Yale introduces gender-neutral bathrooms amid battle over trans rights
Top US university Yale, has become the latest to introduce gender-neutral bathrooms.
The college does so amid a battle over transgender rights in which legislation has been passed to limit trans bathroom rights in several states.
The college was announced ahead of the 315th commencement at the Ivy League school which will take place on Monday.
There will be 332 gender neutral bathrooms across the college’s New Haven campus, and the college will allow students to use their preferred pronouns and let students easily change their name on their identification cards.
In addition, the school will cover the cost of gender reassignment surgery under students’ health plans.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Tamar Gendler, the dean of Yale’s faculty of arts and sciences, said: “Yale aims to be a leader on this front.
Yale is just the latest college in the US to change policies to accept trans students with open arms.
Around 150 colleges in the US in 2015 introduced gender-neutral bathroom facilities, in an effort to be more accepting.
The changes come as North Carolina and Mississippi recently introduced legislation to limit trans people to the bathroom corresponding to their birth gender.
North Carolina’s HB2 actually rolled back a local ordinance passed in Charlotte to protect trans students who wished to use a gender-appropriate bathroom.
Retail giant Target earlier this year introduced an inclusive restroom and changing room policy, which allowed trans people to use the facilities of the gender they identified with.
Despite a petition signed by over a million people to boycott the store, the brand’s CEO refused to back down, saying it was the right decision.
A mother of 12 earlier in May, marched through a branch of the store with her family telling customers “the devil will rape their children” because of the chain’s trans inclusive bathroom policy.
But this mother shared a pretty important message on Facebook, which just so happens to tear down any argument in favour of anti-trans bathroom laws.
A cisgender woman shared her story saying she was disgusted by anti-trans laws and policies,after she was mistaken for trans and thrown out of a bathroom.
