<p>where do you go to college.</p>
<p>Penn State.</p>
<p>My school has either same gender floors or floors split about down the middle between genders. My current floor is all girls, but when my guy friends come over they end up having to use the girl’s bathroom because they don’t want to go all the way down two flights of stairs to find a guys one. Other girls’ guy friends do the same thing.</p>
<p>I know we’re not in PA, but I just figured I’d throw in that Vandy is considering moving to gender-neutral housing for a few floors of upperclass housing for next year. According to a survey of our students, 75% said that it’s something they agree with, and 60% would actually live on a gender-neutral hall. And their solution to the bathroom situation is to have two bathrooms per floor-- one guy, one girl. </p>
<p>But currently we’re separated by gender per floor, and I know that when I’m in my guy friends’ dorms, all of me and my girl friends use their bathroom pretty regularly (It’s nasty, but less inconvenient than going down a flight of stairs haha). They feel awkward using the bathroom on a girl’s floor, though, which I guess I can understand.</p>
<p>^^That’s honestly the best solution. Have both genders on a floor, sure, but have separate bathrooms. Everyone wins.</p>
<p>But what about those who don’t identify with a gender? Those people lose.</p>
<p>Also, are we talking separation by gender or sex? Gender would seem like it would be more fair to those who identify as different than their biological sex, but I get the impression what is really meant is separation by sex.</p>
<p>There is no good/best solution. There is only researching which situation is the most comfortable for you and hopefully finding what you’re looking for (or being able to avoid what you would not be able to handle). That’s the impression I get that the OP is doing.</p>
<p>That’s a good point Kender, I hadn’t thought about that.</p>
<p>What DO people who are transgender (or even just identify as another gender, for argument’s sake) do?</p>
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<p>Well, some trans people are fine using a gendered bathroom; it’s simply a question of whether their school (or their workplace, or the business they’re in, or whatever) will respect their right to use the “right” bathroom.</p>
<p>Why are some people uncomfortable in gendered bathrooms? Because they don’t “pass” consistently enough to use the bathroom that matches their identity; because they are neither a man or a woman and don’t consider a men’s or women’s bathroom to be appropriate; because they’ve experienced violence and harassment in gendered bathrooms and do not feel safe in those spaces. This isn’t just an issue for trans people, but also for plenty of people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, yet don’t meet society’s expectations about gender or sexuality.</p>
<p>In those situations, it’s a choice between compromising their identity and/or personal safety every time they use a bathroom, researching where there are all-gender bathrooms and seeking out those spaces … or avoiding public/shared bathrooms entirely, which isn’t possible in most college dorms. Frankly, it’s a really crappy situation to be in, which is why access to all-gender bathrooms is a high priority for many trans students who are investigating colleges.</p>
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<p>Exactly.</p>
<p>At my college you have to specifically request a single-sex floor and even on those there is usually one bathroom for whatever sex is living on that floor and one labeled gender-neutral. Most mixed floors get to vote on whether they want separate or mixed bathrooms at the beginning of the year except for those labeled gender-neutral, the bathrooms are gender-neutral by default.
I honestly think the way my college handles it is not too bad, although the bathrooms in the academic buildings are still segregated by male/female.</p>