Gender and Religion Meet at the Porcelain Throne

Written by Stephanie Renee Roy

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, just introduced Bill C-16 which amends the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Meanwhile, south of the border, North Carolina passed House Bill 2: Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, a bill forcing (mostly trans*) individuals to use public bathrooms labeled with the sex identified on their birth certificate.

This has caused most North Americans to be acutely aware of safety concerns and gender segregation in public washrooms.

Someone opens the door of the women’s washroom. I smile at my colleague nervously. She walks by me quickly towards a stall. I awkwardly smile and nod as she walks by.

The common argument against bathroom bills is that #WeJustNeedToPee. She needs to pee. I do not.

As a Muslim in North America, there are few spaces where I can comfortably wash-up before each of the five daily prayers, a couple of which fall during average North American work hours.

Muslim communities hold various beliefs about modesty, gender, and gender segregation. Muslim women show their hair and bodies to varying audiences and to various degrees from bikinis to burkas. I cover my hair and, for many, that makes me an “other“: sometimes feared, often mistrusted, and generally misunderstood.

I anxiously stare into the mirror. I lean over the sink, pour water on my hands, and splash some on my face. I hear a flush. I swirl water into my mouth, spitting it out as quietly as I can. My colleague joins me at the sinks and proceeds to wash her hands. I snort water. I can tell she is looking at me.

There exists various Islamic interpretations on the subject of gender and sexuality. While there exists Islamic terms for gender variance from hadiths (such as Mukhannathun, “effeminate men”) and from the Qu’ran (al-tabiyani ghayri oolee al-irbati mina al-rijali or “male attendants who have no sexual desires”), it remains difficult to reconcile modern knowledge of gender identity and sexual orientation to 7th Century concepts of gender and gender non-conformity. Muslims are then left to navigate a heavily gendered and gender-segregated community with varying understanding and acceptance of trans* identities.

Proponents of bathroom bills have propagated the myth that there is a risk of adult cisgender males pretending to be trans* to prey on women and children. However, while verbal and physical attacks in public washrooms are ill-documented, it has been demonstrated that children are more likely to be attacked in bathrooms by other children, and that the adults most vulnerable to assault are trans* individuals, gay men, and visible minorities.

Muslims are then left to navigate a heavily gendered and gender-segregated community with varying understanding and acceptance of trans* identities.

As my colleague walks out, I exhale a sigh of relief. I glance at the door nervously and begin to unpin my head covering. If you have never experienced hijab, just imagine “hijab hair” to be the monster child of bed hair and hat hair. As I look into the mirror, my brightly-colored mane makes me look like a 90’s troll doll. I smile at myself. I quickly wipe my hands over my hair and ears.

I silently pray that no one comes into the bathroom. Then, I ungraciously lift my foot into the sink. I wipe the counter and the floor of any spillage, and leave.

There is increasing pressure on governments and organizations to find alternatives to gender-segregated multi-stall bathrooms. The ideal safety washroom is one that is single-user, unisex, wheelchair accessible and equipped with a changing table. These are already readily available in many smaller locations and while some may have gender labels, most women will not shy away from using a single-user men’s room if they need to – especially if there’s a line. These also provide added privacy for those who use washrooms alternatively to evacuating body waste.

However, larger establishments are arguing that it is not possible to provide single user washrooms, that large multi-stall bathrooms are the only efficient use of space. These types of bathrooms have long been common in many LGBTQ establishments, like bars or clubs, where the lines between sex and gender are often blurred. Where going to the washroom “with the girls” could include members of any orientation and gender. But these are not spots particularly well-known as appropriate for salaat (ritual prayer) and classifying multi-stall washrooms as gender-neutral would remove many of these spaces for devout Muslims.

So what do I suggest for privacy and efficiency?

Most buildings already include two bathroom spaces: a men’s and a women’s room. I suggest that one multi-stall bathroom be labelled gender-neutral – for those who “just need to pee” – and the other be converted into large accessible single-user washrooms. Because this is 2016, and we really can have it all!