Heather Latter
In keeping with its focus on equality and inclusivity, the Rainy River District School Board has included gender-neutral washrooms at the high schools in Fort Frances, Rainy River, and Atikokan.
“It’s modern in terms of reaching for equity and inclusiveness, and it follows along the line of basic human rights for those who are LGBTQ or questioning,” noted Superintendent of Education Casey Slack.
“It’s non-denominational,” he stressed. “You maximize the approach to equity because it’s accessible for all.
“And there’s no labelling of people, per se.”
Slack said the first time he really became aware of the importance of this was when he became involved in the LGBTQ work.
Prior to that, he admitted he didn’t really think about the importance of gender-neutral bathrooms.
“Through discussion, it was revealed that some people who are questioning have to succumb to the label of are they a male or a female?” he explained.
“Should they really have to do that?
“In everybody’s homes, everyone uses the same facility and you don’t have to identify yourself as a male or a female or any type of a pronoun,” Slack continued.
“You just have access to the facility.
“It’s an extension of that into the public domain, in our schools,” he said, adding the washrooms at the board office recently were redone and now also are gender neutral.
Slack noted the issue of gender-neutral washrooms was noticeable at a Gay-Straight Alliance event held at La Place Rendez-Vous here in May, 2014.
“We had a Gay-Straight Alliance conference for all student leaders in Northwestern Ontario,” he recalled.
“In terms of establishing the organization for that event was that one of the presenters had their suite and they used that as a gender-neutral facility.
“That was announced at the beginning of the session and it’s really a standard thing in terms of LGBTQ events that gender-neutral washrooms are identified on the premises—the location and directions, too,” Slack remarked.
“So it’s from that, and around our work on equity and inclusivity, that we moved forward as a board in this direction.”
Including gender-neutral washrooms is something that’s being done across the country.
Several public schools in Ottawa installed ones this year to help protect children who are questioning their gender identity.
Many universities, including the University of Toronto and the University of Saskatchewan, as well as at schools on both coasts, have embraced gender-neutral washrooms.
“There are two reasons why transgender people will use a gender-neutral washroom,” noted a U. of T. website.
“The first is that they do not identify as either male or female, and are not comfortable entering gendered spaces.
“The second is that they identify as either male or female, but fear the harassment and expulsion that may occur should they be misgendered by other washroom users.”
A 2014 article from the Huffington Post indicated the number of gender-neutral bathrooms has grown in just the past few years, in city-run facilities, workplaces, and, most commonly, college campuses.
There are more than 150 schools across the U.S. that have gender-neutral bathrooms, according to the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s LGBTQ organization, The Stonewall Center.
Slack said it didn’t take too much work to convert the bathrooms at the local high schools.
At Fort High, an existing facility was changed while at RRHS, there was a renovation so it was an additional washroom.
“It was a school-level decision to make that the general-neutral washroom,” Slack noted.
“Now, for the most part, it is accessible to all people, all abilities, and all gender identification,” he noted, adding the sign on the door now reads “gender-neutral washroom.”
“Everything is relatively positive,” Slack stressed.
“What we’re finding is that the issue around inclusivity, around all gender stereotypes but also racism, is that the young are more able to pick up on what’s appropriate, and to enter acceptance and a period of change moreso than adults are.”
Slack believes the local board is really progressive in this regard.
“And the more it extends outward, the more it will reflect the values and norms of society, particularly around issues of equity,” he reasoned.
Slack doesn’t know if the schools ever will move toward all gender-neutral bathrooms, but he’s happy with what’s been accomplished so far.
“It’s a washroom for human beings,” he remarked, noting students of any gender can go in and use the restroom—and feel safe, regardless of gender expression or gender identity.
Slack added the board may look at incorporating gender-neutral washrooms at the elementary level.
“We’ll have to talk about that,” he said.
“First of all, in terms of equity, the issues about rolling it out into one school or all schools at the same time, and looking at the fiscal space that we have.”
