Unisex changing rooms

Last updated

Unisex changing rooms are changing rooms that are not separated on the basis of sex or gender. Unisex changing rooms are sometimes referred to as single-user changing rooms or inclusive changing rooms.

Contents

Canada

Some community centers and swimming pools in Canada have inclusive changing rooms. [1]

New Zealand

City councils in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and other major New Zealand cities are increasing the number of gender-neutral single-cubicle changing rooms. [2]

Portugal

Some schools in Portugal have added individual gender-neutral locker rooms, with the needs of transgender students in mind. However, some students used the rooms for reasons of privacy. [3]

United States

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) maintains a best practices document related to inclusive locker rooms and restrooms. According to the AIA, inclusive locker rooms protect privacy by being "arranged in a shared, semi-public space" with a "mix of individual, private rooms" as well as "highly visible, non-gender-segregated multi-user spaces". [4]

The architectural firm Gensler has partnered with the LGBTQ advocacy group Athlete Ally to develop guidelines for inclusive changing rooms. [5]

Some public schools in Vermont have "gender-free" locker rooms and single-stall showers to accommodate transgender and non-binary students. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender symbol</span> Symbols of gender, sex, or sexuality

A gender symbol is a pictogram or glyph used to represent sex and gender, for example in biology and medicine, in genealogy, or in the sociological fields of gender politics, LGBT subculture and identity politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changing room</span> Room where one can change their clothes

A changing room, locker room, or changeroom is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to change clothes with varying degrees of privacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public toilet</span> Room or building with toilets for the general public

A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or prisoners and are commonly separated into male and female toilets, although some are unisex, especially for small or single-occupancy public toilets, public toilets are sometimes accessible to people with disabilities. Depending on the culture, there may be varying degrees of separation between males and females and different levels of privacy. Typically, the entire room, or a stall or cubicle containing a toilet, is lockable. Urinals, if present in a male toilet, are typically mounted on a wall with or without a divider between them. Local authorities or commercial businesses may provide public toilet facilities. Some are unattended while others are staffed by an attendant. In many cultures, it is customary to tip the attendant, especially if they provide a specific service, such as might be the case at upscale nightclubs or restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against transgender people</span> Violence or victimization against transgender people

Violence against transgender people includes emotional, physical, sexual, or verbal violence targeted towards transgender people. The term has also been applied to hate speech directed at transgender people and at depictions of transgender people in the media that reinforce negative stereotypes about them. Trans and non-binary gender adolescents can experience bashing in the form of bullying and harassment. When compared to their cisgender peers, trans and non-binary gender youth are at increased risk for victimisation and substance abuse.

Gloucester High School is an accredited public high school located four miles from Gloucester Courthouse in Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. It is operated by Gloucester County Public Schools, a Virginia public school division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potty parity</span> Equitable provision of public toilets or men and women

Potty parity is equal or equitable provision of public toilet facilities for females and males within a public space. Parity can be defined by equal floorspace or by number of fixtures within the washrooms, sometimes adjusted for the longer average time taken and more frequent visits to the washroom for females, among other factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unisex public toilet</span> Public toilets that are not separated by sex

Unisex public toilets are public toilets that are not separated by gender or sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female urinal</span> Urinal designed to be used by women and girls

A female urinal is a urinal designed for the female anatomy to allow for ease of use by women and girls. Different models enable urination in standing, semi-squatting, or squatting postures, but usually without direct bodily contact with the toilet. Sitting models also exist, and are designed for body contact with the urinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Room</span> Distinguishable space within a building or other structure

In a building or a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure. The entrance connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors. The space is typically large enough for several people to move about. The size, fixtures, furnishings, and sometimes placement of the room within the building or ship support the activity to be conducted in it.

In the United States, the rights of transgender people vary considerably by jurisdiction. In recent decades, there has been an expansion of federal, state, and local laws and rulings to protect transgender Americans; however, many rights remain unprotected, and some rights are being eroded. Since 2020, there has been a national movement by conservative/right-wing politicians and organizations to target transgender rights. There has been a steady increase in the number of anti-transgender bills introduced each year, especially in Republican-led states.

