The issue of gender identity is complex when society strictly deems who is male and female, often neglecting an individual's personal identity. Many transgender people face this dilemma on a daily basis.
Laws in D.C. are beginning to make these situations easier for the transgender community. AU's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Resource Center and AU Queers and Allies have worked to apply many of these regulations to the university.
According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, "transgender" is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or expression differs from their sex at birth.
Transgender people may attract unwanted attention or even face harassment when they go to gender-specific restrooms or are put in student housing according to their legal sex assigned at birth, according to KT Thirion, president of AU's Queers and Allies, a student organization.
In D.C., a series of regulations may help erase these social boundaries. On March 8, 2006, the Human Rights Act of 1977 was amended to add "gender identity or expression" to its list of illegal discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, educational institutions and D.C. government services and programs, according to a notice published by the D.C. Office of Human Rights and the Commission on Human Rights, the institutions that passed the amendment.
Among the rules required by the amendment is the provision that individuals have the right to use gender-specific bathrooms or other facilities that are consistent with their gender identity or expression, and single-room bathrooms must have gender neutral signs.
Currently, the GLBTA Resource Center and AU Queers and Allies are working to add gender neutral signs to single-room bathrooms on campus, permitting people of any gender to use these facilities, according to representatives from both groups.
These changes to the restrooms, like the other rules, benefit people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, said Sara Bendoraitis, director of the GLBTA Resource Center.
Additionally, families will benefit if, for example, small children want to use the bathroom but need to be accompanied by a parent of a different gender, Bendoraitis said.
"It has the effect of protecting everyone's rights," said Nicholas Sakurai, program director at the Resource Center.
Chris O'Connell, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said the new regulations could benefit everyone.
"It seems fair because it accommodates to the student body," O'Connell said.
However, many people, including students at AU, do not understand how these changes benefit the campus as a whole and see the issue as exclusively for transgender people, Bendoraitis said.
Kelsey Brasher, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said she understands the benefits of the regulations, but others wouldn't.
"I wouldn't have a problem with it, but a lot of people would," Brasher said.
Other amendments to the D.C. Human Rights Act state that no person should be required to dress or groom in a manner inconsistent with their sex or gender identity and expression and when asked for their gender on an application, the act of selecting a gender inconsistent with their assigned gender is not fraudulent, according to the amendment.
Misconceptions of transgender people may skew the perspective on these changes, Thirion said.
"A lot of AU students don't know what transgender is," Thirion said.
In an effort to educate people on transgender issues, AU Queers and Allies held a training session for students last fall called "Trans 101." The program will return Oct. 25 on National Coming Out Day, according to Thirion.
However, Thirion said there is still a lot of progress to be made on the issue of transgender rights despite the regulations.
For example, though the Nebraska Hall dormitories are gender neutral, many incoming transgender students may not know they have this option for housing, he said.
Even in the GLBT community, many gay, lesbian and bisexual people supported politicians who promised to pass the Employment Discrimination Act only if transgender people were left out of the bill, Thirion said.
Another obstacle in promoting transgender rights is a lack of resources, according to Bendoraitis and Thirion.
"We need the funding to do a lot," Thirion said.
One resource that seems to help is support from those on campus who are outside the GLBT community.
"It would be impossible without allies," Thirion said.
AU is one of the first 10 institutions in the country that has embraced these issues, and part of that reason is because of student support, Bendoraitis said.
"We are in D.C., we are on AU's campus," she said. "People are usually willing to work with us"
