LONDON -- Ten gender-neutral washrooms are opening at the University of Western Ontario -- a nod to the transgendered community on the campus.

"These bathrooms are single-stall bathrooms with a universal sign to provide safety and security for all individuals," said Cara Eng, the student council's vice-president of campus issues.

Eng spearheaded the move after going to the Canadian University Queer Service conference in Montreal.

"They're not just for people who are transgendered or who are in transition (from one gender to another). They're for anyone," Eng said.

The bathrooms can also be used for students who want to breastfeed, those who need to wash before prayer or just would like privacy.

They will be concentrated in the University Community Centre and buildings around it like Weldon Library, the social science's building and Somerville House, where many arts and humanities courses are held.

"As soon as we released that we'll be doing this, a lot of students wanted to know where they were going to be," Eng said.

The bathrooms will be rolled out starting in January and should all be functional by April, she said. They're existing single-stall bathrooms that will get new signs.

The university will cover sign costs, said Roy Longille, associate vice-president of physical plant and capital planning service.

"They will be marked so not to be offensive to any group," Longille said.

The sign will say "Washroom" on a purple background, in Braille as well. If the washroom is handicapped accessible, there will also be a picture of a wheelchair.

Many universities have similar gender-neutral bathrooms.

"We've heard about the lack of and need for gender-neutral washrooms a lot," said Chelsea Cameron, who co-ordinates Pride Western, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and transsexual group on campus. "There are people who don't feel they belong or don't feel comfortable in a girls' bathroom or change room."

The student council has discussed the negative aspects of the idea -- for example, students feeling singled out by going into the washrooms.

Dwayne Mills, who sits on the Pride Festival London committee and often performs shows in drag, said going into the gender-neutral bathroom could "out" people unnecessarily.

"I would be uncomfortable in a specific washroom," he said.

When he's doing a performance in drag, the group will ask which gender's bathroom the owners of the establishment want the performers to use, Mills said.

"I think, personally, (the gender-neutral) bathrooms are centering those transgendered people out . . . (Transgendered) should be part of the community, not another level of the community," Mills said.

Links

Learn more about the gender- neutral washroom movement at: www.safe2pee.org; http://queeraction.uchicago.edu/bathroomindex.html