When the sexy men and women of “Ally McBeal”  shared one bathroom in their progressive law  firm, the mid-1990s audience was shocked. Sexually  non-discriminate bathrooms were an anomaly at  the time and something that only lawyers in too-short  skirts with fantasies about dancing babies dealt with.

Gender-neutral bathrooms are no longer marginalized  to lawyer-based dramedies and are now becoming  more common in public areas. With a greater awareness  of the GLBTQ community, a campaign for more genderneutral  bathrooms is growing in popularity across the  nation, with its strongest foothold on liberal arts campuses.

The move toward non-gender specific bathrooms is  one of safety and comfort. According to Assistant Professor  of Religion and Gender Studies Melissa Wilcox, an  advocate of gender-neutral bathrooms, the strict division  and gender specificity of bathrooms can make using one  can a “humiliating or dangerous” experience for those  outside social gender norms.

Though less progressive than many colleges in this  issue, Whitman still provides places on campus where  gender-neutral bathrooms are an option for students.

According to Nancy Tavelli, Campus-Life Director,  Whitman provides non-gender specific bathrooms in  all upperclassmen campus housing. Douglas Hall, North  Hall, Marcus House, College House and the Interest  House Community all provide this bathroom option.  “Most things are fairly gender-neutral, especially in  places where students decide their community,” said Tavelli.

In the spaces on campus where students have the  option of choosing their community, they also have the  option of deciding whether to use gendered or non-gendered  bathrooms. According to Tavelli, this ideally allows  for everyone’s comfort needs to be met.

Sophomore Heather Ferguson, an RA in Douglas, affirmed  this democratic method of assigning bathrooms.”It seems like each suite decides for themselves  how they would like the bathrooms to be set up,”  she said.

In spite of the relative national controversy surrounding  gender-neutral bathrooms, the ones on  campus act as either a non-issue for students or as  a welcome reprieve.  

“I have not noticed any controversy surrounding  the bathrooms in Douglas,” said Ferguson.

Sophomore Joe Cross, another Douglas RA, told of  an atmosphere of support for non-gender specific  bathrooms.  “Last semester I lived in Douglas and someone put  up ‘Men’ and ‘Women’ signs on the bathroom doors…eventually some of us replaced the signs with ‘Humans’  and ‘Aliens,'” he said.

The move for gender-neutral bathrooms largely  stems from the need to provide a safe and comfortable  environment for those who may feel ostracized  by strict gender definitions.

“People have bathroom incidents because they  don’t at first glance look the appropriate gender for  the bathroom,” said Wilcox.

She cites short hair on women, long or curly hair  on men, androgynous dress and homophobia as  reasons why individuals may be targeted in bathrooms.

A spokesperson for Whitman Coalition  Against Homophobia echoed Wilcox’s sentiment.

“Gender neutral bathrooms can be beneficial for  anyone who is gender variant,” the spokesman said. “This  would include transexual people in the process of  transition, trans people who do not ‘pass’ as either  male or female, masculine lesbian women, feminine  gay men, feminine straight men, masculine straight  women, gender variant bisexual individuals etc, etc.”

Wilcox explained that androgynous or gendervariant  individuals often feel torn or uncomfortable  making a definitive decision about their gender  identification, especially in areas as private as  bathrooms. That weight gets lighter when  they don’t have to make a choice.

“It’s freeing for a lot of people,” she said.  Whitman aims to provide more genderneutral  facilities in both residence halls and  public buildings.

“The move is to have more gender-neutral  bathrooms,” said Tavelli.  However, the renovations necessary to make these  changes would cost more than Whitman can currently  afford. The changes would go beyond merely  changing bathroom signs. To insure privacy for  all, showers and bathroom stall would have to  stretch from floor to ceiling. Showers would  need to have attached changing stalls to  prevent anyone from feeling vulnerable  at any time.

“Colleges with gender-neutral bathrooms  are generally built or renovated with  that in mind,” said Tavelli explaining the financial  need to make these changes. “And most of  the stuff we’re using is from the 50s.”