Policing the Use of Restrooms and Transgender Issues

Transgender is referring to the movement away from the gender that an individual was originally assigned to at birth (Stryker, 2008).  Transgender issues and how this relates to bodies (what we do and do not discuss in public) is what we have been discussing in my Bodies in American Culture class.  I have decided to take a closer look into the secretive nature and the use of restrooms in particular to grasp human rights and transgendered individuals. 

Public restrooms are necessary for every human being, but it is challenging for transgendered individuals.  Rather than considering human nature, transgendered individuals are focused on their bodies and whether being in a certain space will create uncomfortable situations.  Being able to walk into a restroom without having to worry about people discussing whether I should or should not be using that gender specific restroom is something that I take for granted, daily.  Bornstein in Gender Outlaw (1994) highlights an event that occurred with someone who was in the process of gender change.  The individual was working at an IBM Subsidiary in Philadelphia and the individual did not know which bathroom to use because it was segregated into “male” or “female” only restrooms.  To be fair, most of the individual’s coworkers did not have a problem with the individual using whatever bathroom necessary, but the manager of that building was not as accepting.  Since there was construction on one of the floors of the building and no one was using that floor, the transgender individual was to use the restroom that was never cleaned or stocked. The bathroom did have running water. 

This seems to go to the extremes. Why was this individual put in a position of using a bathroom that was potential dangerous and sectioned away from other coworkers?

The idea that the individual was going “against” the gender system by changing gender, this ultimately threatens the gender system that is in place in society.  People who feel threatened/uncomfortable and use violence against transgendered (physically and mentally), they would be considered as gender defenders.  When it comes to ambiguous gender, gender defenders wish to keep transgendered individuals as a secret to maintain the gender system.

The Human Rights Act provides some support and legal protection for transgendered individuals, but discrimination and inequalities are endless.  This does not change the root of the issue.  Although this does not change the source of the issues, it does provide rights.

Recently, I came across an article on Jezebel regarding a transgender teenager who won a case against Maine’s Supreme Court (http://jezebel.com/why-this-transgender-teens-big-legal-victory-matters-1515898798).  Nicole was born a boy, but by the age of two she began identifying as a female.  She had the school’s support to use the girl’s restroom until a male classmate followed her into the restroom, claiming that if she can use this restroom, than so can he.  The classmate followed Nicole into the girl’s restroom on many occasions before they banned her from using the girl’s restroom.  She was forced to use the faculty restroom and so instead of having the ability to transition into a female identity, Nicole became an outcast.  

After the change from girl’s restroom to faculty restroom, Nicole was continually harassed and bullied because she identified as female.  This began the discrimination lawsuit. Originally, Maine’s Supreme Court in 2012 stood on the side of the school, but now the Supreme Court ruled in Nicole’s favor that her rights were violated.  This was no small feat and this is one case that has been ruled in favor of the violated individual.

Recently, the college I attend has had a list of initiatives to create better and safer spaces for the students attending the school.  On the list, there were many initiatives that I have not yet seen on campus, and a few that have arisen since meetings in 2012-2013.  One of the initiatives was to include gender-neutral restrooms for those who identify as transgender or may not identify as simply “female” or “male.” 

There are many places to offer gender-neutral restrooms, including main areas that students often use.  For example, the Campus Center.  There are a total of four women’s restrooms and four men’s restrooms.  At one point during the 2013 fall semester, I discovered on the third floor, there was a gender-neutral restroom.  I personally did not feel uncomfortable using this restroom, but if I had been uncomfortable, I would have had plenty of options to find another restroom. 

What struck me was that I never saw any announcements that the restroom was available to the public, nor an announcement when this restroom was changed back to a male-only space. I do not understand why administration decided to change the bathroom back or even to inform the student body that this was available.

This could be much of the same situation that Bornstein discusses in Gender Outlaw, which is to keep anyone who does not identify as simply “female” or “male” as a secret so that the gender system is not disrupted. 

Stryker, Susan. Transgender History. Berkeley, CA: Seal, 2008. Print.

Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw:On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. Routledge, NY & London, 1994. Print.