By Anne Kehl, Managing Editor
Before I begin, I’d like to make it clear that I am a white, heterosexual, cisgender female of the middle class. I acknowledge how fortunate I am to not have to struggle with identifying my gender or sexual orientation.
I also haven’t experienced any sort of discrimination based on my gender (besides being female, which comes with its own discrimination) or sexual discrimination. That said, I would like to make it clear that I am simply speaking from my personal experiences and don’t intend to offend or exclude anyone.
I completely support any and all LGBTQIA+ people out there. I firmly believe in the policy of “you do you.” It honestly doesn’t make any difference to me if you’re gay or straight or male or female or anywhere between.
However, this “gender-neutral” bathroom policy is concerning to me. And my concern comes not out of homophobia or transphobia.
My concern is rooted in fear of those who would take advantage of the policy, ignoring its intended use. My concern comes from fear of those in our school who have already shown their complete disregard for girls’ sexual safety by broadcasting multiple girls’ nude pictures around the school.
As someone who has experienced sexual assault firsthand, it is terrifying to me that there is a possibility for a male to be in the same space as me when I’m so vulnerable that I have the bottom half of my clothes removed.
Some may say that this is a red herring, that sexual predators aren’t waiting for permission to prey on women in public restrooms. But this policy makes it impossible to prove or discipline those who do it for the wrong reasons — like peeking on other students.
And there is no way to police this inappropriate activity. The administration can’t put cameras in the restrooms for obvious reasons, and they can’t have a monitor in both bathrooms at all times ensuring the safety of students who simply wish to relieve themselves.
And they shouldn’t have to! Everyone should feel safe going to the bathroom without having to be policed, including trans or nonbinary people.
Which brings me to the problem at hand. I see no issue with the situation in place now. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the norm. Vashon is a tolerant place, and I haven’t heard of anyone being punished or heckled for using the bathroom they identify with, even if it is not that of the sex they were assigned at birth.
This policy is a solution without a problem.
Trans or nonbinary people can feel free to use the bathroom of their choice without designated “gender-neutral” bathrooms, which is what I assume is happening here every day.
Has anyone thought about the benefits against the possible harms? To investigate this, one must first determine who is being affected on both sides.
According to the Williams Institute, about 0.6 percent of Americans identify as transgender. If applied to the high school, this means that approximately 30 of our 494 students identify as transgender if our school has a proportional number to the national average.
The benefit, of course, is that the 30 trans and nonbinary people feel more comfortable using a bathroom without a sign. However, the harms include possible sexual assault or harassment against both the 30 trans and nonbinary people and the remaining 464 cisgender people who use this restroom. It seems clear to me that the possible harms to all outweigh the possible benefits to the 30.
Opposers may say that the fact that these people are in the minority does not make their concerns or struggles mean less. And this is true, but it is important to address the needs and safety of the largest number of people possible.
We must value safety over comfort.
To identify the legal side of the issue, consider a law passed in 1887, over a century ago: An Act To Secure Proper Sanitary Provisions In Factories And Workshops.
In Section 2, it states:
“Every person employing five or more persons … shall provide, within reasonable access, a sufficient number of proper water-closets, earth-closets or privies for the reasonable use of all persons so employed ; and wherever male and female persons are employed … a sufficient number of separate and distinct water-closets, earth-closets or privies shall be provided for the use of each sex and shall be plainly designated, and no person shall be allowed to use any such closet or privy assigned to persons of the other sex” (italics mine).
While the social climate may have shifted since then, the principle remains the same. The creators of this act found a reasonable cause to separate bathrooms in the workplace, one that applies today.
Plumbing codes in the U.S. make it very clear that separated restrooms are required, just as restrooms are required, in general.
“Where plumbing fixtures are required, separate facilities shall be provided for each sex,” one plumbing code states.
As a female in today’s society of objectification and justification, removing gendered bathrooms is not only unnecessary, but a step away from safety, something that should be guaranteed to everyone at school.