Baltimore needs gender-neutral restrooms

As a soon-to-be 66-year-old, transgender woman of African-American descent and a lifelong Baltimore resident, I’ve spent a lifetime risking my safety, health and well-being every time I choose to use a public restroom.

First, I stare with increasing anxiety at signs that force me to make a choice between the risk of attack or incarceration. If I go into the bathroom marked “men” as a woman, I could be assaulted or injured. If I choose to enter the “women’s” room, I risk arrest and potentially being put into a life-threatening situation in a men’s jail or solitary confinement for my own protection.

I just need to use the restroom!

Some years ago at college, I was approached by a security guard for using the women’s room. I was asked to provide identification, at which point I showed him my school ID. He then asked for my state ID. I pushed back and asked if there was a problem. He asked for my state ID again and I produced it. At that time, my name was legally changed to Monica Yorkman, but my gender marker still read “male” on my state ID. I was told that I had to use the men’s room.

At that time neither the state of Maryland nor the City of Baltimore had anti-discrimination laws on the books (“One step backward, several forward on transgender rights,” Apr. 19). There were no explanations that I could give to this officer, nor could I get him to understand why his request would be unsafe for me. The officer's request forced me off campus any time I had to go. I had to ask the local gas station to use their restroom.

If Baltimore had visible, gender-neutral bathrooms, such episodes could be avoided. Bill 19-0385, sponsored by Councilmember Zeke Cohen and currently being considered by the Baltimore City Council, would require all single-occupancy restrooms in Baltimore to be labeled as "gender-neutral."

There would be no need for security guards to follow gender non-conforming college students to “police” their use of public accommodations. There are other practical reasons why this policy is overdue. One example is that many public buildings, especially older buildings with “gendered” bathrooms, do no locate them side-by-side, leading to mad dashes through long corridors if you found yourself on the wrong side. Gender neutral bathrooms would eliminate this problem.

Gender inclusivity is exactly that, inclusive. The policy being considered in Bill 19-0385 benefits our transgender and gender non-conforming populations, our aging populations, people with disabilities and virtually anyone with a need for privacy and safety. Safety is good for everyone, so why deny it to anyone?

Monica Stevens Yorkman, Baltimore