Change signage on the Pearl Studio bathrooms to Gender Neutral
The Issue
4/22/19
"Dear Pearl Studios & Rick Battaglino,
My name is Ryan S. Lowe and I am a graduating senior from NYU Tisch’s New Studio on Broadway. I have spent the last two years of my life roaming the halls of Pearl Studios; taking classes here 3 days a week and also navigating the beginning of my professional career by auditioning here at Pearl as much as I can. Pearl Studios is somewhere that I will be spending a lot of time as I build my career, and so I care deeply about the environment & the artistic culture that exists there. There is, however, something that I feel is missing from Pearl Studios that can only help bring our community closer to being inclusive of everyone in it: Gender-Neutral Restrooms. I am writing to you today in hopes of sharing my perspective on why gender neutral signage on restrooms would make Pearl a safer, more inclusive place. I believe that gender neutral signage should be required in public restrooms as well as in spaces that aim to be inclusive, creative, and professional -- spaces like Pearl Studios.
I am going to start by sharing my experience.
I don’t feel safe at Pearl Studios. I am a transgender non-conforming person & I don’t feel safe using the bathrooms at Pearl. I, as a human being, should have the right to use any bathroom that I feel comfortable using and I cannot do that at Pearl Studios. Although, I was assigned Male at Birth, my gender is something that is fluid to me, and in constant motion; and some days I choose to use the women’s bathroom while other days I choose to use the men’s bathroom, mostly based on what I am wearing, and how comfortable I think I would feel possibly running into transphobic individuals. I do this because I have experienced countless instances of transphobia in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms here at Pearl Studios. I do extra work to protect myself from being attacked in a bathroom, whereas those who identify as cisgender men and women are privileged to not have to think about something as menial as using the bathroom. When there are only men’s and women’s restrooms in place, this decision becomes potentially life-altering for trans & gender non-conforming individuals even if we just want to wash our hands somewhere (and most of the time, we actually really just want to pee).
The most recent case of these transphobic instances was last week, 4/18/2019, in the women’s bathroom by the elevators on the 4th floor. I was here at Pearl for a callback for Fastrada in Pippin; I was wearing a black dress and LaDuca Heels for a movement and acting call. In between going into the room to read sides, I had to use the restroom and felt that because of how I was dressed, the women’s room would be most comfortable to me. When I entered, I heard someone else in the bathroom in a stall; I didn’t see them yet. I walked into a stall and used the toilet. When I walked out to wash my hands, the person who was in the other stall was now washing their hands. They looked at me and then looked at the door as if to “check the signage” on the door about three to four times in a row before I addressed them. I said, “Is there a problem?” in as nice a voice I could muster because I knew, from past experience, of the impending doom. I was met with defensive resistance and was verbally attacked by a woman who I later found out was a casting director working on something on the 4th floor. The woman replied saying “Is this the men’s room or the women’s room?” And I replied immediately with “How do you know what my gender is? Humans can use whatever bathroom they want.” This was sort of something that I had pre-rehearsed and said to many others before. She replied by screaming at me to “Get going” and that “I better check myself.” I am sure that everyone outside the bathroom heard this incident as well. When I exited, there were glaring eyes & I went straight to the front desk to report the incident. There was a very nice gentleman working who offered support to me & it was very appreciated in the moment because one minute later I had to go back in to read my sides for Fastrada again.
As I’m sure you can imagine, this instance was something that had direct effect on my career -- on the probability of me getting the job that I was there to get. It has come to a point where I expect to be harassed or judged no matter if I use the men’s or women’s bathroom. I have had enough of these instances. And I don’t know how to avoid them anymore. I need your help to survive, to be able to start to build my professional career in a space that welcomes me, rather than excludes me. I want Pearl Studios to be a safe place for me and my Queer & Trans collaborators to feel safe and to be able to inhabit space without fear of transphobia, and of verbal & physical attacks. As a student at NYU, I have also notified the faculty here of these instances & how they need to be better addressed as they have affected my education & my career, in ways that other students have the privilege of not worrying about. I am hoping that NYU and Pearl can possibly work together & be in conversation about changing the signage on the Pearl restrooms since this was something that Tisch has accomplished in recent years.