Doe v. Regional School Unit 26 was a landmark anti-discrimination case decided by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in June 2013 involving right of transgender student Nicole Maines to use the female bathroom in her high school. Upon initial filing, Maines was referenced by the pseudonym "Susan Doe" in court papers to protect her identity.

A bathroom bill is the common name for legislation or a statute that denies access to public toilets by gender or transgender identity. Bathroom bills affect access to sex-segregated public facilities for an individual based on a determination of their sex as defined in some specific way, such as their sex as assigned at birth, their sex as listed on their birth certificate, or the sex that corresponds to their gender identity. A bathroom bill can either be inclusive or exclusive of transgender individuals, depending on the aforementioned definition of their sex.

Title IX of the United States Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination "on the basis of sex" in educational programs and activities that receive financial assistance from the federal government. The Obama administration interpreted Title IX to cover discrimination on the basis of assigned sex, gender identity, and transgender status. The Trump administration determined that the question of access to sex-segregated facilities should be left to the states and local school districts to decide. The validity of the executive's position is being tested in the federal courts.

<i>G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board</i> U.S. court case dealing with transgender rights

G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board was a court case dealing with transgender rights in the United States. The case involved a transgender boy attending a Virginia high school, who sued the local school board after he was forced to use girls' restrooms based on his assigned gender under the school board's policy. While the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of the student based on Obama administration policy related to Title IX protections, the election of Donald Trump changed the underlying policy. A pending hearing before the Supreme Court of the United States was vacated and the case was sent back to the Fourth Circuit.

The legal and regulatory history of transgender and transsexual people in the United States begins in the 1960s. Such legislation covers federal, state, municipal, and local levels, as well as military justice. It reflects broader societal attitudes which have shifted significantly over time and have impacted legislative and judicial outcomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Initiative</span>

The Massachusetts Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Initiative is a state-wide referendum passed by Massachusetts voters in the 6 November 2018 mid-term election that prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of gender identity. The vote upholds language which was already present in the state anti-discrimination statute, defeating an attempt to veto it by public referendum. It is the first state-wide anti-discrimination statute passed by referendum supporting transgender rights in the United States.

Since 2015, Township High School District 211, a public school district of the Chicago suburbs, has been the epicenter of multiple controversies surrounding its policies toward transgender student locker room access. Since January 2020, the district has implemented a policy of unrestricted locker room access corresponding to the gender identity of each student.

Hillsboro High School is a public high school located in Hillsboro, Missouri. It is the only high school in the Hillsboro R-3 School District.

Dallas School District is a public school district in Dallas, Oregon. The district consists of eight schools that serve Dallas and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Facility Requirements Based on Sex Act</span>

The Facility Requirements Based on Sex Act, also known as Committee Substitute for House Bill 1521 , is a 2023 Florida anti-trans bathroom law which mandates that individuals must use restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities that correspond to their sex assigned at birth in some public, private and state-licensed facilities. It is one of two states (Utah) to make it a misdemeanor, in certain circumstances, for transgender people to use bathrooms or facilities consistent with their gender identity. It is the most populous state in the United States with a bathroom law. The law has generated significant controversy and legal challenges.

References

  1. "'INCLUSIVE OPTION': Yorkdale mall adds gender-neutral bathroom". Toronto Sun . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  2. "Public toilets and changing rooms going unisex bringing greater comfort to gender fluid comfort stops". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  3. "School with gender-free bathrooms and changing rooms says the change was peaceful". Sul Informação. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  4. "Inclusive restrooms & locker rooms in K-12 schools". American Institute of Architects . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  5. "Gensler and Athlete Ally team up to imagine more inclusive locker rooms". The Architect's Newspaper . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  6. "Vt. School Unveils Gender-Neutral Locker Room". NBC10 Boston . Retrieved 23 November 2024.