Micah Wormley was only comfortable using two campus restrooms while she was transitioning from male to female. Wormley, who is transgender, relied upon the gender-neutral restrooms in Kaufman Hall and Gittinger Hall, she said.
Wormley said she stumbled upon these bathrooms by accident, but finding other non-gendered restrooms on campus is difficult.
“I have been looking, and it’s a tough search,” said Wormley, professional writing and anthropology senior.
There are 13 gender-neutral restrooms scattered throughout classroom buildings of the North and South ovals. These restrooms are made for single use and were found on various floors depending on the building. The Daily contacted Facilities Management for a complete list of non-gendered restrooms, but such documents don’t exist.
Wormley, who now uses women’s restrooms almost exclusively, said she saw a comic strip that perfectly illustrated the challenges of finding a restroom during her transition.
“Instead of a men’s restroom and a women’s restroom, it had a ‘get beat up restroom’ and a ‘get yelled at restroom,’ and that’s a fear that many trans people have, including myself at that point,” Wormley said.
Gender-neutral restrooms can help students who are not comfortable defining themselves strictly in terms of male or female, said Tyler Tennant, president of OU’s GLBTF.
“There's a common misconception in regards to gender and sex that people are simply one or the other, and that's not the case and it should not be the end-all, be-all in regards to gender expression,” said Tennant, letters and mathematics junior, in an email.
Wormley said she has been verbally confronted twice while using women’s restrooms. The first time was in Bizzell Memorial Library when a woman asked her if Wormley belonged in that restroom.
“I responded by saying, 'Well, look at this: My wallet is Vera Bradley. My underwear is Victoria’s Secret. I spend more on foundation than on food. I think I belong here,'” Wormley said. She also said someone confronted her in Gaylord Hall.
Though people have only confronted her twice, Wormley said she sometimes gets stares and glares in restrooms.
Though he said he could not speak for the entire campus, Tennant said that he thinks members of the GLBTF and other students would appreciate an increase of gender-neutral restrooms. Though some people on campus might not be receptive to the idea, hopefully they would keep open minds, Tennant said.
“I'm also sure that there are some who might not be so open to the idea, but I think that OU is really special in that our students genuinely care about their peers,” Tennant said.
The best thing to do when looking at gender nonconformist issues is to research and ask questions, he said.
While some people might not think gender-neutral restrooms would help a large group, a gender-neutral restroom is created for everyone, GLBTF adviser Meredith Worthen said.
“It’s neutral. That’s the whole point,” said Worthen, sociology and women’s and gender studies professor. “Of course the population is big enough. Anyone can use them.”
Furthermore, it is difficult to define who might be most affected by non-gendered restrooms, Worthen said.
Students might be uncomfortable using gendered restrooms for a variety of reasons aside from being transgendered or gender variant, Worthen said. Additionally, many transgendered students are probably completely comfortable in gendered restrooms.
“I think that it’s really much more complex than it sounds at the outset,” Worthen said.
Gender-neutral restrooms would show equality, whomever they may appeal to most, Worthen said.
“It seems like something that is a simple fix, having a gender neutral restroom, and if it could help people feel more comfortable or more safe or included or supported, why not?” Worthen said.
While OU has no plans to increase the number of gender-neutral restrooms on campus right now, the University of Houston-Downtown’s Student Government Association unanimously passed a decision Jan. 10 that will create gender-neutral restrooms on their campus.
Kristopher Sharp, vice president of the University of Houston-Downtown’s SGA, headed the movement.
“We want to come up with a solution to make bathrooms safe spaces,” Sharp said.
Sharp, the president of Safe Zone, his school’s GLBTQ student organization, said not all students feel comfortable using gendered restrooms.
Because these students are paying the same tuition as other students, Sharp said he felt that it was “abhorrent” that they were not getting to use the same amenities.
Additionally, gender-neutral restrooms can be of use to students with assistants or parents with children of the opposite gender, Sharp said.
One pair of currently multi-stalled, gendered restrooms in every building will become gender neutral, Sharp said.
If people are not comfortable using the gender-neutral restrooms, gendered restrooms remain throughout campus. Creating gender-neutral restrooms only adds resources for students who have gone without, Sharp said.
