Saturday, March 3, 2007
Saturday Feature: In TG Shoes - Bathrooms
This Saturday, I thought I'd bring up something that for most of us, is a pretty normal everyday thing, but for someone who is transgendered, it must be intimidating. No matter which restroom you use (etiquette says to use the one that matches how you present yourself), it could lead to a confrontation. Sometimes, it could even lead to violence against the transgendered individual. Safe2pee.org tries to offer a resource for transgendered persons in public places. They are attempting to catalog bathrooms that are either single stall with a locking door, or omni-sex. I'm not sure it would make a very good resource for transgendered people (those outside of San Francisco at least) but it highlights the issue in a way that makes you think about it. Also, it's a Google maps mashup, so if you know up TG friendly bathrooms in your area, you can add them to the list.
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5 comments:
A couple of weeks ago a reporter asked me about my bathroom use. Here is what I sent her:
Hi Pat-
In accordance with both federal rulings and common sense, I use the restroom appropriate to my gender presentation . . . women's room. I have never had a problem. One diversity consultant silenced some of the questions when he asked, "When's the last time you saw someone undressed in the restroom?" At the risk of overkill, below are four other responses to that question from very reputable sources. Feel free to ask anytime, I tell my students that "the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked." (I like puns). If I am uncomfortable answering a question you pose, I will tell you why.
All the best,
Julie
From Dear Abby
Dear Watched: I received a slew of mail from women who were outraged at the thought of a male using the women's restroom for any reason. So I contacted Dr. John Bancroft, director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. He said:
"I advise my transsexual or transgendered patients that when they present themselves as women they should use the women's restroom and vice versa. Women should feel no concern about the occasional transgendered person doing this. What such people want more than anything else is to be seen and accepted as a normal female. I provide my gender reassignment patients with a formal "To Whom It May Concern" letter to carry at all times, explaining that they are in this process of transitioning - and if there are any questions, to contact me."
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June 11, 2001
DEAR ANN LANDERS: Last week, I was at a restaurant and needed to use the ladies' room. I was washing my hands when a tall, heavyset woman entered. I realized this was a man dressed as a woman.
I am an open-minded person, Ann, but I felt extremely uncomfortable. My daughter said, "If he is dressed like a woman and feels like a woman, it is perfectly OK for him to use the ladies' washroom." I say, if he is a male, he should use the men's room. Will you settle the argument?
- A He or a She in New Jersey
DEAR N.J.: I would be willing to bet that the person you encountered in the ladies' room was indeed a woman. Tall females who wear pantsuits are not uncommon these days, and with the chic, short haircuts, they DO look quite masculine.
However, if indeed this person was a transvestite, he was not a threat to you. In fact, using the men's room dressed that way could have been dangerous for him. Because women's bathrooms have stalls and there is no need to expose oneself, I say let him use the bathroom he is most comfortable with.
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The restroom issue can be put into perspective by recalling the Southern USA before 1960. There were separate restrooms for whites and "coloreds," and black people were not allowed in the white restrooms, not because of any action, but because of their status. We have gotten past this obvious racial inequity, and we are now addressing the same issue for transgendered people.
Is it fair to compare transgender restroom discrimination of the 2000s with restroom segregation in the South in the 1950s? At the 2006 Out and Equal conference in Chicago, Mary Ann Horton had the opportunity to ask two highly qualified women this question. The first was Rosalyn Taylor O'Neale, an articulate, professional, African American, diversity specialist and author who remembers the south in the 50s and 60s. (Ms. O'Neale's book cover is shown at right.) When asked if the transgender restroom issue was the same issue as the segregated restrooms of the 50s, Ms. Taylor said that it is, in fact, it's a very good analogy. Click here to listen to her response.
The second women was Yolanda King, the daughter of Civil Rights Pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ms. King is very aware of the restroom segregation in the South and is highly qualified to comment on it. She also stated, in a very thoughtful and dignified response, that it's valid to compare current transgender restroom access to the restroom segregation of the South. (Ms. Horton's question and Ms. King's answer are shown to the right.) Click here to listen to the question and her response.
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This situation has now been resolved by the federal courts. In landmark case Cruzan vs Davis, a ruling was made in June 2002 by a federal appeals court in Minnesota that an employer is within its rights to instruct a transgendered employee to use the restroom matching their new presentation, and that if another employee complains, the company may offer the complaining employee an accomodation (such a the use of a different restroom by the complaining employee.) The full text of the ruling can be found at http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/8th/013417p.pdf or here.
Recommended reading from the Transgender Law Center: Peeing In Peace.
Question:
My wife and I have young daughters. As a family, we exercise at the YMCA. After we exercise, my wife and daughters shower in the women's locker room.
I do not want my young children, who are not yet old enough to understand sex differences (I'm talking about biological sex, not gender), to shower with people of the opposite sex.
Does my family need to not shower at the YMCA, or is it reasonable to require that transgendered persons who use the YMCA either:
1) shower at home
2) use the locker room that is appropriate for their biological sex
Thanks for your input.
Anonymous-
I do not know how locker rooms are handled, but I imagine that is an issue that would be decided by your local YMCA. My guess is that they would be able to offer a transgendered person a private shower if one was available (perhaps in a staff locker room). The best thing you could do is talk with the gym you attend and ask them how they would handle the situation.
Thanks for the response. They don't have a posted policy on the issue, so I would need to ask an employee.
The YMCA is a public facility. Even if they have a policy, there may be requirements for the policy to be changed if that policy violates laws of discrimination and reasonable accommodations.
I read the resource that was recommended on this blog by Autumn about fair restroom use, but it did not address the locker room issue. I think it would be a good issue to consider.
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