gordon Klingenschmitt.
Should we fear the transgender community?
Well, they not only want to be confused
about their own identity,
but they want the rest of us to be confused with them.
Now they want the government to join them in that pretense.
-They're making us into liars. -Wow.
Okay. I met with these so-called liars
to find out what their evil intentions are.
There's a notion that trans people are perpetrators
in some way, that we're sneaking and trying to trick you
for the purposes of having sex with you.
And that's not the case at all.
People just want to see male and female,
like it has to fit in one of those two boxes,
and if it doesn't, it makes people uncomfortable.
-And it's surely not a choice. -That's all you need to know.
Well, not according to Klingenschmitt, who thinks
that we're all going to get attacked in the bathroom.
A man can go into a ladies' room
and assault you and your little girl.
Especially in our most important bathrooms.
Next time, ladies, you go out to Olive Garden,
watch out who's gonna be in the bathroom.
There's no reported incidences of any trans person
ever raping or assaulting anyone in any bathroom ever.
If anything, trans people are the ones getting assaulted.
These people are up against some bull(bleep).
There must be some small way I can help them out.
Give me some offensive comments or questions,
and I'll give you some good answers
that you can use in your day-to-day life.
Why are your feet so small?
Oh. You think my feet are small?
-You have a (bleep). -Wow. Whew!
Okay, that's guns a-blazing on that question.
Um, I don't currently have a (bleep), so...
-How much? -How much for...?
-Sex. -Oh, (bleep). Uh...
-How do you have sex? -So, are your parents ashamed of you?
-What's the gender mark on your ID? -When do you tell them that
-you're really a man? -I don't know.
When it's appropriate?
Do you have cadaver tits?
-Don't tell me what that is. -What's your real name?
-Yeah. I just want to know. -Yeah. What's your name?
-Tell us. -Did you chop it off?
Do straight women date you,
-or gay women? -How much would it cost?
-(overlapping chatter) -Do you like to suck (bleep)?
-(overlapping chatter) -What's your real name?
WILLIAMS:
than I could have ever imagined,
so why does Gordon feel so threatened?
Have you ever been attacked by a transgender person?
Is that why this is happening?
No.
Have you ever had a traumatic experience with a trans person?
I wouldn't call it traumatic, no. I-I...
-Devastating? -Yeah. No.
You haven't?
So why does he feel this way?
Dressing like a woman, and he's not a woman.
WILLIAMS:
And he thinks what?
It's not just a psychological disorder.
It's actually a demonic spirit.
WILLIAMS:
Go on.
I would be comfortable talking about religious freedom,
but I'd have to change into my alter ego
if you're okay with that.
You have to change into your alter ego?
Who are you, Lady Gaga? Go on ahead and change.
Okay, hold up. Is everybody seeing this?
I am actually waiting for this man to transition
so that he can feel more comfortable
during our interview.
Oh, and also, hey, heads up.
I am not judging him for his personal choice.
Until he took out his phone
to judge others for their personal choices.
And Deuteronomy 22:5 says,
"A woman must not wear men's clothing,
"nor a man wear women's clothing
for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this."
I don't remember that part,
-but there is a part about shellfish... -Mm-hmm.
-...or stoning people to death. -Mm-hmm.
Getting tattoos.
But what about
their sincerely held religious beliefs?
They can go (bleep) in their (bleep) hand,
-because we have separation of church and state. -Mm.
Because we believe in our constitution.
WILLIAMS:
are being passed,
and Gordon is doing everything he can to make it happen.
Get used to the idea
of having your women and children share bathrooms
with cross-dressing men
who are going to expose themselves to you.
Do you, for whatever reason,
associate being transgender with being a pervert?
I mean, that is perversion.
It's people who label themselves
as transgender for the purpose of getting that access
to violate the rights of others.
Is it fair to say that because you're a priest
that you're a pedophile?
Well, of course not.
Why is it, "of course not."? Why?
Because some people are criminals,
and some people are not criminals.
Could you take that logic
and apply that to the transgender community?
They're apples and oranges. I think...
By apples and oranges, do you mean
apples and apples?
Unfortunately, a lot of people think like Gordon.
So how can we end this transphobic epidemic?
Hopefully, they can understand that we are
striving towards becoming a more authentic version of ourselves,
after a lot of soul-searching and a lot of thought,
and sometimes a lot of trauma and tragedy.
Passing these bills is absolutely going
to just add fuel to the fire and ignite trans panic.
Trans panic, panic, panic.
WILLIAMS:
They are not who people think they are.
Girl, you know we need to elevate that leg.
WILLIAMS:
-Stop! No!
You forgot your hat.
WILLIAMS:
When they're hungry.
You're really gonna love this salad!
WILLIAMS:
the most boring movie ever
where transgender people cause... transpanic!
(yelling)
Lights went out again.
WILLIAMS:
What else is on Netflix?
WILLIAMS: