While
reading Lynda Johnston's and Robyn Longhurst's chapter from the book Space, Place, and Sex, I was reminded of
a recent conversation I had with a good, family friend. My friend, we will call
her Jane, was telling me how she and her husband recently went to the movie
theater on a date. Before the movie, Jane needed to use the restroom, but once
she entered the room was caught off guard by a transgender individual washing
their hands, who most would identify as a a male in our society. Jane was okay
with the individual in the bathroom, but it made her wonder about her safety in
this typically gendered space. She explained to me she fears that some men may
dress as a transgender individual in order to gain access to a women's restroom
in order to assault women who believe they are entering a generally safe,
public space. This really made me wonder what can be done to be sure these
public spaces (normally gendered spaces) will not become dangerous in our
society.
Clearly,
there is a question about what restroom a transgender individual could and
should use and the answer does not seem clear. Johnston and Longhurst explain
not all bodies "fit the two-sex model," which ties into exactly what
I am discussing (p. 23). Our society tends to center itself around binaries:
male and female, homosexual and heterosexual, etc., which has been discussed in today's readings. However, not everyone fits these binaries (e.g.
transgender and asexual individuals also discussed in Johnston and Longhurst's
reading). Thus, when a restroom enforces these binaries (having male and female
restrooms), it leaves individuals out who do not clearly fit into one of the
two categories.
After
reading the article and doing a bit more research, I found a possible solution
to this topic that has been implemented in Multnomah County in Portland,
Oregon. The county now requires all future buildings and buildings that are
remodeling to provide gender-neutral restrooms to accommodate transgender
individuals. This way it allows anyone to use the restroom without concern or
question to whether or not the individual belongs in the space. I have provided
the link to the news story, which includes a video and write-up here:
I
find this to be a great solution, as everyone can now feel safe in the public
space. Not only does this provide safety to all people, but it also begins to
break down the binaries that our society has been so obsessed with for decades.
Government officials understand not everyone can fit into one of two
categories. I believe it is laws like this that will begin to change the way
our society understands the world and the people in it. This is one step toward
changing our ideas of gender and opening society's eyes to the complexity of
humans.
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