1. Gender neutral toilets in Cardiff University
Finding the right toilet can often be a hassle for students that do not simply define as 'male' or 'female' or who are transitioning - especially those who are not able to transition full time or who are only beginning their transition.
There are many ways that trans people are excluded by laws, by the media and by the actions of people. They are consistently at higher risk of violent attack than non-trans people and have higher rates of suicide.
Although some trans people may want to continue using a male or female toilet as they have been able to 'pass' and feel most comfortable that way, having a toilet where gender is not specified has been one of the ways universities have tried to combat transphobic bullying. If these gender neutral toilets are established then all students are encouraged to use them, and all trans students are absolutely entitled not to.
There are a few practical concerns, and these are being dealt with. This is just a survey to gauge the reaction of students and also the need for the toilets. It is completely confidential.
There have been gender neutral toilets in other big, urban and successful universities such as Manchester, Edinburgh, Sussex and Bath.
People looking for more information should try the NUS briefing: http://www.officeronline.co.uk/lgbt/articles/276534.aspx, this great blog: http://questioningtransphobia.wordpress.com/.
The LGBT Officer's blog can be found at http://LGBTCampaignCardiff.blogspot.com
Lots of people have loads to say and of the people against the gender neutral toilets there were a lot of reoccuring themes. A lot of those issues came up in Student Council but I didn't explain fully here. Some I did explain, but students obviously skipped. I blogged about this, paraphrasing some responses. It can be found here: http://lgbtcampaigncardiff.blogspot.com/2009/12/gender-neutral-toilets-myths-debunked.html
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