{"id":8863,"date":"2017-03-25T07:41:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T07:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=8863"},"modified":"2017-03-27T07:46:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-27T07:46:23","slug":"better-locker-rooms-its-not-just-a-transgender-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/better-locker-rooms-its-not-just-a-transgender-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Better locker rooms: It’s not just a transgender thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

George B. Cunningham<\/a>, Texas A&M University <\/a><\/em> and Erin E. Buzuvis<\/a>, Western New England University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Several cases working their way through the legal system have placed a national spotlight on the issue of transgender access to bathrooms<\/a>. While some states have taken steps to allow access based on gender identity, many are considering legislation<\/a> that restricts bathroom use by the sex assigned at birth. \"The<\/p>\n

Most of these court cases also apply to student athlete access to locker rooms and question schools\u2019 obligations to provide appropriate facilities as well as the rights transgender athletes have to access these facilities.<\/p>\n

The result has been considerable debate over how to accommodate the needs of transgender athletes. As researchers who focus on diversity and inclusion in sport, we see significant changes in the ways trans athletes are treated and believe there are pragmatic solutions available that will serve all athletes.<\/p>\n

The changing landscape of sport for trans athletes<\/h2>\n

While legislative battles over transgender rights have been focused on school bathrooms, the issue of transgender rights in the entire sporting world<\/a> is not a new one. Changes at higher levels indicate a shifting, more trans-inclusive sport landscape.<\/p>\n

The International Olympic Committee (IOC<\/a>), which for a long time was recognized as having one of the most exclusionary policies<\/a> in sport, recently made some influential and groundbreaking changes. The old policy allowed transgender Olympians to participate only if they had transitioned via sex reassignment surgery, had completed at least two years of hormone therapy and could provide legal documentation of their transition.<\/p>\n

In November 2015 (just two months before the Rio Olympics) the IOC changed course. Finding the previous trans policy to be unsupported by scientific evidence and recognized as excluding \u2013 rather than including \u2013 trans athletes, the committee revised it<\/a>: Trans men (athletes assigned female sex at birth and who identify as a man) can compete without restriction. Trans women (athletes assigned male sex at birth and who identify as a woman) can compete as long as they have testosterone levels below a certain threshold.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n Organizations like the You Can Play Project help strive for LGBTQ-inclusive athletic programs across the country.<\/span>
\n You Can Play Project<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The IOC is not alone in shifting to a more trans-inclusive approach. The NCAA<\/a> \u2013 the governing body of college athletics in the U.S. \u2013 implemented a new policy<\/a> in 2011. At colleges and universities across the United States, trans women can now compete against other women as long as they have had at least one year of hormone treatment.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, it\u2019s in the context of high school athletics where trans athlete policies vary the most<\/a>. The majority<\/a> of state high school athletic associations permit athletes to compete according to their gender identities.<\/p>\n

A handful, however, have more restrictive policies than the IOC or NCAA. In these cases, transgender students are often prevented from competing in the category that matches their gender identity. One such state is Texas, where a transgender boy recently won the high school state championship<\/a> in girls\u2019 wrestling, as he was required to compete based on the sex listed on his birth certificate.<\/p>\n

Locker rooms and facilities<\/h2>\n

As with policies governing their participation in high school sports, policies influencing trans athletes\u2019 use of locker rooms vary considerably by state \u2013 and even by school. In some cases, trans athletes may be restricted to use facilities congruent with their sex assigned at birth. In other cases, they\u2019re restricted to separate facilities specifically for them.<\/p>\n

To illustrate, consider the case of a high school in Palatine, Illinois<\/a>. There, a transgender female athlete was permitted to play on girls\u2019 teams, but she was excluded from the girls\u2019 locker room. The locker room contained private changing areas that the student intended to use. Nevertheless, she was forced to use a private changing area located in another part of the building. The Department of Education found this exclusion to violate the student\u2019s civil rights and eventually reached an agreement<\/a> with the school district that now permits the student to access the girls\u2019 locker room.<\/p>\n

