User:Sschul16/sandbox

The ridding of all sex separated restrooms could forfeit the feelings of having a safe bathroom space for some people by replacing them with restrooms for all genders/identities. Gender neutral rape statutes can undermine the rates at which females are victimized versus male counterparts; while trying to make equal statutes among all genders, it implies that the rates of female and male rapes/sexual harassment are the same, despite the rape ratios favoring females at a much higher rate. Solely using gender neutral language can lead to a lack of representation or acknowledgment of certain identities. When pronouns such as "he" or "his" are used to refer to gender-neutral persons, there is a subconscious "sex bias" towards males over females, despite the subject being gender neutral. In sports, studies have shown that more gender references are made to women's versus men's sports, distinguishing female sports as "other." However, these same studies point out that having a gender neutral sports environment could lead to a near complete lack of acknowledgement of women's sports/teams.

Attempts at gender neutral laws by governments have had unintended consequences. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 entitles certain employees a 12 week unpaid leave from work without a risk of job loss and applies to all genders. The employees must qualify for this leave by having been employed for over 12 months and be applying for leave due to a "serious health condition," pregnancy, or adoption. Despite FMLA's gender neutrality language, there are concerns about the law reinforcing gender disparity involving childcare between males and females; since FMLA remains gender neutral, it does not recognize the burden of females during pregnancy that males do not experience. Women with children in the workplace are not given as much attention or resources as is needed for their female-specific, personal/at-home issues, reinforcing the gender disparity despite the law's need to be gender neutral.