All-gender restrooms have multiplied across WKU’s campus since their advent on the Hill in fall 2015.
WKU has 31 all-gender restrooms across 22 academic and administrative buildings according to the WKU All Gender Bathroom Directory. In 2015, all-gender restrooms were only available in four academic buildings on campus, according to an August 2015 Herald article.
Additionally, at least eight residence halls currently include facilities explicitly labeled “all-gender restroom” or “all-gender bathroom” out of 15 available residence halls on campus, according to Katie Corbin, assistant director of marketing and communications for WKU Housing and Residence Life. These are not all open to the public.
Private restrooms, family restrooms and guest restrooms are not considered all-gender restrooms.
“‘All gender’ makes it clear that trans and nonbinary people, as well as cis women and men, are able to use the facility,” said Genny Beemyn, researcher of trans-supportive campus policies.
Gender-inclusive restrooms provide a solution for safety and comfortability concerns amongst the LGBTQ+ community, especially transgender and nonbinary people, Beemyn said.
“Many trans and nonbinary people experience violence in gendered restrooms and are often uncomfortable in such facilities because they feel unsafe,” Beemyn said. “As a result, many trans and nonbinary people go out of their way to find a gender-inclusive restroom or ‘hold it,’ despite the discomfort, to avoid being in a gendered restroom.”
For the fall 2024 Common App, 2.47% of college applicants identified as transgender or nonbinary, according to Beemyn’s research project.
Beemyn also tracks trans-supportive policies on college campuses across the country.
President of WKU Queer Student Union Daryl Action stressed the importance of all-gender restrooms on a college campus since college is a period of self-discovery.
Action, a junior and communications major, considers all-gender restrooms a “safe space” for students.
Students can find additional resources on campus through The Pride Center at [email protected] and in Downing Student Union room 2084.
News Reporter Kane Smith can be reached at [email protected].
