Story highlights
- An Alabama city criminalizes using bathrooms that don't match biological sex
- A North Carolina state senator is trying to repeal the controversial transgender bathroom law
- A Virginia case sets a precedent for transgender students who might challenge North Carolina's law
- Target says customers can use whichever restroom they choose; 900,000 people say they'll boycott
(CNN)A flurry of policies affecting transgender people has swept the country in recent weeks, leading to widespread protests, economic losses and a growing debate about equality and privacy.
Most recently, an Alabama city passed a law saying if people use a public bathroom that doesn't match their biological sex, they could face six months in jail.
With new rules and new challenges every week, it can be difficult to stay on top of developments. Here's the latest on transgender laws and policies across the country:
Alabama city sets criminal penalties
Transgender people in Oxford, Alabama, could now face six months in jail for using restrooms labeled for the gender they identify with.
Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Photos: Transgender identity in the news
It was rare for black models like Tracey "Africa" Norman to break into the cutthroat lily-white world of modeling in the 1970s. Norman, who had exclusive contracts for Avon skin care and Clairol's Born Beautiful hair color, didn't tell anyone she was also transgender and had been born male. Once her secret was out, the work dried up. Here are some other notable moments in the recent history of transgender identity.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is the first openly transgender White House staff member. She will serve as an outreach and recruitment director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America now welcomes transgender girls, a stance that was made public several years ago but attracted controversy from conservative groups when it became widely known in May.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star Bruce Jenner told ABC's Diane Sawyer, "Yes, for all intents and purposes, I'm a woman," during an interview that aired April 24. She has now made a highly publicized transition from male to female as Caitlyn Jenner.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Renee Richards, here in 2011, made headlines for undergoing a sex change while a professional tennis player in the 1970s. She was barred from playing as a woman in the 1976 U.S. Open but played in the tournament the next year after the New York state Supreme Court ruled in her favor and overturned the ban.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Born female, Brandon Teena was living as a man in Nebraska when he was raped and killed by two men in 1993. Teena was 21. His case inspired the 1999 drama "Boys Don't Cry" starring Hilary Swank, who won an Oscar for her performance.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
The 2006 indie film "Transamerica" starred Felicity Huffman as a transgender woman taking a road trip with her long-lost teenage son. Huffman was nominated for an Academy Award for the role.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Chaz Bono, the only child of entertainers Cher and Sonny Bono, arrives at a "Dancing With the Stars" special in May 2013. Bono was named Chastity at birth but came out as a lesbian in 1995 and later transitioned to living as a man. His transformation was chronicled in a book and a documentary feature, "Becoming Chaz."
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Filmmaker Lana Wachowski attends a tribute to the late film critic Roger Ebert in October 2013 in Chicago. Born Larry Wachowski, he made the "Matrix" trilogy with brother Andy Wachowski before transitioning to living as a woman. Wachowski is the first major Hollywood director to come out as transgender.
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"Orange Is the New Black" actress Laverne Cox attends an August 2014 event for Emmy nominees. Cox became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Transgender model and reality TV personality Carmen Carrera attends a fashion show in September 2013 in New York. That year, thousands of fans signed a petition requesting that she be a model during the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, but the campaign was unsuccessful.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Actor Jeffrey Tambor portrays a divorced father who begins transitioning to a woman in the Amazon series "Transparent," which debuted in February 2014. For his performance, Tambor won a Golden Globe for best actor in a TV musical or comedy series.
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Transgender activist and author Janet Mock attends the eighth annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards in New York in September 2014. Her 2014 memoir, "Redefining Realness," was a best-seller.
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On January 20, 2015, President Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to mention the word "transgender" in a State of the Union address. Transgender activists hailed his speech.
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After years as an androgynous male model, Australian Andrej Pejic underwent sex-reassignment surgery in 2014 and is now Andreja Pejic.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Joshua Alcorn voiced a desire to live as a girl, but the Ohio teenager's parents said they wouldn't stand for that. In December 2014, Alcorn, 17, was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer on an interstate after leaving a suicide note that said in part, "To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy's body." It was signed "Leelah." The case drew national attention to the plight of misunderstood transgender youth.
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Photos: Transgender identity in the news
Jazz Jennings became famous at age 6 when Barbara Walters interviewed her for a "20/20" segment about transgender children. Now 14, she hosts a popular series of videos on YouTube and is starring this summer in a TLC reality show about her life.
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The ordinance, passed by the Oxford City Council this week, says people in public restrooms "do not reasonably expect to be exposed to individuals of the opposite sex while utilizing those facilities."
"The Council further asserts that single sex public facilities are places of increased vulnerability and present the potential for crimes against individuals utilizing those facilities which may include, but not limited to, voyeurism, exhibitionism, molestation and assault and battery," the ordinance states.
The law does not explicitly mention transgender people, but the Human Rights Campaign slammed it as "anti-transgender."
"This anti-transgender law is unprecedented in its establishment of criminal penalties for violations of the law, and raises a myriad of privacy and legal concerns, including questions about how the law will be enforced," HRC said in a statement.
Fallout over North Carolina 'bathroom bill'
No state has seen more backlash over a transgender law than North Carolina, which passed a law requiring people to use public bathrooms matching their biological sex.
The rock group Boston joined a chorus of other bands and musicians, including Pearl Jam, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas and Bruce Springsteen, who canceled upcoming concerts in North Carolina to protest the law, known as HB2.
Arrests follow HB2 protests at NC statehouse 01:25
"HB2 has the appearance of an oppressive discriminatory law against a small minority, who already have to deal with a narrow-minded world regarding issues beyond their control which they did nothing to bring upon themselves," Boston founder Tom Scholz wrote.
