New gender-neutral bathroom signs unveiled

Representatives from the Office of LGBTQ Resources, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Office of Diversity and Inclusion officially revealed new gender-neutral bathroom signs at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the East Asian Languages building on Nov. 4.
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Tamar Gendler, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Maria Trumpler, director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources. (Photo by Román Castellanos-Monfil)

Representatives from the Office of LGBTQ Resources, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Office of Diversity and Inclusion officially revealed new gender-neutral bathroom signs at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the East Asian Languages building on Nov. 4.

The celebration signaled the completion of a joint initiative by the departments to install the new signs at 23 bathrooms across the university. The Office of the Provost and the Office of Facilities also contributed to the project.

Maria Trumpler, director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources, said she began to work on increasing the number of gender-neutral bathrooms a decade ago. She noted that de facto gender-neutral bathrooms exist in the residential colleges and other buildings across campus, and some buildings only needed a sign switch to become gender-neutral.

“The problem was getting good information on where the gendered restrooms were,” she explained. “Facilities has so many descriptions for bathrooms that it was impossible for us to figure out which of their descriptions matched our colloquial understanding of gender-neutral without actually visiting them all.”

After identifying the 23 bathrooms that only needed a sign change, the group worked on designing and creating the new signs — which feature the words “All Gender Restroom” underneath female, male, and gender-neutral figures.

Tamar Gendler, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said the signs are a visual representation of Yale’s commitment to create more welcoming spaces for students.

“The language of ‘all gender’ and the inclusion of the three icons on this picture and the fact that it is official Yale signage that went through every single part of the Yale process means that this is done with approval at the very highest levels,” Gendler said. “This is a category of self-understanding that Yale is publically acknowledging and putting on the walls with this kind of permanence.”

A map of all gender-neutral bathrooms on Yale’s campus can be found online on the Office of LGBTQ Resources website.

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