Thunder Pride has been busy with a project looking to catalogue gender-neutral bathrooms in the city.
Chair Ashley Moreau is excited about the program, which has tallied up over 20 businesses and organizations so far.
It’s a collaboration between Thunder Pride and the Northwest Ontario Pride Facebook group.
Organizations like Lambda Legal have advocated for equal access to public washrooms for transgender people, saying unisex or all-gender restrooms give more options to people who aren’t comfortable in male or female washrooms.
A guide from the Public Service Alliance of Canada emphasizes “people whose appearance does not conform to what is commonly expected for men or women are frequently subjected to stares, questions, comments, verbal harassment, and physical violence when they try to access washrooms.”
It’s something that means a lot to Moreau, who says they’re always glad to see a non-gendered bathroom in local businesses.
“You open the door [to a business] and say, ‘Wow, there’s an all-gender bathroom,” they explain. “This is amazing that this is a focus for people when they’re starting an new business. It’s noticed, you know?”
They point out the local 2SLGBTQ+ youth group Other 10% had the same idea around eight years ago, but note that “traditionally, things like this have always been word-of-mouth in our community.”
“It’s just a matter of having this larger curated list of all the businesses that are up-and-coming, too, that are taking this initiative,” they point out.
“There are some actual plans to create an interactive map,” Moreau explains. “For if you’re new to Thunder Bay, or if you just want to look and see if there’s any new ones.”
Similar projects have cropped up in other areas, including resources like the RefugeRestroom app.
