Article by Dylan Jaffe
The University of Maryland took action to make individuals who identify as non-binary feel more comfortable on-campus by installing additional gender-neutral bathrooms throughout all the buildings.
With the addition, students across campus are feeling appreciative — but also wanting more — from the university in regard to making all groups of people feel safe and welcomed. A full map of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus is available here.
Hannah Breslau,sophomore public policy major, believes it is key to have bathrooms accessible for non-binary and transgender students. Being cisgender — meaning your gender identity aligns with your sex assigned at birth — Breslau finds herself not having to think about simple everyday things that someone who is a part of the transgender or non-binary community may have to think about on a day to day basis.
“I’m very privileged to never have experienced any sort of struggle when deciding what bathroom to use,” said Breslau. “It is simple things like these that cisgender people take for granted when such a large population in different communites face these struggles in everyday life.”
Breslau has transgender and non binary individuals close to her, and finds it unreasonable why someone would not understand the positive outcomes of a gender neutral bathrooms, for starters, on inclusivity.
“It’s hard for me to understand how someone else could be like ‘oh it doesn’t affect me… why do I have to respect someone’s identity’, when clearly we know inclusive spaces have good effects on people’s mental health,” said Breslau.
Further, following the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade, there has been much speculation around body autonomy and women’s reproduction rights.
“When you exclude transgender, non- binary, and gender fluid people from your activism, that’s just not a good thing to do. I feel like it has become a whole new thing, like, the idea that women are not the only people capable of getting pregnant,” said Breslau.
Delaney Diehl, sophomore communications major ,believes that there is still room for improvement not only on-campus but in America as a whole.
“It can come off as hypocritical giving people these opportunities to be themselves and be comfortable in public, but still denying women the right to do what they want with their own bodies,” said Diehl. “It’s like a pick and choose, like… I’ll give you a space to be yourself but to a certain extent.”
Coming together as a community and realizing the fight that cisgender and transgender women have to endure on a day-to-day basis is something that Diehl wants to emphasizewhen discussing the ability for someone to be their true selves and not have their rights up for debate.
“Try to read on both sides. Talk with people who have differing opinions and then use what you learn from both of them to strengthen the background behind your opinion,” said Rachel Feldman, a sophomore double-majoring in history and communications.
People who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community may feel inclined to hide in the shadows of everyday society because they do not feel welcomed in their community. The students on this campus have highlighted the importance for students and staff at the university to have these inclusive amenities and have these discussions openly and with a welcoming perspective.