I have been openly queer my entire time here at Northpark, queer being the umbrella term for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and it has caused some of the highest highs and lowest lows of my high school life. One of the most consistent low points of my time here is being consistently failed by our inclusive washrooms. They fail the queer students of Northpark in two major ways: 1. They are never open, 2. The door works to actively out queer students.
For the first reason you may think to yourself, “Well all bathrooms are closed all the time, that’s not an inclusive bathroom only issue,” and you’re right– the fact that there isn’t a single day where every bathroom is working and available for students is a serious issue. However, there are more gendered bathrooms than inclusive ones, and those bathrooms are usually closed due to vandalism or renovations. I’ve learned through my time with GLOW is that the inclusive washrooms just don’t get unlocked, as there have been several times teachers have told me to find them if the bathroom is locked, so they can unlock it.
The second issue is what inspired me to write this, as it seems like a small issue and yet it has been repeated in the newly installed inclusive washroom. The doors to the inclusive washrooms are only unlocked by the automatic door button. Which, on paper, makes sense, as it is designed for those with movement disabilities. However, by making it only open by the automatic door, it keeps the door wide open for much longer than anyone who’s not openly queer to feel comfortable. When the door is opened by the automatic door, it loudly clicks and creaks open and then stays widely open for 20 seconds with no way to close it. In my experience this will consistently attract the gaze of any passerby.
We tend to pride ourselves on our queer inclusion and acceptance at this school, and when it comes to the staff that is completely true. However, there is no way I could that the students are overall accepting of queer people. I’ve been called slurs in the hallways, have had several people run up to me to make the same unfunny transphobic “I identify as ‘insert object’ joke,” and I consistently overhear conversations of people expressing their disgust or disdain towards queer people. That’s not to say there are not accepting students, but there’s a reason I don’t feel comfortable being seen entering a gender neutral washroom under the gaze of the average student at our school.
I’m disappointed in the new inclusive washroom, as we do have one queer inclusively designed inclusive washroom, that being the one in the English hallway. It doesn’t require the automatic door to open, allowing queer students to slip in and without attracting unneeded attention. There is still work that needs to be done on the new inclusive bathroom, such as adding a soap dispenser, so hopefully we change the locking mechanism to prevent the outing of queer students. Queer students shouldn’t have to worry about being able to use the only bathrooms designated for them, which should be designed to make them feel safe.
THE NORTH STAR 