Summary of Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating

The article called Making Bathrooms More ‘Accommodating written by Emily Bazelon discusses the topic and ideology of the word accommodation and to what extent the meaning of this word goes. Accommodating the needs of others such as a roommate, spouse, or friend can be easily understood and comprehended by most people. Throughout this article however, Bazelon addresses the concerns of accommodating transgender individuals which people do not normally consider. While most individuals give no concern or thought to the politics or current issues regarding the accessibility of public restrooms, transgender people are making this topic public and aware to society, and asking individuals to rethink the struggle of public places such as the bathroom from their perspective. We normally socially identify people and categorize humans by which room they tend to walk towards, the men’s or women’s. However for transgender entities, they struggle on deciding which room is socially acceptable for them to enter into.

As the article states, many people resist the idea of mixing male and female bodies together in the same public private areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms. They fear that creating unisex bathrooms is an invasion of privacy and being uncomfortable in a private location. Bazelon offers insight into this serious issue by discussing how voters in Houston have rejected campaigns for equal rights for transgender individuals and how people are creating opposing campaigns that promote “No Men in Women’s Bathrooms.”

This issue is more relevant for children and students who attend schools that do not recognize or consider this issue to be problematic. Most schools throughout the country however have been particularly open and accommodating for students who identify with these issues. Most school districts have agreed to let students be called by their preferred names and pronouns, as well join which ever sports team there chosen gender specifies to.

The common dispute however for most organizations and schools is which room individuals like this should be allowed to change, shower, and use the bathroom in. The word accommodation has been tricky in this area because though accommodations have been made for handicapped individuals, transgender people feel that they too should be accommodated for their own specific individual needs. Although social norms are being tested, activists believe that accommodating transgender entities is only fair.

Continuing throughout this article, we read that originally public bathrooms were designed and dominated by men because women at the time were not able to hold jobs in factories and working offices. As times have changed, separate public restrooms were built for women only. Feminists now argue that it is unnecessary and a waste of space to hold two separate rooms for the same purpose. Other women argue that the restroom is not only for its intended purpose, but also is a much needed secluded area in which girlfriends can chat and have a space of their own without having to be with the opposite sex.

Accommodation is one aspect of this issue, but transgender children not fitting in and feeling a sense of belonging with the same sex is also a factor. As a twelve year old transgender girl in Connecticut said, she just wanted to be with the other girls at all times and be able to fit it. As transgender accommodations are still underway, the Transgender Law Center is helping these individuals with this problem by offering a variety of strategies in which they can use to help assist with these problems for now.

Summary of His and Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society

Suzanne Tick, activist toward a post-gender society has several opinionated and objective views toward her beliefs and theories on the world today and how gender is a contributing factor in all area of human life especially in the modern workplace today. Suzanne Tick, writer of the article His and Hers: Designing for a Post-Gender Society argues how the workplace of corporate America is rooted and shaped by a predominantly male perspective. Ticks main purpose in her article discusses how traditional masculine and feminine roles are being challenged these days and how designers of different spaces should focus more on deigning spaces to feel more accepting and inviting with a feminine touch, especially because of how individuals now identify with a different gender than what they were born with.

As the article continuously states, the job career and world of technology and web design is a highly male dominated field, with eight five percent of tech workers at the top companies being male. With businesses such as these that are mainly worked and operated by men, the design of these prime spaces are usually geared towards making a comfortable and relaxing environment for men, but not women.

As we read throughout the article, we learn of new movements and events that are pushing the ideas of modernism and feminism into a more popular light. One in particular was the speech given by actress Emma Watson that went viral over the internet about her affiliations and promotions of the He for She movement. The He for She movement helps in promoting men to join the cause for gender equality and the current acceptance for same sex marriage.

Tick mainly states that with people associating with opposite genders in the modern world today, designers should take the effort in accommodating these individuals by more soft interiors and influences of hospitality and gender sensitivity. The main concepts learned from this article deal with the acceptance from different areas of society relating to this issue. “Alexander Wang’s women’s coat from Fall 2015 has masculine tailoring with a military look, while Annemiek van der Beek’s Primal Skin makeup line has been designed to be appealing to the male buyer”(Tick). This is a great example Suzanne Tick incorporated into her article to show readers that we are living in a new era of different industries accepting and modeling new products and ideas toward people that self-identify with the opposite sex such as the fashion and make up industry.

As some might be skeptical upon their first sight of this image, Suzanne Tick sides with having more unisex bathrooms in the workplace to let others know that their office and workplace is taking a progressive step forward in accommodating employees that are transgender. Since large well-known companies such as Google are slowly adopting gender-neutral and unisex bathrooms, other corporations have taken note of this change that is helping their employees feel safe and included in the workplace.

Tick concludes this article by restating that masculine and feminine roles are being switched and that they have drastically changed within the past few years because of the world’s progression toward a post gender world. We read and realize that there needs to be a change in the overall design of spaces in order to be respectful and open to creating environments in which people can express their own individuality regardless of gender.