“Given the recent debates surrounding the SOGIE Equality Bill strong stances, what is your opinion on gender-neutral restrooms?”

“Generally, I appreciate the intentions of tolerance, security, and mindfulness behind [these structures]. However, I feel that it’s a red herring to the larger things we fight for as an LGBTQ+ community. It exacerbates the segregation of our people, framing our experiences as a special license to access those amenities, rather than integrating us to the larger society that have long marginalized our views [of] the peripheries. Restrooms, even if they have sex-based infrastructural nuances, are also socio-cultural manifestations of gender segregation. We need to acknowledge the dynamic view [of] gender as socio-culturally constructed and allow people to find security, acceptance, and mindfulness in the corresponding restroom of their choice of identification. 

On an adjacent note, I find it weird when the discussion of possible sexual misconduct and violence are within the parameters of the debate on gender integrated restrooms versus gender-neutral restrooms, because the tendency to abuse the system and harm another exists on both sides of the debate.”

Von Carolino

Head Commissioner, Sanggunian Commission on Gender Equality

“A gender-neutral bathroom is a step towards gender equality because [one’s] gender label is no longer the priority. Rather, it focuses on creating a safe space for people to do their business, regardless of their gender. It could be a sign that our society is beginning to accept different genders as it allows anyone to use a common safe space.”

 Kurt Abalos

                        4 AB EU

“Being able to piss or take a dump⁠—regardless of your gender—is a basic human right. Being able to do it comfortably in a toilet is also part of that right. This is why all-gender restrooms should be standardized, so they can serve as safe-spaces for anyone who—because of their gender identity—may feel uncomfortable in conventional restrooms. If all-gender restrooms aren’t feasible, there should at least be a set policy for transgenders and all other non-conforming individuals to be able to use whichever restroom they would feel most comfortable in. It all boils down to mutual respect for your fellow human.”

   Angelo Fabro

                    2 MA-POS

“A friend once pointed out to me that traditionally, bathrooms are gender-neutral in our homes. Why then must we be against the idea of it when it’s something that has existed naturally, an orientation we’re familiar with ever since we were young? The difference is the stigma attached to it, influenced by the discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. There is also a problem of distrust that comes from the sexualization of gender when it’s only an assumption that is unfair and irrational. We should instead see how [a bathroom] is a convenient and practical set-up and how it’s an establishment that caters to a basic human right. It’s a step to equality and progress⁠—it is a win for everyone.”

    Micah Chan

      2 AB COM

“Gender-neutral restrooms are absolutely necessary! The gender binary is nothing more than a social construct invented by the patriarchy to divide people in order to protect its power. It is about time we stopped dehumanizing those who don’t identify with the sex they were bor [with] by forcing them to go to a bathroom they don’t feel safe or comfortable in. It is time we started being as inclusive as we should have been in the beginning.”

Nina Collado

3 BFA CW

“Though gender-neutral restrooms may seem like a step in the right direction for the LGBTQ+ community, I think that it also subconsciously reinforces a lot of stigma, especially towards transgenders who want to use regular male or female restrooms. The fact that we still need separate restrooms because people feel ‘unsafe’ with transmen and transwomen using regular restrooms just isolates them. It shows that while people do recognize and tolerate transgenders in our society, they do not truly accept them.”

     Katrina Tan

  1 AB COM

“For me, it’s a bandaid solution. Pre-assigned genders are conventionally the only determinants for which bathroom a person is allowed to use. This is supported by harassment cases where they use a trans mask to harass people in the regular male and female bathrooms, which puts the transgender community in a bad light, further sowing the seeds of distrust that is already present in society. While I do want a place where transgenders can fully integrate into all aspects of society, society isn’t ready to implement this safely for both transgenders and women. We want to protect people, period—trans-women who get bullied inside male bathrooms, and cis-women who get [harassed by] predators disguised as trans men.

And so I think this is why they’re proposing gender-neutral bathrooms to appease both sides of this issue. This accommodates people who are not comfortable in the bathrooms they’re allowed to use. But it’s not enough. It’s only mere tolerance. My question really is, by appeasing both sides, was there really a solution? Was there really acceptance?

