Gender-neutral bathrooms coming to University of Saskatchewan

Gender-neutral bathrooms are coming to the University of Saskatchewan next year, and several people are praising the decision.

This move follows several other universities across Canada. The gender-neutral washrooms at the U of S will be single-stall. 

These have turned into places for the policing of gender identities and of gender expression.- Manuela Valle-Castro, University of Saskatchewan

Manuela Valle-Castro teaches women and gender studies at the university, and says this new step makes "all the difference in the world."

Valle-Castro said for transgender students, going to a public washrooms can turn into a difficult task. 

"These have turned into places for the policing of gender identities and of gender expression. That means that everyone is entitled to scrutinize the appearance of whoever's in the bathroom. These kinds of bathrooms make trans students very vulnerable to all kinds of harassment, and it tempers their equal access to education and public spaces."

Valle-Castro pointed to the difference between sex and gender. Sex, she said, deals with anatomy. Gender identity determines whether a person identifies as a man or a woman. She said society needs to be accepting of people whose gender identities do not match the sex they were born with.

High school washrooms also a challenge

Fran Forsberg in Saskatoon is the mother of a transgender child and a gender-variant child, and told CBC Radio's Blue Sky that she thinks the U of S is making an important step.

"I don't know why people get so upset about it," said Forsberg. "I myself will go into a man's washroom no problem if the women's is full or I have to wait in line. I just think it's ridiculous that this has to be such an issue."

'This is similar to the anxieties that have been brought up by other cultural changes such as racial desegregation.'- Manuela Valle-Castro, University of Saskatchewan

Forsberg has been an advocate for gender-neutral washrooms. She said washrooms can often cause an issue in high school as well. She said it's a health issue for transgender students who choose not to go to the washroom because they feel uncomfortable. 

Valle-Castro hopes gender-neutral washrooms will soon become common place.

"I understand that there's a lot of social anxieties around this," she said. "But this is similar to the anxieties that have been brought up by other cultural changes such as racial desegregation, the representation of women in sports, or for that matter women voting or going to work."