SLC Identifies with Gender Neutral Bathroom Proposal

by Joseph Caputo

Wednesday April 4, 2007

On February 21, the Student Life Committee approved the first proposal for gender-neutral bathrooms at Sarah Lawrence College with little need for discussion. The proposal’s authors, membes of the recently recognized club TransAction, were pleasantly surprised. “I was expecting a reasonable level of skepticism, but it was remarkably easy,” said sophomore Stuart Waterman. “We had gone out of our way to be perfectly prepared.”

With gender identity voted into the non-discrimination policy by the Board of Trustees in November 2006, the proposal seemed to be the next step in improving sensibility to, and support of, community members whose gender identities fall outside of teh standard female-and-male binary. “It was a very significant thing to put forward,” said Sarah Cardwell, Assistant Dean for Residential Life. “Most people felt it was fairly logical; it fits with the type of insitution we are.”

By law, every educational building must have one set of gendered bathrooms. The proposal therefore is a concession; it does not eradicate gendered bathrooms, rather it aims to make as many bathrooms gender-neutral as possible. “At this stage, the proposal is mostly uncontroversial,” said Waterman. Installing locks on bathroom stalsl or changing signs on gendered doors to read ALL GENDER or RESTROOM are specific recommendations that are easy and cheap realities for the single-stall bathrooms found in North Building, Bates, and the Old Dorms.

“Gender-neutral bathrooms are not designed to make people who have clear gender identities uncomfortable. The point is to make all people as comfortable as possible going to the bathroom,” said junior Kit Golan, a Student Life Committee member.

“The changes we have proposed are simple, and while they do not necessarily eliminate prejudice, more gender neutral bathrooms do reflect a type of social change. They suppoert the importance of people’s safety and comfort,” wrote first-year Jacki Lacey, co-chair of Transaction, in an e-mail message. “By entering a bathroom, you are announcing your gender identity. This can be a harrowing confrontation for people who do not find themselves in the binary,” Lacey added.

For those who identify as transgender (people whose biological sex does not match their mental gender) or gender-variant (who may not identify as transgender, male or female) a change in signs prevents a trip to the bathroom from being psychologically humiliating and yet another reminder of one’s difference.

“Most of the time, it’s not about harrassment or violence. Usually, it’s just a simple look. Someone walks into the bathroom, sees you there, and then has to check the sign on the door again. It’s not always about being scared: sometimes it’s just about being uncomfortable,” said junior Tobi.

Future discussion and another proposal will be required for gender neutral bathrooms to be assigned in the Esther Raushenbush Library, Ilchman Science Center, and Campbell Sports Center. Permission from faculty and staff needs to be obtained, and in the case of the Sports Center, where locker rooms enter the discussion, alternatives are under consideration. “We’re trying to figure out the right way of dealing with them. Ideally, we’re talking about private bathrooms, but we want to talk about multi-stall,” said Waterman.

With the consent of Student Life Committee, the February proposal will be brought to President Meyers for final approval. TransAction plans to continue their campain of inclusion by compiling a master list of gender-neutral bathrooms for future first-years, tackling the housing policy, and making it easier to change names on student I.D. cards.

For more information or to get involved, contact transaction@slc.edu.