Written by 99.1 Co-Op Student Zac Nicholson:
John McGregor Secondary School recently introduced their plan to create a gender-neutral bathroom. What is a gender-neutral bathroom? Quite simply, it is a bathroom for transgender students to use, without having to ask for a key to use a “special” washroom for transgender students. This a big step forward in equality, but it is also an even bigger step back.
The idea in theory is fantastic. It opens the doors for students to embrace themselves for who they really are. Don’t get me wrong, I believe everyone has the right to be what they want, but this could go south real fast. We live in a society in which we constantly ridicule people for the enjoyment of seeing others hurt. I know as a high school student, if I saw someone using those washrooms, I’d instantly think they are transgender. Whether they are or aren’t, no one would really know. So basically, to use these washrooms, you’d be identifying yourself to your peers, and some students aren’t ready to do that yet. After you have” identified yourself”, that’s when the bully aspect will come in. Kids are cruel, even if you aren’t transgender and you were just using those washrooms because you really had to go, it wouldn’t matter, kids don’t care.
I know that in some schools, a lot of greasy stuff is rumoured to go on in our bathrooms. Whether it is smoking cigarettes, smoking dope, and the occasional adult rated stuff. With the technology we have today, meeting up in that washroom is just a text message away. I’m not saying kids won’t use it just for inappropriate things, I’m saying you can’t trust kids now a days because they will take advantage of it. Not to mention, there’s always those weird kids that might spend a little too much time in those washrooms, which would make those students situation even worse.
The general consensus I got from students around my school was it was “weird”. People felt that it was “unnecessary” and taboo, especially for around here. Talking to people off the record, I got the feeling that at least WDSS is not ready for a neutral bathroom. In a recent poll, 62% of those asked if a high school should have a neutral bathroom said it should not, while 38% said it should.
High school students are at a sensitive age. With raging hormones and the struggle to fit it, it can be overwhelming at times. I see this idea turning into a disaster really fast. Whether it is a student getting bullied to the point of suicide, people taking advantage of the washroom, or even a boy getting a little too friendly with a girl. With Kathleen Wynne’s radical new sex education program (which will come into effect soon this year), elementary school students will be learning about homosexuality, transgender, romantic dating, masturbation, and anal and oral sex. Imagine neutral bathrooms in 5 years where these kids have learned that sex is a natural part of society and everyone should do it. Do you see the sex crime waiting to happen? But what do I know- I’m just a kid.
Zac Nicholson
