UMSU ponders gender-neutral washrooms

VERONICA CARR STAFF

UMSU council is considering designating gender-neutral washrooms on campus, the result of concerns over students’ safety and inclusiveness.

“Imagine being a transgendered person and you’re standing there and your only two options are the little stick girl and the little stick boy and neither may apply to you,” explained Jason Van Rooy, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirited (LGBTT) UMSU representative.

“If you choose the little stick girl and you are a male-to-female transgender person and other women in the washroom feel uncomfortable having you in there, under the current policy they can ask the security services to remove you, which is really unbeneficial if you really need to use the washroom,” Van Rooy said.

The council is now discussing accessibility and how the U of M can make its washrooms more accessible.

“I’ve always had good experiences in transgender or gender-neutral washrooms and think it’s a great idea that the U of M is looking to implement more accessibility for people,” said Robin Dourn, UMSU women’s representative.

UMSU council wants washrooms to be more open, with more private stalls. The unisex washrooms would have no doors in the entranceway of the washroom, to ensure if anything is going on in the washrooms other individuals can hear, and floor-to-ceiling stalls for more privacy.

Policy surrounding labelling of the facilities is also being researched. UMSU looks to change the “male” washroom to the “male-identified washroom” and the “female” to the “female-identifed washroom,” in order to include everyone — including those who don’t want to be identified in one of the traditional gender categories.

Van Rooy said that while there was no single incident that inspired the idea, it has been discussed for the last few years.

“There are transgendered people here, so there is no question to whether or not this is an issue worth looking into,” commented Van Rooy.

Although the plans are still in the exploration stages at this point, Van Rooy and the council are concentrating on the new buildings that will most likely be created or renovated in the future.

“Completely reconstructing all the washrooms wouldn’t be financially feasible so only smaller changes, that could be still very important, would be made to the currently existing washrooms and then all future washrooms will hopefully be constructed under our new plan,” said Van Rooy.

Students’ unions at Concordia University, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia have each designated a gender-neutral washroom. Three University of Victoria student residences feature single-stall unisex washrooms, either with two gender icons or simply the word “washroom.”

Sarah Paquin, Womyn’s Centre coordinator and arts student at the U of M, said that she changed her opinion after being in a no-gender washroom for the first time.

“When I first heard about a no-gender washroom I thought it was a great idea, and what’s the big deal? However after over hearing a few males talking negatively about it when I was in one of the stalls in a gender-neutral facility, I didn’t even want to have the confrontation of leaving the stall.”

As Paquin points out, “there may be some who can’t really get into the idea, but overall, after a transition period, it could be a great move.”