Despite the emphasis on dignity for all students at ICSD, an alarming number of pupils in the district cannot use the restroom without fear of harassment, discomfort, and punishment. This may sound extreme to most—everyone knows that school bathrooms can be gross, but dangerous? For gender-nonconforming students, however, it is a very legitimate concern.
It is because of gender-nonconforming people that gender-neutral bathrooms—one-stall restrooms that anyone can use, regardless of sex or gender—have become more and more commonplace in the USA. Sometimes also referred to as “gender-open” or “all-gender” bathrooms, these facilities are most often cited as being useful for transgender individuals who are unable to use or feel unsafe using facilities that match their gender identity, as well as people who identify outside of the gender binary.
I have seen many gender-neutral stalls in public buildings and college campuses that I’ve toured. While there are gender-neutral bathrooms at IHS, few even know they exist. If you walk down F-hallway, through several unmarked doors, then through a meeting room, you will find a cramped stall with a paper sign reading “unisex” taped to its door—provided it isn’t locked at the time. The others are in the main office and in the nurse’s office, both out of the way.
No student should have to walk halfway across the school and interrupt a meeting to avoid harassment when using the bathroom. IHS Gay-Straight Alliance President Jax Mello ’15 explained, “It’s very important that kids who aren’t comfortable in gendered restrooms feel like they have a safe place that they can go.” This sentiment was echoed by Noel Bentley ’17: “I feel like people don’t accept me in [the boy’s bathroom] … I would definitely use the gender-neutral bathroom if it were more accessible.”
In the interest of the safety and well-being of gender-nonconforming students and other marginalized groups at our school, the administration should work towards establishing legitimate facilities accessible to students of all genders. While creating such facilities may not be easy or straightforward, doing so is necessary.