Even PayPal nixed its plans to open a new global operations center in Charlotte, costing North Carolina about 400 future jobs.
Protesters aren't letting up. A petition with 150,000 signatures reached the state Capitol on Sunday. And police arrested more than 50 demonstrators at the North Carolina state house on Monday who were accused of "building violations" and staying in the building after hours.
Democratic state Rep. Darren Jackson is on their side. This week, he filed a bill, HB 946, that would repeal the controversial law.
Virginia teen wins federal case, sets precedent
Transgender student wins federal lawsuit 01:03
A Virginia teen won a battle against his school board for the right to use the boys' bathroom, setting a precedent for any student who might challenge North Carolina's "bathroom bill" law.
That's because the teen won his case in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals -- which also covers North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and West Virginia.
The teen, Gavin Grimm, claimed that the Gloucester County School Board violated Title IX, a law banning sex discrimination in schools, when the board prevented him from using boys' restrooms.
South Carolina student considers legal action
A transgender high school student was suspended for a day in January after a teacher followed him to the bathroom to make sure he used "the right one," the teen told CNN this week.
Mother of suspended transgender student speaks out 00:48
The high school senior went into the boys' bathroom. He had used boys' bathrooms since the seventh grade without incident, but school administrators had recently told him to use the girls' restroom or the nurse's bathroom.
The student was months away from graduation but decided to take online classes instead of returning to school for fear of being "outed." He's now threatening legal action against Horry County Schools.
GOP candidates weigh in
Donald Trump against North Carolina bathroom bill 02:27
North Carolina's governor might be a Republican, but that didn't stop GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump from lambasting his state's new law.
"North Carolina did something that was very strong, and they're paying a big price, and there's a lot of problems," Trump told NBC's "Today" show.
Trump said last week he'd have no problem with a transgender person walking into Trump Tower and using any restroom he or she prefers.
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, in turn, fired on Trump.
"He thought that men should be able to go into the girls' bathrooms if they want to," Cruz said. "Grown adult men -- strangers -- should not be alone in a bathroom with little girls. And that's not conservative. That's not Republican or Democrat. That's basic common sense."
Target aims for equality
Photos: Transgender celebrities
Photos: Transgender celebrities
YouTube star Jazz Jennings is part of the ranks of prominent transgender individuals doing their part to increase the community's visibility in the media. The teen activist appeared in Clean & Clear's digital campaign an stars in a TLC reality show about her life.
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Former child star J.J. Totah came out as a transgender girl in am essay published by Time magazine. "My pronouns are she, her and hers. I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female. And my name is Josie Totah," Totah wrote.
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
It was announced in July that transgender actress Nicole Maines had been cast as a transgender super hero, Nia Nal, who is described as "a soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others" on The CW's "Supergirl."
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Ines Rau has become the first openly transgender woman to appear as a Playboy Playmate with her spread in the November/December 2017 issue.
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Gavin Rossum of the band LCD Soundsystem told Grindr in a July 2017 interview that she's been trying to come out fully as a trans woman for years.
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In June, the artist formerly known as Charice Pempengco reintroduced himself to the world as Jake Zyrus. The singer debuted a new look in 2015 after telling Oprah Winfrey in an interview the year before that "Basically, my soul is like male."
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Zeke Smith was outed as a transgender man on a controversial episode of "Survivor: Game Changers." The 29-year-old asset manager who lives in Brooklyn told People he struggled to forgive fellow contestant Jeff Varner who revealed the information during a Tribal Council.
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Caitlyn Jenner, previously known as Bruce, revealed her new name and gender in Vanity Fair in June 2015. Jenner's announcement was called a watershed moment for transgender visibility. She appeared in the reality show "I Am Cait."
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Laverne Cox, who was cast as Frank-N-Furter in the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" remake, is the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy. She appeared on the VH1 reality show "I Want to Work for Diddy" and later produced her own series, "TRANSform Me." She now portrays Sophia, a trans woman in prison, on the Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black." She received the Emmy nomination for that role.
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Former male model Andrej Pejic revealed to People magazine in July 2014 that she has undergone sex reassignment surgery and is now Andreja.
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Former "Drag Race" contestant Carmen Carrera wants to be the first transgender model to walk the runway for the Victoria's Secret fashion show.
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Amanda Lepore is an iconic mainstay on the fashion and New York nightlife scenes. She has been a muse for fashion photographer David LaChapelle.
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Lana Wachowski was "Laurence" when she and her brother Andy directed films like "The Matrix."
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Producer/director Lilly Wachowski used to be Andy and transitioned after her sister Lana Wachowski.
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Chaz Bono transitioned from Chastity Bono, which is how many fans knew him when he appeared on his parents variety series, "The Sonny & Cher Show."
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Isis King was a contestant on the 11th and 17th cycles of "America's Next Top Model."
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Photos: Transgender celebrities
Lea T is a Brazilian/Italian who has served as a muse for the designer Givenchy. She revealed she was transgender in 2010.
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The retail giant Target said that in its stores, transgender people are free to use whichever restroom they feel comfortable with.
"We welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity," the company said.
"We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day."
But in Minnesota, where Target is headquartered, a Republican state senator has proposed a bill that would restrict access to restrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms based on "biological sex."
And the conservative American Family Association launched a petition calling for a boycott of Target. That petition now has more than 900,000 signatures.
NCAA requirements
Meanwhile, the NCAA announced steps to protect participants and spectators from discrimination at its championship events.
Under new requirements, it will demand sites seeking to host championship events show how they will ensure an environment is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.
Next year's NCAA championships will be held in Phoenix (men's basketball) and Tampa, Florida (football).
