The Gender Neutral Throne on SameSame.com.au

In the back room of Dante’s, a revolution was being plotted. A small group of activists and artists decided to cut to the chase. If we are serious about creating communities and places that are inclusive and welcoming of diversity, complexity and ambiguity, what can be more defining than where you go to pee? The badge on the gorgeous Jonathan summed it up: “Fuck Gender.”

We all related stories of mistaken identity and discrimination in toilets:

“I remember going to the public toilets at a caravan park when I was about ten and these two girls a few years older than me were there and just started laughing and saying things like ‘was that a boy or a girl?’. I sat in the cubicle crying until I thought it was safe to leave.”

“I’m always getting told I’m in the wrong bathroom in the women’s but people look at me weird in the men’s as well so I try and find the closest gender neutral bathroom just cause it means I won’t get hassled.”

“I’ve had the ‘oh my god there’s a boy in the women’s toilet” since I was a kid. Before I realised that I was trans and later felt safe and comfortable in my identity, it used to really hurt when other kids would freak out or laugh at me.”

“Most of the time I’m really happy living in this grey area of gender but there are times when things like going to the bathroom or walking down the street can be a safety issue.”

“I am often mistaken for a man. I once had somebody call security to report a man in the women’s toilet. The funny thing was that I was the security guard and the call came through on my mobile phone whilst I was in the cubicle.”

There are exciting things happening in the art and politics of gender identity on stages and backstreets across Melbourne. Some genuine and powerful ‘gender fuck’ moments are rippling with a shared moment of frisson across audiences as performers create new meanings. But what happens when you need to go the little room? Sure, you can ignore the signs in an act of defiance but surely we have grown up a little?

The Toil/Art project seeks to create an online map of existing gender-neutral and disability accessible toilet facilities in Melbourne and to educate venues of the benefits of gender-neutral toilets. I mean, a toilet is a toilet, yes?

To quote the project website the Toil/Art Project is dedicated to mapping gender neutral, unisex and accessible toilets and bathrooms around the city. We strongly believe that everyone, regardless of gender identification, presentation or ability has the right to access safe and dignified bathroom facilities without fear of harassment, judgment or violence. Toil/Art is working to raise awareness around issues of bathroom accessibility and gender neutral facilities, map bathrooms in Melbourne, and foster a sense of community for the users of these bathrooms through creative, artistic endeavours.”

Affiliated with the Trans Melbourne Gender Project Toil/Art follows similar projects in the USA such as www.safe2pee.org. (Did you know there are only three gender-neutral toilets in Dallas?) The Toil/Art website invites users to nominate toilets for the online map. Indeed, Jonathan and Ash have been hitting the streets talking to venues. With their genuine open smiles and clean-cut style, they have often been mistaken for evangelical door knockers. “Many business owners are often relieved that we actually just want to talk about toilets. In many cases, the question of gendered toilets simply has not occurred to them. Even if they are not so concerned about the social justice aspect of the issue, they are often persuaded by the economics – why provide two toilet facilities when one will do? And why have customers queuing outside one toilet whilst the other is empty?”

In addition to the online map, Toil/Art seeks creative ways to promote and explore this issue. For example, photographer Jacqui Brown is working on an exhibition of portraits of people in toilets and collecting their stories of toilet moments for the Midsumma Festival. It will be held at Kick Gallery, 239 High St Northcote, 23 January – 10 Feb 2008.

In a way, the Toil/Art map could become an alternative guide to the interesting venues and eateries across Melbourne. If the business is innovative enough to have considered gender-neutral and accessible toilets, there must be fascinating things happening there.

Click here and nominate your favourite toilet today!