By Jim Costich
Editor, the Gauntlet,
[Re: “Not every cookie fits the mold,” Emily Senger, Nov. 23, 2006]
Emily Senger’s editorial was shared on an intersex group website and as an intersexed person I thought I’d add a comment. I live in Rochester, NY where there are very few handicapped/gender-neutral public bathrooms. When they are available I don’t bother to use them and if they were available everywhere I still wouldn’t. I look like any other man until I take my pants off and all bathrooms are usable by any/every anatomical variation there is. You see, gender-neutral bathrooms aren’t something that helps us, it doesn’t give us something we need, they’re not for us. It’s not convenient for me to search all over a building for a special bathroom when I can use the toilet stall in the men’s room. Gender-neutral bathrooms are for the benefit of people who have deep prejudices and biases against people who look androgynous and don’t want to have to share a bathroom with people whose gender isn’t instantly obvious to them. I would suggest that seeing as they are the people with the problem that they use the handicapped/gender- neutral bathrooms.
Intersexed, transsexual and transgendered people know who/what we are. We know which gender bathroom is right for us, and it makes no difference what is between our legs because we are in privacy in any bathroom stall. No one will actually see my micro penis or ever know that I also have a vagina in a public bathroom, and this is very true about everyone. We aren’t the ones who are confused, disturbed or shocked if we have an unusual appearance. Frankly, I’ve seen plenty of ordinary males who look much more androgynous than I. There is something wrong with people setting themselves as gender police at the doors of bathrooms denying entrance to those who don’t pass their idea of who looks woman or man enough to enter. Let them go searching for the special bathroom and leave us alone, please.
Jim Costich