According to Section 3 of Executive Order 16, signed into law by Mayor Bill DeBlasio on March 7, 2016: “All agencies shall post the Single-Sex Facility Policy in conspicuous locations to their personnel and members of the public using their services within three months of the Effective Date of this Order.”* That would mean, that Pearl is just under 3 years too late in putting up the required bathroom signage. In practical terms, the layout of any of the restrooms does not even need to change, but rather, new signage is all that needs to be put in place in order for a huge change to be made in the way that trans folks are able to interact with Pearl Studios and in the ways that cis folks understand trans identities, as well as, the RIGHT to pee. While I don’t think that changing the signage will stop ALL instances of transphobia that occur on both the micro and macro scale, I do believe that it will help. I hope that there can also be a sort of reporting system put in place for those who do experience harassment in the restrooms as I have before. Something that assures me that my safety & my career & my humanity are being taken seriously and that the harassers are being held accountable for their behavior; I’m tired of my reports stopping at the front desk.
I am attaching this letter to a petition of signatures from cis folks, trans folks, and everyone in between who use Pearl Studios and feel that gender-neutral signage would make Pearl a better place. I hope that these voices are heard & truly listened to. I, myself, am also open to being in direct conversation with Pearl Studios as this process hopefully moves along & will be attaching my professional contact information at the end of this letter. I am more than happy to receive email, phone, or in person follow up to discuss any questions or concerns that my letter & petition may have brought up. I truly hope that we can work together to make Pearl Studios better than they already are by changing the signage on their restrooms to “Gender-Neutral.”
I am also choosing to attach additional reading; articles that I found helpful in putting words to the need & the impact of gender neutral restrooms:
· https://www.lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/article/trans-restroom-faq
· https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/media/single-sex-restrooms.page
*Mayor’s Executive Order
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downloads/pdf/EO16_Single-Sex_City_Facilities.pdf
Best,
Ryan S. Lowe"
UPDATE on 4/23/19:
"Hi all,
Firstly, it's been brought to me that the law I cited in my original letter does not actually apply to Pearl Studios, however, there are other laws that were brought to my attention that I'd like to make sure Pearl is following during my meeting with Mr. Battaglino tomorrow.
Secondly, this is more than a legal issue, but a MORAL/ETHICAL issue. I am prepared to explain how the lack of proper signage is, by nature, transphobic & is having direct effect on the spread of transphobia in spaces like Pearl Studios. Law or not, Pearl Studios should be among the first of these artistic spaces to transition to having mainly gender-neutral restrooms so that the closeted transphobes are the ones who have to use separate restrooms rather than us TOLERANT and AWARE trans individuals. Or even better, to keep transphobic people out of our spaces entirely as there should not be any place for any type of discrimination in the first place. I am not going to settle for having to inconvenience myself by using a separate restroom. I am a human and I deserve to use the bathroom like everyone else without having secede to binary ideas of gender.
At the very least, my first goal is to get Pearl to put up the proper signage displaying the law that NYC Agencies follow -- even though Pearl is not an agency, and a business, so they are not required to do this, I think it would be in their best interest to do so and would be a start to combating transphobic incidents in their restrooms. At the very least, it would give me a better response to people like that casting director who kept glancing at me and then the door. If these signs were in place, I would be able to glance right back at the door & not even have to explain myself. People like that woman would be able to read for themselves, saving me time, energy, and emotional labor.
Please continue to share this petition and tell your friends to sign! The more signatures we get before my meeting tomorrow & onward, the better.
Thank you for all your support & help, everyone.
Best,
Ryan S. Lowe"
Update on 4/25/19
"
Hi everyone!
I’d like to thank you all so so so much from the bottom of my heart for the support that I have received in this endeavor. I feel truly humbled, valid, and happy to see where the future will take this.
Yesterday, 4/24/19, I met with Rick Battaglino, the general manager at Pearl Studios, and Madeline Hamlet, one of the dedicated Pearl Studios faculty members who was passionate and kind enough to lend her time to this project. Both Rick and Madeline were not only extremely sympathetic to me for the experience I had, but from the beginning of the meeting it was clear that they both deeply understood and felt the need for change.
