Commode accommodations: hot commodity on campus

The remodeled HCC now has gender neutral restrooms. For those of you not in-the-know, this means that people of all genders can now freely choose whichever side of the bathroom they want to use. According to the December issue of RAD Times, “both bathrooms have stalls and the right bathroom has a urinal, but individuals may choose which bathroom they use without worrying about offending anyone in that room." 

Gender neutral restrooms are an important step forward, as they can make the simple act of using a public restroom more comfortable for trans* students. As a trans* identified student, I am greatly relieved to have the chance to go to a public restroom and not have to battle severe anxiety. While I can’t speak for any other trans* folk, gendered restrooms present such an emotional threat to me that I will often send a peer in to check and make sure the bathroom is deserted, or hightail it to the other side of campus to find a single-occupancy restroom.

The work is still not done though. While gender neutral restrooms in the HCC represent a symbol of positive change, the fact of the matter is that the CAB, one of the (if not the) most used buildings on campus is still gender-segregated. Club meetings are often held here. The Greenery and The Flaming Eggplant, the CPJ and the Student Activities offices are all in this building. So while I can't speak for anyone else, I spend the majority of my non-academic waking hours in the CAB. This becomes problematic as the average human being produces up to two liters of urine per day. Should anybody be forced to live with this kind of emotional discomfort multiple times per day? Should trans* people just hold it until they get to a bathroom they feel safe in? In addition, the single-stall changing rooms in the CRC are ridiculously out of the way and nigh impossible to find. Some CRC employees I've asked for help locating them haven't even known they existed. Everybody deserves the right to feel comfortable when using the restroom or changing their clothes. These types of renovations shouldn't even be considered progressive.

This line of thinking is apparently not clear to many students on campus though, as one group I tried to interview asked me why the change had been made. Students who are not directly affected span a range of reactions. Evan M, who I met in the Greenery, says it’s “really cool in theory, but we’ll see how it works out in practice.” His friend Jean N is slightly less enthusiastic, humorously citing that, “I feel really awkward about shitting in front of guys." I hope those with reservations about the idea will quickly become comfortable with the idea that we all defecate in the same way. Those who don’t can do as I have in the past and learn to map their daily activities around their hangups.

Notes:

Trans* is an umbrella term for identities that don’t match with the sex assignment given to a person at birth. This includes people who identify as a gender not recognized by society, people whose genders are recognized by society but not for people with bodies like theirs, and people who don’t identify with any gender, among others. The asterisk at the end of the word is used to represent the wide spectrum of identities represented, and the fact that you can't always take someone's gender at face value.

Students interviewed did not provide their full names.