#transgnederstudies

Post Nine: Blog Resources and Additional Resources

TRANSGENDERED BATHROOMS. (2016). Journal of Property Management, 81(1), 28. 

This is an article that provides basic definitions of terms used throughout the blog like transgender, gender identity, gender expression, and sex. It also provides introductory information on the need for gender neutral bathrooms and how most are structural seen today. See Post two for more information.

Beemyn, B., Curtis, B., Davis, M., & Tubbs, N. J. (2005). Transgender issues on college campuses. New directions for student services, 111, 49-60.

This resource helps folks navigate creating safe spaces on college campuses whether it is in housing, bathrooms, or locker rooms. It gives specific suggestions for how campus housing can be more accessible to students that are trans or gender nonconforming.  It also talks about how we cannot assume that queer spaces are always what trans folks need but rather we should ask them what is best for their experiences. See Post Three for more information.

Anthony, K. H., & Dufresne, M. (2007). Potty parity in perspective: gender and family issues in planning and designing public restrooms. Journal of Planning Literature, 21(3), 267-294.

This source goes into detail about why the construction of single stalled bathrooms is actually cost efficient as well as how it creates a more equal environment. It also discusses the legislation that requires new buildings or renovations of bathrooms to include gender neutral bathrooms. See Post Four for more information.

https://www.ted.com/talks/ivan_coyote_why_we_need_gender_neutral_bathrooms?language=en#t-7076

This TED Talk provides a personal narrative from Ivan Coyote regarding their experience with not always having a safe space to use the restroom or change in. There is also talk about legislation regarding folks having to use the restroom that matches the gender they were assigned at birth.

http://amplifyyourvoice.org/youthresource/youthresource-genderneutralfaq/

This website provides common questions regarding the need for gender neutral bathrooms, what they tend to look like, and what it means to have access to them.

http://www.uua.org/lgbtq/welcoming/ways/bathrooms

This is an excellent source that provides suggestions for people thinking about creating gender neutral bathrooms. It provides a couple different ways to change the current settings of bathrooms that exist into more inclusive spaces. It also provides links to other resources that help with signs for bathrooms and the structural changes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/09/white-house-gender-neutral-bathroom_n_7028810.html

This video/ article talks about how the White House added a gender neutral restroom in order to promote accessibility for all people.

https://genderandsexuality.uic.edu/gender-inclusion-uic/gender-neutral-bathrooms/

Due to this blog being viewed by UIC students/ classmates, here is a resource from the Gender and Sexuality Center where all the gender neutral bathrooms are on campus thus far.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/28/north-carolina-bathroom-law-could-change-practices-public-colleges-and-universities

Post Three: Need for Neutral Spaces on College Campuses

           This source takes a look at the needs of transgender students and gender nonconforming students specifically on college campuses. This expands to more spaces than just restrooms such as housing and locker rooms. It is one thing to have gender neutral facilities present but, importantly, how is knowledge about these spaces being put out there to folks?

           Provided are some steps and tips to campus housing facilities on how to maintain a structure that provides information to students about the accessibility of gender neutral or private spaces.

·         Staff within housing should document/have documentation of rooms that have their own bathrooms and showers

·         For residence halls that do not have their own bathrooms the staff should make it accessible which, if any, bathrooms in the building are gender neutral or private

·         It should be noted if any shower facilities are gender neutral with stalls that lock versus just a curtain

·         Importantly, residence halls need to be aware of cost, meaning making sure students requesting specific neutral spaces aren’t being unfairly charged for this housing

 This source presents reasons that agree and disagree with the single stall situation presented in the previous post. It states that some individuals prefer private rooms, restrooms, changing areas, etc. purely for safety reason both if regardless or not if they are open about their identity as transgender. On the other hand some students who, while they may identify as transgender, don’t prefer to being in LGBTQIA/ queer spaces or neutral spaces because they are not out about their gender identify or feel as though they might not fit in because they identify as heterosexual.  Institutions in states like Maine, Pennsylvania, and California have started offering gender neutral housing options meaning the assignments are made regardless of biological sex. This gives people the option to request roommates of any gender identity.  Structurally this has happened by changing current living spaces due to current residence halls not being set up with majority of the rooms being private.

While bathrooms have been converted using single stalls, locker rooms are a bit trickier. This requires more structural/ physical changes than changing the sign. However, creating locker rooms that are either smaller rooms or the same size prove to be accessible for more than just an individual basis. As the source discussed, this is accessible for trans and gender nonconforming folks, people with children that might be of the opposite gender, and folks with disabilities that might have somebody to help them of a different gender.

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Post Two: Starting at the Basics- Movement for Gender Neutral Bathrooms

           The Journal of Property Management released an article in January of 2016 regarding the movement in the trans community to create safer spaces when it comes to restrooms due to lack of ‘federal guidance’ in this matter. The most common solution for this is, as most businesses have done, to make three bathrooms. The idea behind this is that there will be gender neutral, male, and female in hopes that it will be the least ‘controversial’ way of accommodating people.

           Structurally the most common way of having a gender neutral restroom is not by building one with a bunch of stalls like a men’s or women’s bathroom but rather identifying a single stalled bathroom as a gender neutral space. This means usually only changing the markings outside of the room. This is also usually a bathroom for folks with disabilities so that creates an accessible space now for both communities. However, this does not stray away from the idea that simply changing the sign on one room versus creating a bathroom of equal size to other restrooms is taking ‘the easy route’.

These signs are most commonly seen as the male figure next to a female identifies figure however other approaches have been seen as “Male, trans people welcome” or “Female, trans people welcome”. The purpose of this was to specifically be inclusive of trans identified folks however there are cons to this method. Specifically saying trans people are welcome still creates an ‘othering’ factor in the sense that they can’t just enter a bathroom identifying as female alone or the notion that it singles out another identity that is welcome in that bathroom as if their identity as female without mentioning trans with that would not have been welcomed.

This source provided a basic understanding of how the transforming of bathrooms started structurally meaning which bathrooms and what the most common practices have been. Most efforts unfortunately have been carried out only due to what is most cost effective which is why we commonly see a single stall being changed. A question that arose for me while reading this was: if this is tailored specifically to one individual what does this mean for families that have the need for these spaces? If there are only single stalls, how do families navigate these restrooms?

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