The layout of the Pearl Studio bathrooms was the first thing that needed to be understood by all in order for us to effectively figure out the best way to implement new signage. The current public restroom spaces at Pearl Studios, 500 8th ave, are labeled as follows:
o 3rd Floor
-1 multiple- stalled men’s room
-2 multiple-stalled women’s rooms
-1 men’s changing room
-1 women’s changing room
o 4th Floor
-1 multiple-stalled men’s room
-2 multiple-stalled women’s rooms
-1 men’s changing room
-1 women’s changing room
o 12th Floor
-1 multiple-stalled men’s room
-1 multiple-stalled women’s room
-1 men’s changing room
-1 women’s changing room
-1 inappropriately labeled all gender/accessible single stalled restroom (the sign has pictures of a “male” body, a “female” body, and a body in a wheelchair) I have attached a photo of the current sign to this update; It was deemed inappropriate for two reasons: 1) it only includes binary gender representations & 2) it conflates being trans or gender non-conforming with having a disability -- the two or not the same & it is problematic to imply or say so.
After understanding the current restroom layout, Rick, Madeline, and I discussed all of the changes that would make these restroom spaces better for EVERYONE -- not just trans & gender non-conforming folks. We all agreed that this must be treated as a process; not something that can happen overnight. It’s about implementing these changes in the RIGHT way and in good time so that we can properly educate those who do not understand or are not aware that trans & gender non-conforming communities exist in the same spaces as them and deserve the same equal respect as any other human being. Rick & Madeline seemed very adamant about keeping me involved in the process of these changes & I expressed that I feel the same way as trans voices NEED to be leading this fight. I was elated when we even began looking online at some of the best gender-neutral signage to order.
Today, I sent a follow up email with my proposed task list for the signage changes I would like to see happen at Pearl over the coming weeks/months. Here is a direct quote from my email outlining these tasks:
“
Lastly, I have just created a very general and rough task list / goal list of the concrete steps that I hope can be taken along this process (most of these we’ve discussed, but of course, it’s our work together to figure out HOW we make this all happen, and yes it is a process).
1. Placing separate All-Gender signs and Accessibility signs on the public single stalled restroom on the 12th floor
2. Changing the signage on ALL of the changing rooms to separate signs for All-Gender & Accessibility
3. Placing a sign in the lobbies of each floor stating that Pearl Studios is not a place that welcomes discrimination of any kind and that it works to promote tolerance of ALL humans through the business they do (going off of Madeline’s idea)
4. Changing the signage of the extra women’s restrooms on the 3rd and 4th floor to All Gender
5. Placing signs with the quote from NYC Local Law 3 published by the NYC Commission on Human Rights underneath any restrooms (on all floors) that you feel you need to kept labeled as Men’s and Women’s for now: “Under New York City Law, all people have the right to use the single-gender facility most closely aligned with their gender identity or gender expression.”” (the placement of these signs forces cis people using the bathroom to come to terms with not only the fact that trans and gender non-conforming individuals exist in the world but in the same spaces as them & I believe is a step in the right direction of spreading tolerance and awareness; and not to repeat myself, but it is a NYC Local Law published by the NYC Commission on Human Rights)
6. And of course, eventually, turning those men’s and women’s restrooms on every floor into All gender restrooms because peeing is a HUMAN thing.
7. I would love to chat about the current situation at 519 8th ave and see what changes can be made there as well.
”
So far, I feel very confident that though working with Rick & Madeline, a few trans friends of mine, and the faculty of Tisch that change WILL be made at Pearl Studios. I wish it could all change overnight, but we are moving in the right direction. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with information, questions, concerns, experiences, or ANYTHING you think can be pertinent to accomplishing this goal. Please continue to share this petition with everyone you know and meet – let’s get as many signatures as we can from as many different communities as we can. Pearl Studios is a place where children taking their first classes, Broadway Legends, and everyone in between come to do their work and make their art, and I know for a fact that we can reach all of those communities through this petition.
I hope to continue to have more updates for you all as this endeavor progresses in the following days/weeks. And I say again, I will see this through to the end. I owe it to my artistic community and to my trans & gender non-conforming community.
