Gender blender

Culture | New laws, new confusion–and unsafe bathrooms? | Mark Bergin

Most women in Eugene, Ore.–or any city, for that matter–have no interest in sharing public restrooms with men. But if the city council approves a new ordinance backed by the local Human Rights Commission (HRC), the women of Eugene will be asked to do just that.

The city's current Human Rights Ordinance bars discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ethnicity, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation, or source of income. The new ordinance would add "gender identity" to that list of personal traits–a provision that would allow bathroom choice based on psychological self-appraisal: Do I feel like a man or a woman?