By walking in the CM building at EPFL this fall, you can see that the old toilets were replaced by some new, futuristic-looking black structure with a capital «WC» printed on the main wall. The structure has two mirroring corridors with door-free access on each side, leading to multiple private toilets and urinoirs. Sooner or later, you might realize something that distinguishes the new toilets from the old ones: there is no trace of gender division.
Taking a peek at the EPFL website, you can easily find the main article describing the new bathrooms. The title confirms what you previously saw in the CM corridor: « EPFL’s new gender-neutral and eco-friendly bathrooms». Focusing on the gender-neutral side of the project, quoting the same article, we discover that «the initiative is intended to respond to the needs of transgender and non-binary users, as expressed by members and supporters of the LGBTIQ+ community».
The first question that might pop in the head of some of you is: what was the problem with the old-toilets? Or else, why did EPFL invest money in this choice? What does it mean for EPFL students and what do they think about this new project?
The discomfort of not belonging
At this point, it is interesting to take a step back and understand the motives of the long-lasting fight carried out by the LGBTIQ+ community against a binary divisision of toilets in public spaces. Sylvain, an EPFL student and member of Plan Queer, the LGBTIQ+ student association of UNIL and EPFL, helped me answer this question: «Trans and non-binary individuals do not feel at ease in gendered bathrooms. In such an environment they can experiment bad looks or verbal insults from strangers”. He explains that the situation goes way beyond interpersonal interaction: not having a space where we belong and our identity is accepted “can trigger a profound feeling of uneasiness with one’s self”.
Regarding the specific case of EPFL, he tells me that this feeling can be so invasive, that some students refused to use gendered toilets at EPFL, causing obviously a situation of unease and discomfort. Sylvain says also that “this feeling can be shared by other people that are not part of the LGBTIQ+ community for different reasons. It is a more global problem that can affect other non-queer students.”. This adds a non-negligible mental load on some students at EPFL, creating a disparity in the condition in which students carry out their studies.
Different faces of a complex renovation plan
EPFL Vice-President for Responsible Transformation Gisou Van der Goot confirmed that the toilets were indeed designed to “responds to a request from the LGBTIQ+ community”. She although pointed out that this is not the only reason why the toilets were renovated. « The main advantage of these toilets is that they are new! The old ones dated from the 80’s, so it was time to renovate them. One interesting aspect is sustainability, with a 70% reduction in drinking water consumption, replaced by lake water for flushing. In addition, urine will be recycled as fertilizer, which will reduce the energy consumption of the treatment plants.”
Moreover, she states that the non-gendered design will bring advantages to the majority of students, even those not part of the queer community. In fact, according to the Vice-President, “all women have already experienced the worry of having to wait in front of a gendered toilet with an empty line for men and a long line for women. So abolishing gender on the toilets is simply a step towards greater equality for all.”
According to Professor Van der Goot , this is point is also important to answer the investment criticism received by those who were more skeptical about the project. “We only heard one negative reaction, which was that this renovation is costing a lot of money for a minority of people in the LGBTIQ+ community. I am not a fan of the gender-neutral term which focuses on the gender issue. The restrooms were renovate to make better restrooms, more pleasant for everyone, more environmentally friendly”, she says.
Inclusion is not only important for the LGBTIQ+ community, but it is the same for all minorities. EPFL should be an inclusive space for all. Indeed, diversity is what makes a world.
Sylvain, EPFL student and member of Plan Queer
Sylvain seemed to have a quite different definition of what a majority or a minority represents: “Everyone in their own way can feel part of a minority, for what they like, what they do or the associations they are in”. In this sense, investing in a minority means investing in all students, as it “would help EPFL giving all of its students equal opportunities, i.e. a comforting space where they can grow and focus with their studies”. Implicitly, even if the new toilets were designed in favor of a minority, investing in them is essential: “Inclusion is not only important for the LGBTIQ+ community, but it is the same for all minorities. EPFL should be an inclusive space for all. Indeed, diversity is what makes a world.”.
Another concern that is often raised when talking about non-gendered bathrooms regards safety concerns related to possible raises in violence or harassment cases. Although, according to Sylvain, the architectural plan of the new toilets found a clever solution to this concern: “Some students think that non-gendered toilets might be dangerous for women, it would remove a safe place on campus, but I think that the design of the toilets (side corridors without doors) plus the use solid entrance doors to the private restrooms answered these critiques.”
Word on the corridors
To understand a bit more widely what EPFL students thinks, I asked two Master students to give me their opinion about the investment made by EPFL and about the possible reasons of concerns related to this renewal project. Julien Roth, that completed all of his studies at EPFL and is now doing a Master valorization, thinks that the investment is well-placed, and that it will help “raising awareness about gender bias and discrimination in epfl community”, although the “’fight’ against gender discrimination is itself only symbolic for now”, underlining that there is still much to do to fight discrimination in our university. The second Master student involved in the inquiry states that “the eco-friendly plan would have been worth it on itself, and the gender-neutral possibility is a nice addition”, but still states that “fighting any kind of discrimination and creating a safe environment for every student should be a priority. “
What does the future hold?
Regarding the real effects that the non-gendered toilets will have in the fight against discrimination, Vice-President Van der Goot is cautious: “[the renewal plan] was not meant to fight harassment or discrimination. If it does have a positive impact, then great, but that will be difficult to evaluate”. Sylvain, on the other side, sees the design choice as an effective asset that could help fighting discrimination in a move for equality and progress, as “the people that did not feel at ease will now have a place at EPFL”. He although points out that the situation is far from being ideal, as “trans and non-binary students hope that EPFL will provide them with toilets within a close range everywhere on campus”. The general hope is that the people most affected by the problem will be discharged of the mental load of having to choose what toilets they should enter into.
While it’s just one of several priorities that is part of the action plan of the Equal Opportunity Office, my 18 months experience as a VP dealing with people have shown me that the LGBTIQ+ brings up a lot of points that help make EPFL better for everybody. They are a very constructive and resilient community, that has a lot to bring to the school.
Guisou Van der Goot, Vice President for Responsible Transformation
Professor Van der Goot concludes by talking about the importance of including politics to fight discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ community “While it’s just one of several priorities that is part of the action plan of the Equal Opportunity Office, my 18 months experience as a VP dealing with people have shown me that the LGBTIQ+ brings up a lot of points that help make EPFL better for everybody. They are a very constructive and resilient community, that has a lot to bring to the school. » These very powerful words, can be generalized to many different communities at EPFL. Even though the gender-neutral side of the toilets was not intended by EPFL to fight discrimnation, the Vice-President aknowledges in words the importance of actuating future measures to prevent inequalites : « We’re working on the possibility of using a chosen first name rather than the official birth name in school documents. And we want to work more closely with LGBTIQ+ associations on discrimination awareness and harassment prevention. The intention is not to pink wash, but to respond to real needs by listening to people’s concerns.»
Only the future will tell us if this and other similar collaborations will be fruitful and will lead to quickly create an safe environment for every EPFL student. For the moment, we just hope to have enlightned the mystery behind the big black « WC » boxes that appeared this summer in the CM building.