Onward & Upwards,
Ryan S. Lowe
P.S. You can read local law 3 here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/legal-guidances-gender-identity-expression.page
"
The Issue
4/22/19
"Dear Pearl Studios & Rick Battaglino,
My name is Ryan S. Lowe and I am a graduating senior from NYU Tisch’s New Studio on Broadway. I have spent the last two years of my life roaming the halls of Pearl Studios; taking classes here 3 days a week and also navigating the beginning of my professional career by auditioning here at Pearl as much as I can. Pearl Studios is somewhere that I will be spending a lot of time as I build my career, and so I care deeply about the environment & the artistic culture that exists there. There is, however, something that I feel is missing from Pearl Studios that can only help bring our community closer to being inclusive of everyone in it: Gender-Neutral Restrooms. I am writing to you today in hopes of sharing my perspective on why gender neutral signage on restrooms would make Pearl a safer, more inclusive place. I believe that gender neutral signage should be required in public restrooms as well as in spaces that aim to be inclusive, creative, and professional -- spaces like Pearl Studios.
I am going to start by sharing my experience.
I don’t feel safe at Pearl Studios. I am a transgender non-conforming person & I don’t feel safe using the bathrooms at Pearl. I, as a human being, should have the right to use any bathroom that I feel comfortable using and I cannot do that at Pearl Studios. Although, I was assigned Male at Birth, my gender is something that is fluid to me, and in constant motion; and some days I choose to use the women’s bathroom while other days I choose to use the men’s bathroom, mostly based on what I am wearing, and how comfortable I think I would feel possibly running into transphobic individuals. I do this because I have experienced countless instances of transphobia in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms here at Pearl Studios. I do extra work to protect myself from being attacked in a bathroom, whereas those who identify as cisgender men and women are privileged to not have to think about something as menial as using the bathroom. When there are only men’s and women’s restrooms in place, this decision becomes potentially life-altering for trans & gender non-conforming individuals even if we just want to wash our hands somewhere (and most of the time, we actually really just want to pee).
The most recent case of these transphobic instances was last week, 4/18/2019, in the women’s bathroom by the elevators on the 4th floor. I was here at Pearl for a callback for Fastrada in Pippin; I was wearing a black dress and LaDuca Heels for a movement and acting call. In between going into the room to read sides, I had to use the restroom and felt that because of how I was dressed, the women’s room would be most comfortable to me. When I entered, I heard someone else in the bathroom in a stall; I didn’t see them yet. I walked into a stall and used the toilet. When I walked out to wash my hands, the person who was in the other stall was now washing their hands. They looked at me and then looked at the door as if to “check the signage” on the door about three to four times in a row before I addressed them. I said, “Is there a problem?” in as nice a voice I could muster because I knew, from past experience, of the impending doom. I was met with defensive resistance and was verbally attacked by a woman who I later found out was a casting director working on something on the 4th floor. The woman replied saying “Is this the men’s room or the women’s room?” And I replied immediately with “How do you know what my gender is? Humans can use whatever bathroom they want.” This was sort of something that I had pre-rehearsed and said to many others before. She replied by screaming at me to “Get going” and that “I better check myself.” I am sure that everyone outside the bathroom heard this incident as well. When I exited, there were glaring eyes & I went straight to the front desk to report the incident. There was a very nice gentleman working who offered support to me & it was very appreciated in the moment because one minute later I had to go back in to read my sides for Fastrada again.
As I’m sure you can imagine, this instance was something that had direct effect on my career -- on the probability of me getting the job that I was there to get. It has come to a point where I expect to be harassed or judged no matter if I use the men’s or women’s bathroom. I have had enough of these instances. And I don’t know how to avoid them anymore. I need your help to survive, to be able to start to build my professional career in a space that welcomes me, rather than excludes me. I want Pearl Studios to be a safe place for me and my Queer & Trans collaborators to feel safe and to be able to inhabit space without fear of transphobia, and of verbal & physical attacks. As a student at NYU, I have also notified the faculty here of these instances & how they need to be better addressed as they have affected my education & my career, in ways that other students have the privilege of not worrying about. I am hoping that NYU and Pearl can possibly work together & be in conversation about changing the signage on the Pearl restrooms since this was something that Tisch has accomplished in recent years.
