--- title: Bathroom Bills: All Bathrooms Should Be Gender-Neutral description: 'Gender-neutral restrooms have the potential to fundamentally transform the way that we think about gender equality' canonical: https://time.com/4702962/gender-neutral-bathrooms/ author: Jacob Tobia article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-23T14:47:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:10.564Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why All Bathrooms Should Be Gender-Neutral og:description: 'They have the potential to transform the way we think about gender equality' og:url: https://time.com/4702962/gender-neutral-bathrooms/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8c64c00e18fe62c/6988bea12dce012b999ecab4/sexuality-gender-identities-jody-rogac-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: sexuality-gender-identities-jody-rogac-02 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why All Bathrooms Should Be Gender-Neutral twitter:description: 'They have the potential to transform the way we think about gender equality' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8c64c00e18fe62c/6988bea12dce012b999ecab4/sexuality-gender-identities-jody-rogac-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why All Bathrooms Should Be Gender-Neutral > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Transgender Teen Nicole Maines Talks Bathroom Rights [Watch (HLS stream): Transgender Teen Nicole Maines Talks Bathroom Rights](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pbPQ5XIX.m3u8) (1:59)  _Published 2016-05-13. Nicole Maines, her father Wayne, and her brother Jonas talk about how bathrooms have become the new frontier for transgender civil rights._ by [Jacob Tobia](https://time.com/author/jacob-tobia/) ## Jacob Tobia Mar 23, 2017 2:47 PM UTC  Jacob Tobia identifies as genderqueer Jacob Tobia identifies as genderqueerJody Rogac for TIME by [Jacob Tobia](https://time.com/author/jacob-tobia/) ## Jacob Tobia Mar 23, 2017 2:47 PM UTC The day Donald Trump [rescinded protections](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/devos-sessions-transgender-students-rights.html) that allowed trans students to use the bathroom of their choosing was like any other day for me. I went to work in a fairly typical outfit: cowboy boots, dangly earrings, bright red lipstick, and a touch of five o’clock shadow. After I’d had my morning coffee, I needed to do what all humans feel called to do in the morning. I needed to use the [bathroom](http://time.com/4698392/transgender-bathroom-bill-poll/). Walking down the hallway in my office, I was confronted with the same choice that I face every day: should I use the women’s restroom or the men’s? Technically, as per a trans-inclusive policy at my office, I’m allowed to use whichever bathroom I prefer. But in this case, which bathroom makes more sense? The lipstick suggests that I should use the women’s restroom, but the five o’clock shadow suggests otherwise. As a [gender nonconforming person](http://time.com/4703309/gender-sexuality-changing/) and a member of the trans community, I find that I’m constantly stuck between a rock and a hard place, or in this case, between a stall and a urinal. If I choose the women’s restroom, I risk facing panicked women who take one look at my facial hair and assume that I’m a predator. If I choose the men’s restroom, I risk facing transphobic men who, with one glance at my dangling earrings, begin hurling slurs or throwing punches. Trans people and our allies across the country have taken up [the rallying cry #ProtectTransKids](http://www.vocativ.com/405199/protect-trans-kids/) in order to shame Donald Trump for rescinding Obama-era protections that provided all trans students with “restroom choice.” But what national LGBTQ organizers and social media personalities alike seem to be missing is that the Obama-era protections for trans kids weren’t good enough to begin with. Allowing trans students to “use the restroom that feels most comfortable to them” assumes that a comfortable option _exists in the first place_. For most trans people, particularly young trans people who are still understanding their identity, _no_ gendered restroom is comfortable. That is why we must begin a national conversation about gender-neutral restrooms. It’s not as radical of an idea as you might think. Throughout my entire senior year at Duke University, I lived on a floor with completely co-ed bathrooms. When the bathroom got busy, I showered and peed one stall over from women and men and trans people alike. For the cis students on my hall, the co-ed bathroom wasn’t a big deal. But for the trans students, myself included, it was a revelation. I finally felt safe when I needed to tinkle. More recently, I went to a restaurant that had no gendered bathrooms whatsoever. Instead, there was an open, communal area with seven or eight sinks, flanked on either side by a dozen individually locking bathroom stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors. It was totally comfortable, completely gender-neutral and, most importantly, provided plenty of privacy in which to do your business. If we truly seek to #ProtectTransKids, this is the type of model that must be implemented in schools, government buildings, restaurants, and recreational facilities across the country. It gives everyone enough privacy, and provides trans people with life-affirming safety. The benefits of gender-neutral restrooms run deeper than simply providing safety for trans people. Gender-neutral restrooms have the potential to fundamentally transform the way that we think about gender equality. Gender-segregated restrooms are one of the last absolute gender divides in our society, and they reinforce from a very early age the idea that women and men are fundamentally different. It is through reinforcing this difference that we first teach young girls that they deserve less in this world. It is through reinforcing this difference that we first teach young boys that they must prove their manhood. By maintaining gender-segregated restrooms, schools across the country are condoning violence and marginalization against trans young people. Implementing gender-neutral, sufficiently private restrooms in schools is the only way to ensure that trans students are provided an education that is free of harassment and state-sanctioned discrimination. 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