Post Eight: Summary and Connection to Course Readings
The research done in this blog regarding gender neutral bathrooms takes a look at how these bathrooms are accessible to trans, gender nonconforming, and other groups of people in terms of accessibility. It aims to present some evidence that combat the claims against the need for these inclusive spaces such as them being too expensive, not open to more than just trans folks, and other viewpoints. While looking at some ways that places like campuses can be more inclusive with spaces like housing, bathrooms, and locker rooms this blog also looks at how different places have started incorporating gender neutral bathrooms regarding physical structure of these spaces.
Finding legislation or legal approaches to this work was something I specifically sought out considering we have learned through the health panel and other articles that this community is lacking support from the government/ just gaining support which is why folks within the community are so accustomed to finding ways to adapt to situations such as the ones with the bathrooms. This legislation may not fix current structures but ensures that in the future gender neutral restrooms need to be considered when creating or renovating spaces.
The first reading that came to mind when hearing personal narratives in videos or in the TED Talk about experiences folks have had in bathrooms reminded me of a reading from the beginning of the semester titled “A Certain Kind of Freedom: Power and the Truth of Bodies” by Wilchins because it gets at the root of the issue which is that gender is all a system created and perpetuated by all of the people within that choose to participate. We have attached meaning to gender and how it is perceived and presented. People get rewarded for ‘doing’ their gender right and punished for ‘doing’ it wrong. Pushing for neutral spaces is important because, as Ivan said, these so called ‘public’ spaces are not really public spaces because not all are welcome.