My name is Lauren Daubler and I am the diversity, equity, and inclusion officer for the Parks and Recreation Management Club. The Reid building is central to physical education at Western Carolina University. As such, it should have the necessary accommodations needed for all students to safely change and shower - this includes LGBTQ+ students and faculty. The following definitions will provide clarity as to who this change will protect and affirm.

Transgender: A broad term used to describe all gender variant people, or any person who identifies as a gender not assigned at birth according to anatomical sex.

Genderqueer: Describes a gender variant individual whose gender identity is neither male nor female, is between or beyond genders, is fluid, or is some combination of multiple genders.

When asking transgender students at Western Carolina University their main concern for the lack of gender-neutral restrooms on campus, one student replied: 

“A lot of people are going to feel like they are not welcome. I feel like it just cuts off a whole group from feeling like they have a space they can actually feel comfortable in because I know some people just don't like using gendered bathrooms in the first place. So, I feel like even if you’re not trans or gender queer, some people may just want a bathroom where they can do things without worrying about other people, stalls, and other things. I just feel like not having this space is alienating because, for me at least, it just cuts off any consideration of people not fitting into a divided idea of gender. You are expecting everyone to be okay with how bathrooms are, and I think there are so many problems with bathrooms in general. The stalls do not go down to the floor, there are gaps, and I don't want anyone to take my bag or look at me while I'm going to the bathroom. You have no privacy in doing something that is pretty personal. If I do need to put on a pad, I don't want anyone to see me do it or be aware of it. Since there's so much space for people to know you're there they will know. There's just not any degree of privacy.” 

The same student disclosed they do not remember the last time they used a public restroom unless it was a one stall gender-neutral bathroom. They said this is concerning because they have been in physical pain before, but couldn't get themselves to go somewhere they do not feel safe.

Two responses directly tackled the issue of Reid lacking a safe space for students: 

“Not having a private or safer space to change clothes is opening people up to being bullied and is also forcing people to… well, I’ve never been to a locker room because I don't know if I'd be required to go to the women's one and I wouldn't be comfortable in the mens. So, some people like me don't even feel like they have access to some things in Reid because I don't have a place to change or walk through to get to the pool. I feel like some people would find it trivial like, ‘Well if you're just walking through what's the big deal,’ but if I had to walk through the women's locker room it's invalidating. I don't care if it's just walking through, it still invalidating my identity, but at the same time I don't want to feel unsafe. Like if I were to walk through the men's locker room and they noticed my chest they’d be like ‘well, why are you here’.” 

“In Reid, there is nowhere else for people to change. Like I’m disabled so I don't go to the gym that much, but if I do go, I always have a male friend with me. If I walk in like this to the women’s changing room there's a disaster, and if I walk alone like this and then change in the men’s dressing room, there will be a disaster. Having a gender-neutral changing room and bathroom will be so helpful to trans and gender nonconforming students, because there is always that question of, ‘Who else is in this changing room and are they dangerous? Do I have someone with me that can stand kind of in front of me blocking people or be there as an extra body if something happens?’” 

The common themes among these voices are the feeling of not having a space to belong, feeling invalidated, uncomfortable, and in danger. Binary restrooms put trans and genderqueer people at risk for verbal and physical harassment due to conflicting political and personal views. People are entitled to their opinions, but first and foremost people should be entitled to safety. “Transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to experience violent victimization, including rape, sexual assault, and aggravated or simple assault according to a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/ This is why we need to make a change on Western Carolina University's campus.