The Social Justice Advocate's Handbook by Sam Killermann

I know I probably need to explain this so you can help walk your state reps, building managers, and administrators through the idea. Introducing: The Sam Killermann Super Innovative Gender Neutral Bathroom Sign I decided to put my super sharp visualization cortex part of my brain to work, to see if I could come up with a revolutionary new sign we could use to signify gender neutral bathrooms. WHAT WOULD WE PUT ON THE DOOR, SAM?! HOW CAN WE CONTAIN THE CHAOS?! In the airport yesterday I asked a facility manager about gender neutral restrooms and the above concern was echoed, “But what would you put on the door?!” It’s what we know to look for that means restroom.” I was discussing this with an administrator at a university a few days ago and their concern was simple, “When people are looking for a restroom, they look for the ‘man or woman’ icon. Most folks might not understand what “gender neutral” means, have never had gender explained to them, and even if you’re familiar with gender identity and diversity the literal interpretation of this image (a half “man” half “woman”) is a disconcerting representation of “gender neutral.” I can empathize with why that might be confusing. The sign to the right is one used at University of Colorado Colorado Springs. And I’ve heard people object to some of the signage that’s used when they are actually implemented. Gender neutral restrooms as an idea really freak people out. Okay, I made that last one up, but you get the point.

I’m just not sure how we would implement such a thing in government buildings without serious remodeling.”Īnother: “But then how will normal people know what restroom to use?” One reaction was something along the lines of “This sounds incredibly confusing and difficult. In both cases, the elected officials were flabbergasted. Recently, I attended a town hall where the same issue came up. DOUBLE UPDATE: this is now a thing!Ī while ago I had the opportunity to sit in on some meetings where a group was lobbying their state legislators for gender neutral bathrooms. Update: get involved in this simple guerilla activism projectI started based on the reaction to this graphic.

The Social Justice Advocate's Handbook by Sam Killermann