Who Needs Gender Neutral Restrooms?
Traditionally restrooms are divided into Male and Female rooms, which
contain multiple sinks and are subdivided into multiple stalls. This creates
a public space, partially divided into semi-private spaces. For many, this
lack of privacy is a problem. Nursing mothers sometimes need a private space
to breastfeed or use a pump, parents of different sex children or different
sex caretakers of the elderly or disabled need a space in which they can
comfortably be together, and those with social anxiety or other conditions
need more privacy than a traditional restroom can provide. Beyond these
groups, transgendered people and others with non-traditional gender
identities face a variety of problems in traditional restrooms. There are
incidents of harassment, denial of use, arrest, and violence directed towards
transgendered people simply using the restroom. Furthermore, there is the
simple question of which restroom to use when you are female by gender but
biologically male.
Why use a Gender Neutral Restroom?
A gender neutral restroom is a single-stall facility with a locking door.
This means a restroom designed for a single person to use, with a single
toilet and sink (and sometimes a urinal). Upon entry, users can close and
lock the door, creating a space in which they have safety and privacy for the
duration of use. For those with special needs, this greatly simplifies
restroom use. To the transgender community, this provides even greater
benefits. It eliminates the conflict between decisions based on sex and
decisions based on gender, and protects them from many dangers or even simply
discovery (also called being "outted").
Recommendations for Gender Neutral Restroom Policy at
UC Davis
There are a number of single-stall facilities at UC Davis currently
labeled as male or female. The first recommendation for UC Davis is the
conversion of all such facilities into gender neutral facilities,
accomplished simply by hanging new restroom signs. Easy and inexpensive, this
would be a significant statement of support to the transgender community, and
would more than triple the number of gender neutral facilities here at UC
Davis.
The next recommendation surrounds policy for future construction and
remodeling. We would like to see a mandate for the presence of gender neutral
restrooms in new construction and remodel. While at least one per building
seems necessary, we would ideally like to see 1 or 2 gender neutral restrooms
for each pair of traditional male and female restrooms.
Finally, we would like to see student housing create a formalized priority
system for transgendered students' placement into appropriate facilities.
Currently only Cuarto and Leech have true gender neutral facilities, though
the LGBT theme floor will have a coed facility. Incoming students should be
notified of a new system for priority placement based on need or desire, so
that transgender students will know that stepping forward and talking to student
housing will ensure adequate facilities. Without a publicized policy,
transgender students may decide remaining anonymous is more worthwhile than a
request that may be denied.
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