Gender Separation in Public Restrooms

For most of the general population, the decision of which restroom to use when in public is really not much of a decision at all. No thought needs to be put into it, people just choose one and go. For a transgender person deciding upon which restroom to use can be an agonizing decision to make, one that can lead to severe anxiety. Most businesses and schools have very clearly defined “men’s” and “women’s” restrooms. Within the transgender community, it is not that black and white. A transgender person is defined as somebody whose gender identity is different than the sex they were assigned with at birth (“New Law”). In simpler terms, it is a person who identifies as the opposite sex. This makes choosing which restroom to use when in public a difficult decision. A person born as a male but who identifies as a female would feel very uncomfortable in the men’s bathroom, yet could be in trouble for going into the women’s restroom. Gender-neutral restrooms are an easy solution to the ever growing issue of which bathroom should be used by transgender people. Another simple, yet effective, solution would be to allow the transgendered community to simply use the restroom of whichever sex it is that they identify with.

Gender separation in public restrooms has long been the norm in the United States. While in the past it was not designed this way to be discriminatory; in this day and age it creates a physical exclusion of the transgendered community. One large focus of transgender activist groups has been safe access to public restrooms. Often they are advocating for gender-neutral options. This has been met with a great deal of resistance and skepticism. Many opponents maintain that there could be safety issues for children and women, t...

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...der student is somebody who consistently, every day, all day long, wants to be recognized by their gender of identity” (qtd. in “Religious”).

In response to a rise in activism in support of transgender students, many college campuses across the nation are now offering, or plan to offer soon, gender-neutral housing in which members of the opposite sex can live together and share bathrooms (“Gender-Neutral”). As of right now, 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws that specifically protect students from gender-identity discrimination. While this is a great step in the right direction, the United States has a long way to go. Implementing gender-neutral bathrooms in public buildings and schools is a great way of helping make it easier for transgender individuals until the day comes that there are laws in place allowing them to use the restroom of their choice.