Bathroom Activism

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Gender Neutral Bathroom Project “On Hold” Photo by Riley Sparks

Gender Neutral Bathroom Project “On Hold”

Two weeks after 12 single-stall restrooms in the EV building were “gender neutralized” by an anonymous guerrilla sign maker, the Concordia administration stated that the project to create dedicated gender-neutral bathrooms on campus is currently “on hold.”

Two weeks after 12 single-stall restrooms in the EV building were “gender neutralized” by an anonymous guerrilla sign maker, the Concordia administration stated that the project to create dedicated gender-neutral bathrooms on campus is currently “on hold.”

Chris Mota, Concordia’s director of media relations, told The Link that “though creating a free standing, actually-named gender neutral bathroom is a possibility, it is not a possibility right now. We need to look into that further.”

Last November, the project for a gender-neutral bathroom in the Hall building was sidetracked when maintenance workers discovered asbestos in the bathroom’s proposed site. The clean up cost is $27,000.

Mota explained that, in the meantime, there are approximately 80 washrooms scattered around both campuses that are not gender-specific and available for use by anyone.

“[These bathrooms], simply tagged as ‘washrooms,’ [don’t] have the female or male gender icons on it,” she said. “That’s addressing the issue on this point on a reasonable basis for the time being.”

The gender-neutralized signs, which were put up before the Thanksgiving weekend and are still standing, were something the administration “had never even heard of” before The Link inquired about the state of the project. Similarly, the CSU’s current executive hadn’t heard about it either.

The bathrooms were originally proposed by the CSU and given the green light by university administration in 2008.

“I encourage students to bring issues like these to the monthly town hall meetings. I had no idea until I read the article [in The Link],” said CSU President Heather Lucas. She also discussed the possibility of implementing gender-neutral bathrooms at the newly opened Hive “as a start.”

“I applaud the person who [put up the signs]. It’s a brave thing to do and it gets people’s attention. You need to get the administration’s attention one way or another. I know how long the bureaucracy can take,” she said, adding the CSU would ideally have gender-neutral bathrooms in the student centre as well.

In the meantime, Lucas hopes to meet with the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy and Queer Concordia in the near future.

“I’d just like to know where these so-called 80 spaces are around school,” said the sign maker—who spoke to The Link on the condition of continued anonymity. The misunderstanding is that there needs to be a creation of space instead of an alteration of the space that already exists. “That’s what these signs show. It’s a very simple concept: we don’t need a $27,000 bathroom, we just need a sign on the door that says, ‘this is a neutral space!’”

An incident at Reggie’s bar during a Queer Concordia event on Oct. 22 also drove home the need for neutral territory, added the sign maker. After a transgendered individual tried to access the bathroom, they were reportedly intimidated by a group of Reggie’s customers.

“So this person was told to ‘stay out,’ had to hold it for about three hours and was terrified to go in the bathroom. […] This is the perfect example of how common transphobia is on this campus.”

Bathroom altercations are a reality for many gender-variant individuals. According to a study conducted in 2002 by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, over 50 per cent of trans people have been harassed or assaulted in public bathrooms.

The continual wait to establish a place for trans people on campus to use the bathroom in peace is “indicative of a lot of trans issues that get lost in the fray,” said the sign maker. “Why is the project on hold again? It takes a little initiative, but all it should cost is a sign on a door.”

This article originally appeared in The Link Volume 31, Issue 11, published October 26, 2010.

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