Group pushes for inclusive restrooms
October 16, 2014
By Cheyene Miller
Members of the UK LGBT Council and OUTsource are pushing UK to provide access to more gender inclusive restrooms on campus.
“Gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation is on a fluid spectrum,” said OUTsource chairman and financial director Michael Frazier. “We fell into this rut, where people are saying ‘you can check mark this box and be either or,’ when tons of research have found that it’s not that simple.”
In fact, another area where the organization feels that the university could be more gender inclusive is on check boxes, specifically when filling out forms for housing.
International studies sophomore and OUTsource administrative director Randi Walker said that having to explain the broad spectrums of gender identify could be complicated.
Walker said that all of the major buildings on campus should provide access to gender inclusive bathrooms.
“It’s literally terrifying to go into the bathroom,” Walker said in regard to gender fluid students who have to choose between male or female restrooms rather than having access to a unisex or gender inclusive restroom.
According to Frazier, there are gender inclusive restrooms at the CSI room in the Student Center, Frazee Hall, the William T. Young Library and University Health Service.
Frazier pointed out the issue that the gender inclusive restroom in the Student Center closes when CSI closes.
“It’s a comfort level, it’s a safety issue, it’s a quality of life issue,” said Frazier, who noted that gender fluid students in the Student Center are without options after 9 p.m.
Frazier said this is especially a problem because these students are more prone to sexual and violent crimes.
Arts studio sophomore and OUTsource creative director Skylos Arms said that UK could look to the University of Louisville as an example in implementing more gender inclusive restrooms.
“They’ve created multiple gender neutral bathrooms throughout their campus,” Arms said. “One of the things they did is put them in very accessible places.”
Frazier pointed out that the Student Center is scheduled to be decommissioned after 2014, and said that the Student Center executive director John Herbst has made a wonderful effort to ensure that a gender inclusive restroom is included in the relocation process.
“To not recognize these students or to give them a limited number of bathrooms is almost in a way ignoring the problem,” said educational policy evaluation graduate student Jimmy Jones. “It’s almost saying that there aren’t that many (gender fluid) students here, when there actually are.”
