Gender-Neutral Bathrooms: A Necessary and Basic Right
In recent years, efforts to make public facilities accessible for people of all identities have been faced with strong opposition, especially when it comes to gender-segregated facilities such as bathrooms or changing rooms. A common argument used by transphobic individuals is that transgender women “are actually men” and therefore pose a danger to cisgender women in female spaces. However, a 2018 study conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law found no correlation between transgender-friendly public nondiscrimination laws and reports of crime in gender-segregated facilities (National Broadcasting Company News). The issue of gender-neutral spaces is a prevalent one, as Black, transgender and nonbinary actor Suni Reid recently filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that they experienced an unlawful termination of contract from “Hamilton: An American Musical” (“Hamilton”) after requesting a gender-neutral dressing room (Time Magazine). Reid’s account of their time on “Hamilton” reveals a discriminatory reality that transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people must navigate through when working in locations that are heavily gendered.
“I think that [Reid’s] claims are justified,” sophomore Akiko Kono said. “Everyone has a right to [be safe] in the workplace, and if they did not feel like that, then I do think they were right to speak up about it. Progress only comes [from] asking for it.”
Examples of additional accusations that Reid listed in their complaint, such as misgendering and physical harassment, are also indicative of what many LGBTQ+ students encounter in school bathrooms. According to data collected by GLSEN, a nonprofit organization advocating for LGBTQ+ youth in school settings, around two-thirds of transgender students avoid school bathrooms because they feel uncomfortable or unsafe using these facilities. While Peninsula has nine gender-neutral staff bathrooms scattered across the campus, they are only available to students upon request. Even in gender-segregated bathrooms, conditions are not ideal for transgender students who wish to use them.
“I noticed that a lot of the guys’ bathroom stalls [are not really paid attention to by the school],’’ senior Mikey Abrams said. “I guess they forget that trans guys exist, so a lot of the bathroom stalls do not have doors on them, the locks are broken or they [do] not have toilet paper. These are reasons why I do not really like going into the guys’ bathrooms. Personally, I would love it if all bathrooms are gender-neutral.”
Assembly Bill 1732, the 2016 California law stating that any one-toilet bathroom in public institutions must be designated as available to all genders, has pushed many schools to integrate a few gender-neutral bathrooms for faculty and students, yet the change is far from widespread (Los Angeles Times). It is absolutely within the right of schools to maintain existing gender-segregated bathrooms, but it is also well within the right of LGBTQ+ students to ask that schools make certain adjustments. After all, schools have the responsibility of providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for every student, and adding gender-neutral bathrooms would be a significant step towards achieving that goal.
“I do not see [gender-neutral bathrooms] as a political issue,” Latin 1, 2, 3, 3H, Advanced Placement and World History teacher Bettina de Guzman said. “I see it as a humanitarian one. I cannot even politicize it; I just think it is about letting students who need to go to the bathroom… go to the bathroom.”