Daniela Villegas 

4 AB MEC

“If gender-neutral bathrooms aren’t for multiple people, I’m good with it. Personally, I just like it that way because it’s more quiet. Overall, though, it’s just a matter of privacy. At the end of the day, people who aren’t comfortable with either genders [should] have an option to choose. Everyone deserves to have a safe space.”

Danielle Evangelista 

3 AB COM

“As a non-binary trans woman, I feel that gender-neutral bathrooms are great for multiple reasons. I am pre-hormone therapy and pre-any type of surgery. I am read as male, so I use the male restroom out of fear when there are no gender-neutral restrooms. I like gender-neutral restrooms because they make me feel comfortable and safe simultaneously. Additionally, most non-binary people don’t feel comfortable in either bathroom regardless of circumstances, and therefore gender-neutral bathrooms are necessary if we are to hold everyone to an equal standard.

With that being said, we should not force all LGBTQ+ people into gender-neutral bathrooms. Transwomen can go into female restrooms and transmen can go into male restrooms. Forcing all LGBTQ+ people into an LGBTQ+ bathroom is just segregation. It’s best to have a gender-neutral bathrooms, but do not segregate us.”

Luna Rose*

1 AB HUM

“I think gender-neutral restrooms are a great idea. They break down the barriers that divide genders—the division that allows us to develop the idea that the genders should remain separate and distinct categories, which creates its own slew of negative stigmas toward one another. 

On the issue of transwomen in female bathrooms, I believe that they should be allowed to do so to recognize that they are in fact women and because being stuck in male bathrooms often leads to harassment. Moreover, I personally don’t like gender as a social construct because of the patriarchal structure which perpetuates it and divides us. So I believe gender-neutral bathrooms where anyone can go to them are a great way to begin breaking barriers.”

                                       Jake Consing

2 AB COM

“Gender-neutral restrooms are an important necessity. First and foremost, they exist for people’s convenience since it is accessible to people regardless of sex or gender identity. It helps to beat long toilet lines, especially if you desperately need to go. Second, they were made to further include non-conforming individuals to help them feel safe in a public space, especially since there are instances wherein they could feel uncomfortable and unsafe in a gendered restroom. At the same time, we shouldn’t think of gender-neutral bathrooms as a newfangled concept that the LGBTQ+ community is stressing over. It’s already a common sight in the Philippines; we are simply stretching the bounds of our inclusivity to people beyond the gender binary, because we deserve that kind of equal access as well.”

      Ren Ramos

2 AB PSY

“I support gender-neutral bathrooms provided that provisions first be made to educate Filipino society on gender sensitivity. That’s why the SOGIE Bill is really important. It provides these provisions that recognize and protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. It’s about time we make our society more open-minded, inclusive, and understanding.”

                                            Althea Santos 

                                         2 AB Dip IR

“In most, if not all homes, bathrooms are gender-neutral. A bathroom should not discriminate one person from another. Gender-neutral bathrooms would create a safer space for those who do not identify with the binary male and female. In bathrooms, we do the most intimate of things and that calls for safety and comfort.”

                            Gigiboy Jose 

                    2 BS LM

“I do think that gender-neutral bathrooms would be helpful for [the LGBTQ+ community] and would also become a comfortable place for people who are part of [it]. This is because even if the Filipinos say there is no need to prioritize trivial things such as this and that they accept the people of this community, there is still discrimination and obvious toleration when it comes to LGBTQ+ people using the restrooms. People would stare at them or get uncomfortable when they are around and so in retrospect they would feel uncomfortable, too. So if gender-neutral restrooms will be able to give them that comfort, then I think it’s something we can give them.”

Zena*

1 AB EU

“If gender-neutral restrooms could provide the necessary safe space for the LGBTQ+ community (such as but not limited to trans people, non-gender conforming people, non-binary people) and cisgender people, then I am all for it. Saying bathrooms are ‘biology-based’ is such a skewed concept. Everyone deserves to feel safe in public spaces.”

Tems*

1 BS BIO

*Editor’s note: The names of the interviewees have been changed at their request in order to protect their identity and privacy.

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