Group calls on west coast businesses to adopt gender-neutral washroom signs | Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper

Group calls on west coast businesses to adopt gender-neutral washroom signs

Tofino, BC

This Pride Month, the Coastal Queer Alliance (CQA) is calling on Clayoquot Sound’s businesses to update washroom signs to be gender-inclusive.

The CQA’s Swap the Signs Campaign is being launched in partnership with Tourism Tofino and Surfrider Pacific Rim as an effort to make the region more accessible. 

“There’s [transgender] people in our community that we care about that don’t have the same access to the same things that other people do, and this is an opportunity to remedy that.” said CQA Director Sully Rogalski, who uses the pronouns they and them. 

This June, businesses can pick up free signage and educational toolkits from Tourism Tofino and the Tofino Chamber of Commerce. Free printable signs can be found on the CQA website. 

The gender-neutral signs display images of urinals or toilets, a break away from traditional stick figures depicting a woman or man. Some signs contain text that simply reads “Toilets” or “Washroom” – a subtle but clear shift away from any indicators that signify the washroom being solely for one gender. 

Halfway into the month, Rogalski reports the CQA had a positive number of responses from local businesses looking to show support amidst the busy tourist season. 

The CQA are no stranger to queer advocacy work. The organization primarily focuses on increasing representation for queer folks, as well as providing resources and opportunities for community connection. The CQA administer several queer-centred programs yearly and focuses its efforts on different 2SLGBTQI+ advocacy campaigns. 

With help from the Clayoquot Community Fund and a partnership with Tourism Tofino and Surfrider Pacific Rim, the Swap the Signs Campaign intends to increase the safety and visibility of transgender folks in the community. 

The aim of swapping a gendered washroom sign in favour of a gender-inclusive one is to frame accessibility to public washrooms as a basic human right. Gendered washroom signage prevents an entire demographic from accessing that public right, says Rogalski. By lessening the importance of gender-designated washrooms, the stress of accessing that basic human right also lessens. 

Anti-trans sentiments continue to rise in both Canada and America, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith limiting access to gender affirming care and U.S. President Donald Trump’s similar executive orders. 2SLGBTQI+ advocacy groups are working to demystify the harmful myths about trans folks. 

Clearing up the confusion about gender-inclusive washrooms is one efficient step towards demystification, says Rogalski. 

UCLA’s Williams Institute of Law researched the possible safety risks of transgender peoples using washrooms that comply with their gender. Their findings, released early this year, show providing access to public washrooms to transgender folks had no significant impact on violent victimization amongst strangers in public washrooms. 

A negative byproduct of gendered washrooms was discovered by the Williams Institute when their research findings showed harassment was more likely to occur to transgender people if they tried to use a washroom that did not align with their biological gender at birth. 

A research report by Ontario’s Queens University in 2021 on gender-inclusive washrooms found that many transgender and gender non-conforming folks avoid sex-designated public washrooms altogether. The study cited the chronic stress of possible harassment and overall anxiety about being unsafe in gendered spaces to be the leading cause. 

Queen’s University found little risk in spontaneous violent acts between strangers in their research on gender-inclusive washrooms. 

The CQA’s own Sully Rogalski shared their personal negative experience with gendered washrooms. Suffering from chronic pain, Rogalski found themself struggling to walk around 300 metres to a public washroom on the beach they were relaxing at. They expressed frustration towards the inaccessibility of both the path to the washroom and the gendered washroom itself. 

“I could either sit there and just be uncomfortable in my own body and not listen to my needs,” explains Rogalski, “or walk back up a path to go to something that was explicitly not made for me.” 

The Swap the Signs Campaign is designed to be easily replicable by other communities who are looking for ways to show their support for Pride Month. Local businesses interested in joining the campaign can sign the Google Form on the CQA website, and individuals can sign a petition showing their support on a separate form.

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