Author: Todd Hensley, ASTC

FM Issue: January/February 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court stated in October that it will hear the case of a transgender Virginia student seeking to use the boys’ bathroom in his high school. The case will address an issue that is emerging in cities, schools and public facilities across the country: the accommodation for transgender people to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

The performing arts world is greatly affected by this issue. As venue planners and operators, we all have the influence to address full accommodations for gender identity. How do we create facilities that address this issue in a welcoming, effective manner? How do we plan and design for gender identity accommodation in our public restrooms? And how do we provide for accommodations backstage?

This summer I joined Peter Scheu, ASTC, and Lain Mathers to present and discuss this topic at the North American Theatre, Engineering and Architecture Conference in New York. Peter, like me, is a theatre consultant, and Lain is a sociologist and researcher in gender identity topics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Peter and I are cisgender males, and Lain identifies as genderqueer.

We framed the issues specifically facing transgender people, explored the current legislative and building code landscape, and offered some possible design solutions for transgender and gender fluid individuals.

Lain provided some basic gender identity terms and definitions help us approach the topic, including:

Cisgender – An umbrella term referring to people who conform to the gender binary by interpreting their gender identity as congruent with the sex they were assigned by society

Cissexism – An ideology that assumes cisgender identities are superior to and more authentic than transgender identities

Gender binary – The social and biological classification of sex and gender into two distinct oppositional forms of masculine and feminine selfhood

Genderqueer/fluid/variant – An identity referring to people who reject gender labels, and live as women, men, neither, and/or both in varied situations over the life course

Transgender – An umbrella term referring to all people living within, between, and/or beyond the gender binary, which may also be used to denote an individual gender identity

Ze, zir, hir, zirself – Gender neutral pronouns that allow one to refer to people without assuming their gender and/or gendering them in the process

The gender binary continues to dominate the building planning process to date. Transgender people are frequently marginalized as they attempt to use a public restroom corresponding to their gender identity. They face harassment, reports to police authorities, and even risk of injury when using a restroom that doesn’t meet “assumed” gender norms. Well-documented instances of violence and severe injury further demonstrate the risk that trans people face when seeking a restroom. Denying restroom access, or accompanying access with risk of physical harm, denies trans people a basic right that is guaranteed to cisgender people.

Many municipalities have taken action to help mitigate the risk that trans people face when using a restroom. New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco and Austin, Texas are among the cities now legislating that all single-occupancy public restrooms be labeled as gender-neutral. In addition, New York City now guarantees full access to multi-fixture single-sex facilities (known in building codes as “ganged facilities”) in all City-owned buildings.

New York’s leadership in granting access to ganged restrooms has been matched by many private and public institutions. Over 150 college campuses have made the move to gender-neutral restrooms. The YMCA allows access to its locker rooms to people identifying with the assigned gender for that locker room.  And the 2016 national conference of the Theatre Communications Group used special signage to create gender-neutral restrooms.

The door is gradually opening to transgender access in many areas, but national building codes have not yet reacted to that change. The 2018 update to the International Plumbing Code will not be revised to permit gender-neutral access. According to 2018 IPC, all ganged toilet rooms – those with more than one fixture and one lavatory – must be assigned to only male use or female use. Building codes are written to guide and standardize construction, but adopting and enforcing those codes remain with local Authorities Having Jurisdiction. Thus, it will be up to each AHJ to review the 2018 code and to determine whether gender-neutral ganged facilities are appropriate for its own institution.

How, then, do we advance gender-neutral planning for the public and for show staff? Wise planning opens our venues to everyone who enjoys the arts: cisgender, transgender and gender fluid people, all types of families, and people who may need assistance from a helper of another gender.

Every venue operator should be addressing gender identity accommodations today. Some options include:

Allowing access to M/F restrooms per gender identify: this solution is no doubt practiced in many venues. It is an important step in the process, but is not considered a complete solution for all.

Multiple single-user restrooms in addition to M/F restrooms: this solution may be considered “safe” and secure for all, but it can lead to a separation and ghettoization of those who choose gender-neutral washrooms. People may receive unwelcome scrutiny at the single-use rooms, particularly if they must wait in line to use them. This is perhaps our most typical current solution (see Figure 1).

All gender-neutral restrooms: this solution represents a cultural change from most current practice. One solution relies on well-separated water closets in a single room. A central lavatory serves all. It requires approval (or acquiescence) from the local Authority Having Jurisdiction. (see Figure 2).

Committing to a policy for gender identity access will certainly aid audiences. Backstage workers (cast, crew and managers) also deserve equal opportunity in buildings. Perhaps the most present challenge lies in our backstage dressing rooms, where performers of all gender identities find themselves changing clothes or in need of a toilet.

As designers we often receive user requests to provide enhanced privacy in group dressing rooms. This addresses the needs of performers who may be in gender transition, struggling with a physical issue, or who are simply more modest than their peers. One solution provides for simple changing rooms within the group dressing room suite, allowing nearby privacy for any performer who desires it (see Figure 3).

It is clear that gender-accommodating design solutions are available to planners and operators in the performing arts. Our panel challenged designers to seize the opportunity before them. As noted by Antonio Pacheco in The Architect’s Newspaper:

“As this form of inequality gains a wider understanding, architects and designers must decide whether they wish to perpetuate inequality through their designs or advocate for change.”

Performing arts designers and operators will be watching the Supreme Court closely for its Virginia decision. But, regardless of their decision, we have the means to affect change at this moment. Will we have the foresight to advance our designs to meet the needs of a changing society?

Todd Hensley, ASTC, is a Partner with Schuler Shook Theatre Planners/Lighting Designers, and directs the Theatre Consulting practice in its Chicago office.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3