A Couple Of Thoughts About The News – Bathrooms and Dorms

The first is about gender neutral bathrooms, when I was graduate student, a group of students came up to me and said that they want the school to designated certain bathrooms as gender neutral. They were so excited about it, that I hatred to burst their bubble, I felt that it was a form of segregation. Well the University of Southern California student government is proposing gender neutral bathrooms…

Gender-neutral bathroom, Leavey resolutions pass
Daily Trojan
By Daniel Rothberg
March 20, 2012

Undergraduate Student Government senators unanimously approved two resolutions advocating for the renovation of Leavey Library and the installation of a gender-neutral bathroom in the Student Union on Tuesday.
[…]
“[Vice President for Student Affairs Michael] Jackson went to the Board of Trustees with the resolution and they gave him the green light to move forward to talk to USC Housing to implement the pilot program for next year,” said Josh DeMilta, USG director of Diversity Affairs.

What I told my classmates was that I would be in favor of a gender neutral bathroom if it did not limit access to all bathrooms to trans-people. That we were not forced to only use gender neutral bathrooms; that some trans-people might feel safer or might want to use a gender neutral bathroom while they transitioned and having a gender neutral bathroom for them was all right.

The other story is about a trans-man at Miami University in Ohio who wants to be a room advisor (RA) in a male dorm.

Transgender Student Fights University Over Housing
Complaint Filed Against Miami U.
WLWT
March 19, 2012

"Although it doesn't match with what I've been told based on my birth certificate and that, it's my identity, it's what I feel and I can't fight it," said Kass.

The Miami University student is fighting school officials for not allowing him to serve as a resident assistant in an all-male residence hall. Instead, he was offered a position in a suite living with female students.
[…]
"The university does offer gender-neutral housing for those students who feel more comfortable living with students of a different biological gender," said spokeswoman Claire Wagner.

My take on this is that they should give him the RA job. Way back when I was an undergrad, we had separate shower stalls in the bathroom and I imagine that 40 years later that most dorm bathrooms still have separate stills. Even through it is a male dorm, there probably a number of women who stay there overnight. Also, as one of the perks that the RA had in the dorm was they had a single dorm room. That is my only reservation, is that of roommates, a roommates get to see each other when they are naked. I have the same reservations with gender-neutral housing that I have with gender neutral bathrooms, it is a form of segregation if a trans-person must use gender-neutral housing.