“Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating'” by Emily Bazelon explains some of the troubles of transgender people. She also questions why our society has separated males and females in the ways that we have. Emily does this by using the simple main example of specific gendered bathrooms by pointing out the unease people have or would have if they had to share restrooms with the opposite sex. She mentions how many people do not agree with the idea of mixing both genders in restrooms. Some people have gone as far as campaigning against men being allowed in women’s restrooms and vice versa. Bazelon also adds how schools handle the issue when it comes to transgender students. Majority of schools call transgender students by the names they ask to be called by, and they allow transgender students to be on whichever gender of a sports team they identify with. Even with both of those accommodations, there are remaining issues on if transgender students should be allowed to use the same dressing rooms and bathrooms as the gender they identify with. Emily Bazelon gives an example of an issue that came up in Illinois where a transgender girl was not allowed to change with the girls because of lack of privacy for the girls. The solution that came about was a curtain being put up to give more privacy. This way transgender students can be accommodated and the mixing of genders becomes less problematic.
Emily Bazelon then goes into talking about accommodations or rather the lack there of. She speaks on how accommodations have been made for the people who have disabilities and even for peoples’ religions. Yet accommodations for transgenders have not been made. Bazelon points out how it seems that people who are transgenders are the ones who have been making changes to accommodate others instead of others trying to help accommodate them. Not only do people who are transgenders fall short when it comes to being accommodated, women are slightly looked over also. Bazelon makes note of women having to wait in lines for the bathroom, which is not a rare occurrence, while men move quickly in and out of the bathrooms because urinals help them to do so. Accommodations for men are more frequent compared to accommodations for women and especially transgenders.
Brazelon continues making her point by stating how the separation between men and women as far as using the restroom is something that was created by society a long time ago. It began when women stopped being housewives as much and began joining the working community. Women were looked at as more fragile so they needed their own restroom that they could retreat to at work. Since the bathrooms have been separated for so long, women also see their restroom as somewhere they can go and chat or freshen up away from men. Many women are uncomfortable with the idea of a transgenders being in their restrooms because then the restroom will not be specifically for them. This view on the women’s restroom discourages any movements toward limiting the separation of sexes and accommodating transgenders. Brazelon states that adjustments are necessary for coexistence. Everyone needs to feel like they belong.