BOISE, Idaho — Idaho resident Nikson Mathews, a transgender man, said in an Advocate article that Republican-backed legislation has left him feeling forced to choose between risking arrest or facing potential violence simply for being in public.
“Every single day, when I am out in public, I have to ask myself, do I feel like going to jail, or do I feel like being attacked?” Mathews said.
Every time Mathews testifies “against anti-LGBTQ+ bills, most of which directly target trans people,” he states, “my name is Nikson Mathews. I am a Boise resident and a proud trans Idahoan. I stand opposed to this bill,” as reported by The Advocate.
Mathews mentions that “over the years, those words have come to mean more to me. It’s not easy to be trans in Idaho, but every time I testify against a bill, I look those legislators in the eye and remind them that I am their constituent and a proud trans person,” as recounted by The Advocate.
The Advocate states that this is “exactly how [he] started [his] testimony in opposition to HB752.”
According to The Advocate, HB752 “is the harshest bathroom bill introduced by Republicans in the country. It criminalizes trans people simply for being present in a bathroom or facility that aligns with their gender identity. It does not require harm, only presence. If passed, a trans person could walk into the bathroom to wash their hands and face up to a year in jail. If they did it again, the penalty would increase to up to five years in prison.”
Mathews states that “as a transgender man, if I use the men’s bathroom, I risk being reported, questioned, or arrested, because someone believes I don’t belong there… And if I use the women’s bathroom, as the bill would require, I risk something else entirely.”
Mathews continues that “most people who see me don’t know that I’m trans. I have a beard, and after years on testosterone, male pattern baldness. So if I walk into a women’s restroom, will I be seen as someone following the law or as a threat? That is a situation that could escalate quickly.”
The Advocate reports that Mathews states that “I chose to dehydrate myself to avoid using the men’s bathroom.”
According to The Advocate, “one woman testifying in favor of this bill recently said she supported it because she felt it would allow her to take action if she believed a man or a trans woman was in the bathroom. She also pointed out that she was a gun owner and always carries.”
During the House floor debate, “a representative said that if he ever saw a person he perceived to be a man walk into the women’s bathroom with his wife or daughters, he wouldn’t wait for the police to arrive. The implication was clear: he would take matters into his own hands,” as reported by The Advocate.
The Advocate highlights that the “‘we can always tell’ crowd supporting these bills has no idea who’s trans or not. There are so many examples of cis women being harassed or assaulted because someone decided they didn’t fit their own narrow expectation of what a woman should look like. Bills like this make bathrooms more dangerous for everyone.”
Mathews says that “some people say to me, ‘No one would ever know you’re trans. Just use the men’s bathroom.’ But they don’t know the reality of my life. I’ve run for office in Idaho. I was the first trans person to be sworn into the Idaho Senate as a substitute senator. And I have never been quiet about who I am. So I never know if someone knows me or not. But more importantly, it shouldn’t matter.”
Mathews states that “no one should have to prove they ‘pass’ to avoid jail. No one should have to consider their appearance just to use a bathroom. Because it only takes one person deciding you don’t belong, and suddenly you are facing a year in jail or five years in prison. That is not a risk I am willing to take.”
Mathews emphasizes that “that year, when I spent a week subbing in the Idaho Senate, I took the role seriously. I showed up early and stayed into the evening, until the job was done… And in that week, I used the bathroom exactly one time.”
He continues his recollection that “around that time… a bathroom bill was working its way through the Idaho Statehouse, and Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride was in the national news after a resolution was adopted restricting her access to the women’s restroom in the U.S. Capitol.”
The Advocate highlighted that Mathews “chose to dehydrate [him]self to avoid using the men’s bathroom, because [he] didn’t know how [he] would be treated. All [he] knew was that [he] wasn’t safe in the bathroom with them.”
Mathews added, “I was a 41-year-old adult, serving in the Idaho Senate, terrified of the bathroom. That is what it looks like to be trans in this state.”
The Advocate points out that “this isn’t the only bill impacting queer and trans Idahoans. Since 2020, Idaho has passed 23 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community, 17 of them directly impacting trans people. And every bill or law passed takes away more of our options. Each one is attempting to push [members of the LGBTQ+ community] further out of public life.”
“HB752 is a perfect example. There is no good choice. Risk imprisonment, or risk a beating or worse at the hands of cis men,” as reported by The Advocate.
Mathews emphasizes that “yes, [he] feel[s] scared. [He’s] also angry. But mostly, [he’s] deeply, deeply tired.”
Mathews concludes that “there is one thing they will never be able to take from me. No matter how many bills they pass or how hard they try to make us disappear, they will never take away my pride. I am proud of my community and proud of myself for living authentically. I will always be a proud trans person.”
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