HB2: WFU expert available to speak about Obama administration’s public school directive regarding transgender bathroom usage

Wake Forest University LGBTQ Center Director Angela Mazaris is available to comment on the Obama administration’s letter to public schools directing them to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, not their biological sex.

“Today’s directive from the Obama administration reflects the Department of Justice’s clear assertion that transgender people have the legal right to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. This is crucially important for our transgender youth, who face bullying and harassment on a regular basis, and attempt suicide at a rate 40 times higher than the national average,” Mazaris said.

Mazaris is the founding director of the LGBTQ Center at Wake Forest University, where she also teaches in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. As LGBTQ Center Director, she provides education, advocacy, and support to the campus community around issues of gender identity and sexual orientation.

“This is not a safety issue, it’s a civil rights issue. Governor McCrory is playing political games, and everyday North Carolinians will pay the price, whether that comes in lost private sector revenues, lost public funding, or both,” she said earlier this week. “If Governor McCrory is concerned with public safety, he ought to educate himself about the needs and experiences of transgender North Carolinians, whose health and safety is threatened by HB2. The Department of Justice has clearly stated that transgender people have the right to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, and our Governor needs to do his job and protect the rights of our state’s most vulnerable citizens.”

She has provided expert commentary for Fox News, Charlotte Observer and many other news outlets since HB2 was passed in March.

Read more about Wake Forest’s myriad efforts to underscore inclusive values in light of HB2.