University Of Texas Installing Gender Neutral Restrooms

Y'all know as a proud University of Houston Cougar I have no love for burnt orange when it comes to the sports teams representing that school in Austin.  

But I have to give the University of Texas at Austin their props for their initiative to install gender neutral restrooms in all new and existing building on campus.

According to a July 25 story in the Daily Texan, Linda Millstone, the associate vice president for the Office of Institutional Equity and Workforce Diversity, is leading the effort to have at least one gender neutral restroom for every five floors of UT on campus buildings.

She went to the Building Advisory committee with the idea of having any newly constructed or future on campus buildings include gender neutral bathrooms in their design blueprints.   They not only agreed to do so, but Pat Clubb. the vice president for University Operations also agreed to fund the installation of gender neutral restrooms in all existing UT-Austin buildings as well. 

“Most buildings already have one or two single-stall restrooms, so it has been as easy as taking down the male or female sign and installing a lock on the door,” Millstone said.

Millstone said gender-neutral restrooms benefit a number of different people, including GLBT-identified persons, people with disabilities and people with medical conditions such as diabetes who need a private place to administer medication.

The list of gender neutral restrooms will be posted on the home page of UT's Gender And Sexuality Center webpage and according the article was supposed to be updated by the end of the summer.

Will check with my friends on the UT campus to confirm if the gender neutral bathroom list that is posted on their site is or has indeed been updated. 
 
As I keep telling you TBLG peeps who wanna reflexively hate on Texas, my home state is a little more complicated and more purple than the bright red hate on BTLG people narrative the GOP and others would like you to believe.

But major props to the University of Texas at Austin for this proactive move on gender neutral restrooms. parts.

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Sen. Williams, Your Transphobia Is Showing

In case you're wondering why I and other POC's can't stand Republicans, it's because we know from experience they have been anti-civil rights since the Dixiecrats started arriving en masse into the party starting in the 70's, and the Texas division of Republicans isn't much better especially as they have gone more right wing than the national party.

Some of you non- POC peeps are just now figuring that out.

I mentioned earlier today that Meghan Stabler and Nikki Araguz were in Austin chit chatting with state senators today about SB 723.  In addition to conversing with Democratic senators to get them to continue presenting a united front against this unjust billl, they decided to have a chat with some of the Republicans as well.

One of the Republican senators they decided to have a chat with was Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands), the sponsor of this odious bill.

So how did it go?   Can you say they were thrown out of his office?   Thought you could.

Here's the YouTube video of it prior to them being tossed and the BS being spouted by the Williams staffer.

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While I realize that there are some Republicans who resent being lumped in with their bigot wing, they will have to verify with me and other POC's they are consistent civil rights supporters before I trust them.

Our standards are much higher to gain that trust than the ones of you short time marginalized people seeing that Republicans have spent decades opposing and leading the charge against civil rights issues.of importance to POC's.

But back to Sen Williams blatant attack on trans Texans human rights.    What axe do you have to grind not only against a widow who lost her husband, but trans Texans in general? 

I also have to wonder exactly what influenced your desire to file this bill, since you had no objection in the 2009 session to the bill passing and sex change documentation becoming part of the list of approved documents for a marriage license.     

Inquiring minds wanna know.


Kill SB 723!     

Rest In Peace, Jennifer Gale

Two years ago today transwoman Jennifer Gale was found dead sleeping on an Austin sidewalk outside a homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army.  (one reason why I refuse to donate money or used clothing to them). 

The reason she was outside on the sidewalk instead of inside the shelter is because they would not allow her to be housed with the women because of genitalia incongruent with her gender presentation. .   She would have been foced by their policies to be housed with cisgender men.

Austin was in the grip of unseasonable cold in 2008, and the postulation by EMT's is the near freezing temperatures helped trigger the heart attack that killed her.

Jennifer made multiple runs for political office in the area and was a frequent presence at Austin City Council meetings.  The night before she died,  Jennifer attended and spoke at an Austin city council hearing in which she sang 'Silent Night' to the assembled members before departing.

In honor of the second anniversary of her death, the Austin City Council at last night's meeting played the video (Jennifer's section of it starts at the 1:20 mark) from that fateful evening. They also dedicated in her memory a seat in the city council auditorium with a plaque bearing her name attached to it.

Jennifer's death also had an impact on a shelter up I-35 in Dallas.   The Bridge changed their policies in order to base their housing and intake decisions on the person's gender presentation irregardless of genitalia configurations.


Rest in peace, Jennifer.  You are not forgotten, nor will your trans brothers and sisters and all you loved and cared about you allow people to forget how you died.   We'll also bust our behinds to ensure that this doesn't happen to a transperson ever again.