According to Section 3 of Executive Order 16, signed into law by Mayor Bill DeBlasio on March 7, 2016: “All agencies shall post the Single-Sex Facility Policy in conspicuous locations to their personnel and members of the public using their services within three months of the Effective Date of this Order.”* That would mean, that Pearl is just under 3 years too late in putting up the required bathroom signage. In practical terms, the layout of any of the restrooms does not even need to change, but rather, new signage is all that needs to be put in place in order for a huge change to be made in the way that trans folks are able to interact with Pearl Studios and in the ways that cis folks understand trans identities, as well as, the RIGHT to pee. While I don’t think that changing the signage will stop ALL instances of transphobia that occur on both the micro and macro scale, I do believe that it will help. I hope that there can also be a sort of reporting system put in place for those who do experience harassment in the restrooms as I have before. Something that assures me that my safety & my career & my humanity are being taken seriously and that the harassers are being held accountable for their behavior; I’m tired of my reports stopping at the front desk.
I am attaching this letter to a petition of signatures from cis folks, trans folks, and everyone in between who use Pearl Studios and feel that gender-neutral signage would make Pearl a better place. I hope that these voices are heard & truly listened to. I, myself, am also open to being in direct conversation with Pearl Studios as this process hopefully moves along & will be attaching my professional contact information at the end of this letter. I am more than happy to receive email, phone, or in person follow up to discuss any questions or concerns that my letter & petition may have brought up. I truly hope that we can work together to make Pearl Studios better than they already are by changing the signage on their restrooms to “Gender-Neutral.”
I am also choosing to attach additional reading; articles that I found helpful in putting words to the need & the impact of gender neutral restrooms:
· https://www.lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/article/trans-restroom-faq
· https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/media/single-sex-restrooms.page
*Mayor’s Executive Order
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/cchr/downloads/pdf/EO16_Single-Sex_City_Facilities.pdf
Best,
Ryan S. Lowe"
UPDATE on 4/23/19:
"Hi all,
Firstly, it's been brought to me that the law I cited in my original letter does not actually apply to Pearl Studios, however, there are other laws that were brought to my attention that I'd like to make sure Pearl is following during my meeting with Mr. Battaglino tomorrow.
Secondly, this is more than a legal issue, but a MORAL/ETHICAL issue. I am prepared to explain how the lack of proper signage is, by nature, transphobic & is having direct effect on the spread of transphobia in spaces like Pearl Studios. Law or not, Pearl Studios should be among the first of these artistic spaces to transition to having mainly gender-neutral restrooms so that the closeted transphobes are the ones who have to use separate restrooms rather than us TOLERANT and AWARE trans individuals. Or even better, to keep transphobic people out of our spaces entirely as there should not be any place for any type of discrimination in the first place. I am not going to settle for having to inconvenience myself by using a separate restroom. I am a human and I deserve to use the bathroom like everyone else without having secede to binary ideas of gender.
At the very least, my first goal is to get Pearl to put up the proper signage displaying the law that NYC Agencies follow -- even though Pearl is not an agency, and a business, so they are not required to do this, I think it would be in their best interest to do so and would be a start to combating transphobic incidents in their restrooms. At the very least, it would give me a better response to people like that casting director who kept glancing at me and then the door. If these signs were in place, I would be able to glance right back at the door & not even have to explain myself. People like that woman would be able to read for themselves, saving me time, energy, and emotional labor.
Please continue to share this petition and tell your friends to sign! The more signatures we get before my meeting tomorrow & onward, the better.
Thank you for all your support & help, everyone.
Best,
Ryan S. Lowe"
Update on 4/25/19
"
Hi everyone!
I’d like to thank you all so so so much from the bottom of my heart for the support that I have received in this endeavor. I feel truly humbled, valid, and happy to see where the future will take this.
Yesterday, 4/24/19, I met with Rick Battaglino, the general manager at Pearl Studios, and Madeline Hamlet, one of the dedicated Pearl Studios faculty members who was passionate and kind enough to lend her time to this project. Both Rick and Madeline were not only extremely sympathetic to me for the experience I had, but from the beginning of the meeting it was clear that they both deeply understood and felt the need for change.
