Toilets in queer venues came under scrutiny last month following community complaints of over-policing and transphobia. At the Reclaiming Queer Venues forum held last month, community members were outraged at the alleged abuses. CCQN spokesperson Shamini Joseph believed patrons of the Court Hotel were being kicked out for using the toilets of opposite sex and gender.
‘It was brought to our attention,’ Joseph said ‘that they put up the signs on the toilets because gay men were bringing straight women to socialise in the toilets.’
‘I think the community wants to see less policing of toilets, I mean you come to a queer venue and you expect people self-identify with the gender that they wish to and they will go to the toilets that they want to and feel comfortable with.’
WA Gender Project spokesperson Zoe Hyde has repeatedly raised concerns in public about the signs installed next to the Court Hotel’s toilets.
In response to the allegations, the Court Hotel owner Bree Day said transgendered people were allowed to use the bathroom with which the sex/gender they identified with.
‘This has always been the case… The suggestion for them to have a gender neutral bathroom, the disabled bathroom actually came from one of the trans* community when we asked for their feedback on the issue. This was not supported by the community at large so was never implemented,’ Day said.
‘The signs are not aimed at the trans community…they are simply there to stop men using the female toilets and women using the male toilets when the bathrooms are busy and were placed there in response to complaints from patrons.’
As for the male crowd controllers in female bathrooms, Day responded that the measure was necessary.
‘Male crowd controllers need to be allowed into the female toilets to assist with any crowd control issues. As much as we always try to send in our female guard, the majority of the crowd controllers are male,’ Day said.
Benn Dorrington
