Gender Neutral Toilets: Myths debunked.

1. What about safety? What about sexual attacks against women?
This is a totally understandable concern. I know that with one in four girls coming under sexual assault and conviction rates less than 10% this is a genuine concern. However, as the survey states, the maximum amounts of toilets changed would be two. That would still leave students that don't wish to use them with eight other toilets (four male, four female). The results of the survey as well as personal anacdotes from Cardiff and outside demonstrate that students who, say, were born a woman but identify as a man cannot walk into male toilets without a minimum of dirty looks. If you continue to use this tactic, you are asserting that your right to be comfortable is more important than someone else's. I don't believe that is right.

Also, most sexual attacks are not committed by strangers and it is unlikely that a determined rapist would be deterred by a sign on the door. If you are concerned about violence against women on university campuses (including violence against trans-women) please do this NUS survey: http://www.nus.org.uk/vaw

2. "Man up" "This is political correctness gone man" "Life's a bitch" "Why do people moan when things don't go their way"
Fuck off. Until you've experienced what is like to be trans or at least read a lot about it and talked to a lot of trans people don't ever, ever question this form of oppression.

3. Hygiene issues, usually raised by women against men!
I'm sure that this will be okay, no more than when you share a toilet with a man at home.

4. Sexual activities in the Student's Union
Most of these concerns are raised about the night club and Taf. As I said in the survey and in the Gair Rhydd article (I confess both on the GR article and the survey I probably didn't expand on my points enough. I talked about it at length at Student Council and stupidly assumed other students would know by osmosis what I said), I'm not intending to put these toilets anywhere near Solus. I never was. As for in the day, it seems unlikely that there will be much nooky but given that the toilets are quite out of the way anyway and the Union is generally quite quiet in the day I doubt it will be a problem. People in Manchester and Edinburgh have reported it was much less of a problem than anticipated.


Why can't trans people share with disabled people? Could they be given a special key?
Because it's not fair on disabled students, and a key system (which we don't have) would single trans students out.

Aren't you singling trans students out?
No. I said this in my survey too. Any trans students that have transitioned and feel totally comfortable walking into their usual toilets are absolutely and unconditionally encouraged to do so. This measure is intended to help trans students who are concerned about "passing", new to transitioning and making the step of walking confidently into the other toilets, trans students who cannot live in their preferred gender full-time for various reasons. These students often report being given dirty looks, weird comments or even threats because people think that they shouldn't be in there. Gender neutral, or unisex, toilets are toilets anyone can enter, trans or not. These toilets will be a small minority in the Union but it will hopefully reduce pressure on trans students. Among other students that will possibly find them useful are: people who were born one sex and still identify as that sex but do not fit stereotypical ideas about appearance. For example, butch women. Also, the other gender-varient people including androgynous, genderqueer and intersex people.

Is it sexist?
No. I would like it to be one bloke's toilet and one woman's toilet transformed but if it does have to be one or the other we'll have to weigh up which is most accessible for students and perhaps the value of either sanitary products and bins versus the urinals. This will be discussed. I do not believe that it is discriminatory against men and, in the current patriarchal system I would question how much men are discriminated against. Also, yes I am a woman and yes I am a feminist.

It would be embarassing to do my business/buy condoms or sanitary products in front of someone of the opposite sex.
I completely sympathise and would like to stress that these toilets will be in the minority and, if you arrive at the GNT and think "oh, bugger, I want a X one" there will be a map on the door. And vis versa.

Can't you treat the bullying? Is this treating the symptom and not the cause.
Fair enough, and in my year as LGBT officer I definitely want to address bullying. Think I'm going to do it in the new year when people get back from the comfort of home and also start thinking about who to live with etc. The problem is, when a group is systematically bullied they start to distrust that they will be taken seriously. For example, I know that women and people from black, asian and minority ethnic communities are much less likely to report hate crimes to the police. Similarly, when I experienced homophobic violence in school I was convinced that my teachers would just tell me that if I made less 'fuss' about being out I'd get along better. My mum persuaded me to tell, and I was right. This is a vicious cycle.

You need to use more accessible language eg: genderqueer, cisgendered
Too much cultural theory! Sorry, accepted and will try to use more inclusive language in future.

But there aren't many trans students!
But there are some, and no group deserves to feel uncomfortable. If it's stopping them using facilities which they pay for then it's a problem, if it leads to people not enjoying university then it's a problem. Toilets are relatively small in the whole picture but some large, urban, Russel Group universities such as Edinburgh, Sussex, Liverpool and Manchester have taken this and it's one way for Cardiff to mark itself out as truly progressive. And it's certainly got people talking!