The layout of the Pearl Studio bathrooms was the first thing that needed to be understood by all in order for us to effectively figure out the best way to implement new signage. The current public restroom spaces at Pearl Studios, 500 8th ave, are labeled as follows:
o 3rd Floor
-1 multiple- stalled men’s room
-2 multiple-stalled women’s rooms
-1 men’s changing room
-1 women’s changing room
o 4th Floor
-1 multiple-stalled men’s room
-2 multiple-stalled women’s rooms
-1 men’s changing room
-1 women’s changing room
o 12th Floor
-1 multiple-stalled men’s room
-1 multiple-stalled women’s room
-1 men’s changing room
-1 women’s changing room
-1 inappropriately labeled all gender/accessible single stalled restroom (the sign has pictures of a “male” body, a “female” body, and a body in a wheelchair) I have attached a photo of the current sign to this update; It was deemed inappropriate for two reasons: 1) it only includes binary gender representations & 2) it conflates being trans or gender non-conforming with having a disability -- the two or not the same & it is problematic to imply or say so.
After understanding the current restroom layout, Rick, Madeline, and I discussed all of the changes that would make these restroom spaces better for EVERYONE -- not just trans & gender non-conforming folks. We all agreed that this must be treated as a process; not something that can happen overnight. It’s about implementing these changes in the RIGHT way and in good time so that we can properly educate those who do not understand or are not aware that trans & gender non-conforming communities exist in the same spaces as them and deserve the same equal respect as any other human being. Rick & Madeline seemed very adamant about keeping me involved in the process of these changes & I expressed that I feel the same way as trans voices NEED to be leading this fight. I was elated when we even began looking online at some of the best gender-neutral signage to order.
Today, I sent a follow up email with my proposed task list for the signage changes I would like to see happen at Pearl over the coming weeks/months. Here is a direct quote from my email outlining these tasks:
“
Lastly, I have just created a very general and rough task list / goal list of the concrete steps that I hope can be taken along this process (most of these we’ve discussed, but of course, it’s our work together to figure out HOW we make this all happen, and yes it is a process).
1. Placing separate All-Gender signs and Accessibility signs on the public single stalled restroom on the 12th floor
2. Changing the signage on ALL of the changing rooms to separate signs for All-Gender & Accessibility
3. Placing a sign in the lobbies of each floor stating that Pearl Studios is not a place that welcomes discrimination of any kind and that it works to promote tolerance of ALL humans through the business they do (going off of Madeline’s idea)
4. Changing the signage of the extra women’s restrooms on the 3rd and 4th floor to All Gender
5. Placing signs with the quote from NYC Local Law 3 published by the NYC Commission on Human Rights underneath any restrooms (on all floors) that you feel you need to kept labeled as Men’s and Women’s for now: “Under New York City Law, all people have the right to use the single-gender facility most closely aligned with their gender identity or gender expression.”” (the placement of these signs forces cis people using the bathroom to come to terms with not only the fact that trans and gender non-conforming individuals exist in the world but in the same spaces as them & I believe is a step in the right direction of spreading tolerance and awareness; and not to repeat myself, but it is a NYC Local Law published by the NYC Commission on Human Rights)
6. And of course, eventually, turning those men’s and women’s restrooms on every floor into All gender restrooms because peeing is a HUMAN thing.
7. I would love to chat about the current situation at 519 8th ave and see what changes can be made there as well.
”
So far, I feel very confident that though working with Rick & Madeline, a few trans friends of mine, and the faculty of Tisch that change WILL be made at Pearl Studios. I wish it could all change overnight, but we are moving in the right direction. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with information, questions, concerns, experiences, or ANYTHING you think can be pertinent to accomplishing this goal. Please continue to share this petition with everyone you know and meet – let’s get as many signatures as we can from as many different communities as we can. Pearl Studios is a place where children taking their first classes, Broadway Legends, and everyone in between come to do their work and make their art, and I know for a fact that we can reach all of those communities through this petition.
I hope to continue to have more updates for you all as this endeavor progresses in the following days/weeks. And I say again, I will see this through to the end. I owe it to my artistic community and to my trans & gender non-conforming community.
Onward & Upwards,
Ryan S. Lowe
P.S. You can read local law 3 here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/legal-guidances-gender-identity-expression.page
"
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on April 22, 2019