We Just Need to Pee

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Part of a series on Transgender Bathroom Debate. [View Related Entries]

Overview

We Just Need to Pee is a hashtag campaign launched in protest of various laws aimed at preventing transgender people from entering bathrooms of genders not specified on their birth certificates.

Background

In February 2015, Canadian Senator Donald Plett made several public statements in favor of a controversial amendment to Bill C-279, aimed at preventing pre-op transgender people from entering washrooms of the gender they identify with. In defense of the amendment, Plett argued that allowing trans women into women's restrooms "allows for pedophiles to take advantage of legislation that we have in place."^[2] That month, Canadian trans woman Brae Carnes began posting selfie photographs of herself in front of urinals inside men's restrooms while holding a sign reading "Plett Put Me Here" (shown below).

Notable Developments

The following month, other transgender rights activists began posting selfie photographs on social media taken in bathrooms matching their biological sex along with the hashtags #PlettPutMeHere" and "#WeJustNeedToPee"^[1] (shown below).

On March 14th, the LGBT news site Advocate^[4] and BBC News^[5] published articles about the hashtag campaign. On MAy 1st, YouTuber Lauren Bracken posted an animated video about the transgender bathroom debate title "We Just Need to Pee" (shown below, left). On May 21st, YouTuber FinnTheInfinncible, a trans man, posted a video titled "We just need to pee!", which criticized proposed legislation aimed at penalizing transgender people from entering public restrooms of the gender they identify as (shown below, right).

North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act

On February 22nd, Charlotte, North Carolina passed a city ordinance prohibiting sexual orientation or preference-based discrimination in public accommodations (like bathrooms), passenger vehicles for hire and city contractors. A month later, on March 23rd, the North Carolina State Legislature passed the bill HB2, which banned people from using bathrooms of the gender not specified on their birth certificate. Following the bill's passage, the #WeJustNeedToPee hashtag saw a resurgence in popularity among those protesting the legislation. On April 15th, Advocate^[6] published a slideshow highlighting 16 notable examples of the hashtag (shown below).