OVER THE EDGE March 14, 2007

13

Manitoba Universities Consider Gender-Neutral Washrooms |

Facilities Designed to Accommodate Transgendered Students

Derrek LESCHASIN AND
VERONICA CARR
CUP CenrraL Bureau Caine

WINNIPEG (CUP) -- Issues
of cleanliness aside, most people
feel entirely» comfortable using
public washrooms. But do those
stick figures on washroom doors
match everyone? And if they
don’t, what’s to be done about it?

“Imagine being a _ trans-
gendered 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,” says Jason Van
Rooy, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Two-Spirited rep-
resentative for the University of
Manitoba Students’ Union.

The University of Winnipeg
and the University of Manitoba
are grappling with how to accom-
modate transgendered individuals
who do not feel comfortable using
men’s or women’s washrooms.
The answer may be gender-neu-
tral facilities on the campuses.

Transgendered people -- loose-
ly defined as individuals who do
not identify with their gender at
birth -- often face violence or ver-
bal abuse when attempting to. use-
facilities.

“It got to the point where I
became extremely uncomfort-

able being in the women’s room, -

because people told me that I did
not belong and that I’m a dude,”
says Rune Breckon, a transgender
student at the U of W, and an em-
ployee at the Rainbow Resource
Centre. “But [I was] too scared

to go in the guys room, because I

didn’t feel like I passed as a guy
enough.”

As a result, Breckon often
- stayed ‘away from using the wash-
rooms on campus. Breckon ap-
proached Fiona Green, a women’s
studies professor, and the two
began collaborating with other
campus members to present a pro-
posal to administration.

“Tt seems ridiculous that it’s
taken us this long to provide space
for people who feel threatened . .
‘, in using gendered bathrooms
where the other clients . ... feel
uncomfortable enough to target
people who they don’t think be-
long in those bathrooms,” Green
says.

While the proposal process is
still underway, the concept that
has emerged is to have single-stall
washrooms on campus, which
would be designated “accessible.”
These washrooms would be avail-
able to anyone, but their main pur-
pose would be to provide a safe
alternative for transgendered stu-
dents and community members.
Locations may be included in fu-

ture campus developments.
. Some single-stall washrooms
designated for people with dis-
abilities may be given the new
designation. “All you have to do
is put new signage on these bath-
rooms,” Belik notes.

Ads were placed in washrooms
.on campus, soliciting students’ an-
onymous opinions on the idea of
having gender-neutral washrooms
on campus.

“Gender is a cultural concept

S11 VA Toate iat hha rs.

2 ST AO kere

Earestiottecant Lanvgy (ficiency ~ SEL eal Gonenpies

ur

BRAY. Lachmann prin wtA ES ices pastyede gee

has eae

LRRSORE RES

wetiion ¢ receaitin, to Rx Lene 08 tes phaniicga fae behon aetem ati af apis: omare atier gryehasion. Emaar

ee able
eben, ts rey eae
crete, bh ted

“anaes Saree men ee gredaniag

Diesker wag bw ies far hes

Laid

1 gare da peed & ret rogers net redee, on appercd oF

Servers on apeeresi creda & upskted redad baseas,/ pyexipannes

ei tet pea rend mapared om wapyng

:
:
i
H
?
i
E
:
‘
|
i}
i
:
E
}
f
E
:
}

tee

Sharpes pre Petey ine Vere Hapetterk 10 retendebee secant Segead 4 SAMltor ens Hebchtonk All otlemcap etait (re aghe are pee shew ey

EF OR FLING TR FOE PRE “ce the Pa are eed hee, STS LAL Bray we per wendauee TIPE boomed ae a Wl verti ele yavey becmce wey RY 20H straws 904 0 ARE Ted
set Prepacat 2598 Tree sem ae tated (boar:

fede Mok: gece Sraace pore se ewade: Sees

Bveatu 3 ec veked yrs
faegensd

not a fact,” one student wrote. “Be
who you are!”

“Are you crazy. No fucking
way do I want to share the bath-
room,” another student wrote.

Yet another wrote: “Why
make another place for people to
be faggots.”

“The results were pretty

brutal,” Breckon says. The re-
sponses could be attributed to a
lack of information about what

_ the new facilities would actually

your toyota

entail, Breckon speculates.

unknown . . . really paralyses.
people to think openly and dif-.

ferently.-And I think we need to:

sort of deal..with that in this cam=

paign,” says Green.

At the U of M, the students f

union council wants washrooms —

to be more open, with more pri-
vate stalls. The unisex washrooms. |
would have no doors in the en
tranceway of the washroom, to

=

NORTHERN T

2008 Prabintd Stree

__, ensure if anything is going on in -
“I often think that fear of the —

the washrooms other: individuals
can hear, and floor-to-ceiling stalls

for privacy. _

UMSU looks to change the
“male” ‘washroom to the “male-
identified washroom” and the
“female” to the “female-identified
washroom,” in order. to. include
everyone -- including those who
don’t want to be identified in one _
ofthe traditional gender categor-
ies.

bc dealers

tuyotabs.

6a