Do chromosomes have anything to do with using the restroom?
Public bathrooms can be exceptionally tricky places, as most genderqueers can attest. In these tiny, smelly public rooms, one’s gender is put to the ultimate test, and “failure” can lead to all manners of embarrassment. We at gender-panic have certainly both had days where wearing an exceptionally cute tie and vest combo led to awkward stares and confrontations in the ladies’ room.
I end up on both sides of the test these days, as both the judge and the judged. The shop where I work has two single stall restrooms and to use them, one must request either the men’s or women’s key from the staff. This leaves me in a bit of a lurch. At any given moment in my work day, with only a split second to decide, I must correctly interpret the gender of countless people. It’s awkward for me, awkward for them, and just totally unnecessary.
Binary bathroom systems are of course just a product of the limited gender binary that we live in. I am amazed, however, at how many …
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