Why does it matter?<\/h2>\n

Specialized, private facilities can magnify the potential for isolation<\/a>. In the now-infamous case of Gavin Grimm, he was asked to use a retrofitted broom closet and nurse\u2019s restroom<\/a> because he was a transgender student. <\/p>\n

In such cases, the transgender students may internalize the message of their unequal worth<\/a>. Such isolation also physically separates trans athletes from much of the bonding<\/a> and planning that goes on among teammates in a locker room. <\/p>\n

It is not just transgender students who are affected. All others are privy to these cues. When this happens, observers are likely to adopt views that transgender persons are lesser than<\/a> their peers. <\/p>\n

Inclusive locker rooms: The best option for all athletes<\/h2>\n

A more inclusive option is to allow all athletes to access facilities \u2013 including locker rooms \u2013 that are consistent with their gender identities.<\/p>\n

Two objections<\/a>, however, are sometimes raised to gender-inclusive locker rooms: safety and privacy.<\/p>\n

Arguments around safety are sometimes expressed as a concern that transgender individuals themselves are a threat to cisgender<\/a> female users of the locker room. Other times, it\u2019s fear of the alleged risk<\/a> posed by non-transgender men \u2013 the belief that men may take advantage of the inclusive policy to enter the girls\u2019 locker room without restriction.<\/p>\n

Neither of these concerns, however, has any empirical basis<\/a>. The latter, in fact, reflects an illogical presumption that a sign on the door keeps criminals out of locker rooms. <\/p>\n

Privacy, on the other hand, is a relevant consideration, but not a reason to exclude transgender athletes from gender-appropriate locker rooms. Rather, privacy is a concern for many students<\/a> faced with the prospect of communal showers and large undifferentiated changing areas. It would seem that most individuals<\/a> \u2013 irrespective of their gender identity and expression \u2013 don\u2019t want to<\/a> change in the open or bathe in gang showers.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n Open, communal showers like these are still present in schools across the country. They are generally disliked by most students, transgender or not.<\/span>
\n I.S\u00e1\u010dek \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

To alleviate the discomfort that all students \u2013 transgender and cisgender alike \u2013 might experience in such settings, as new schools are built, new locker rooms<\/a> across the country are being designed with privacy in mind<\/a>, with individual showers and changing areas available for any student. Meanwhile, existing locker rooms can be effectively and inexpensively retrofitted with privacy screens, as was done at several schools in New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many institutions and sport governing bodies recognize this as best practice<\/a> that promotes not only the inclusion of transgender athletes, but any athlete with a preference for modesty. <\/p>\n

The national governing body for collegiate intramural and recreation offers guidance<\/a> that addresses both transgender athlete needs and the needs of all students: <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTransgender student-athletes should be able to use the locker room, shower, and toilet facilities in accordance with the student\u2019s gender identity. Every locker room should have some private, enclosed changing areas, showers, and toilets for use by any athlete who desires them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Given the problems associated with open locker room concepts, the answer for better services, privacy, and trans inclusion all revolve around better locker room spaces. <\/p>\n

The answer: Inclusive principles for all athletes<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s possible that the courts will soon clarify the obligation of education institutions to accommodate transgender students\u2019 use of segregated facilities. Regardless of the outcome, sport associations in the educational context and beyond can, and in our view should, continue to lead the way toward more inclusive practices and spaces for all athletes.<\/p>\n

George B. Cunningham<\/a>, Professor of Sport Management and Director, Laboratory for Diversity in Sport, Texas A&M University <\/a><\/em> and Erin E. Buzuvis<\/a>, Director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Studies, Professor of Law, Western New England University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

George B. Cunningham, Texas A&M University and Erin E. Buzuvis, Western New England University Several cases working their way through the legal system have placed a national spotlight on the issue of transgender access to bathrooms. While some states have taken steps to allow access based on gender identity, many are considering legislation that restricts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":8864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292],"tags":[2071,2072,2070,1157,1995,2073,1993],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8863"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8865,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8863\/revisions\/8865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}