A lot happens at school toilets.
School fights, naughty boys smoking, changing for extra mural activities or the place girls go to cry when they menstruate for the first time.
Government is now proposing unisex, non-binary toilets at schools to promote inclusion for the LGBTQI community.
Parliament has been presented with the Department of Basic Education’s guidelines for gender inclusivity.
Read more | ‘We are unapologetic when it comes to inclusion’ – Thami Dish on this year’s Feather Awards
Reports say the Department of Basic Education guidelines include the following:
- Schools will soon be required to provide ‘genderless/unisex toilets and changing rooms’.
- Individual stalls, gendered bathroom signs, and more cubicles are touted as a solution.
- Teachers are to be told they must avoid gender-segregating, by splitting classes, lines, or groups into ‘boys and girls’.
- The provision of gender-neutral uniforms must also be made available to all pupils who require them.
- ‘Dead-naming’ will also be outlawed. That means a student identifying with a different gender cannot be called by their previous name.
The Freedom Front Plus’ Wynand Boshoff says there are schools that do not have infrastructure and are using pit latrines.
“Communities are made up of families and extended families, and ultimately form part of even larger communities, both cultural and political. An orderly society cannot exist without community norms. And yet, within any community there are exceptions, people whose personal identities do not conform to the general community norms.
“A totalitarian community that forcefully imposes its norms is indeed not ideal. In a caring and functional community, exceptions are recognised and respected, but still considered exceptions. Every aspect of the community, from marriage to bathrooms at schools, cannot be re-conceptualised as if the exception is the norm,” the party stated.
Thabiso Masemola* who was born male and uses the pronouns she and her says she only uses bathrooms set aside for females.
“I am always dressed feminine, so it is not a problem for me now.
"But in the past, I have used male bathrooms and they are so depressing. Men make mean comments, and they are always crowded.
Read more | 'South Africans are learning to accept us, not just on Pride Month,' says gay cross-dressing sangoma
“Having unisex bathrooms when I was at school would have made my life easier,” she says.
Pamela Motaung* is a transgender woman who is currently transitioning.
“I have used male bathrooms before, but I was extremely uncomfortable. It was miserable being in there. But now I’m safe,” she says.
“I am taking hormones, so I have breasts now and no one questions me for being in the female bathrooms. Unisex bathrooms [make sense] because they eliminate any kind of harassment.”
David Mabena*, a gay man, says having unisex toilet would be life-changing for his community.
“When I was at school, kids would tease me, and others would follow me to the toilet because they wanted to see if I would pee standing or sitting up.
"It was awful. So I avoided using school toilets during breaktime and I would ask teachers to allow to go during lessons because there would be less traffic at the bathrooms. This would have been great in my time.
“But I understand the concerns coming from people who talk about the safety of women and rape culture in our country.
"Perhaps a consideration then would be to include the unisex toilets as an addition to the male, female and disabled toilets. That way, everyone can feel safe,” he says.
*Not their real names
