Gender-neutral washrooms at the Royal Ontario Museum reflect changing times

A new Royal Ontario Museumexhibit exploring gender diversity in ancient Japanhas inspired a new setof gender-neutral washrooms at the Toronto museum.

AThird Genderexplores gender and sexual diversity duringthe Edo period in Japan. Itfocuses on wakashu:male youths whowere considered objectsof desireformen and women,andwhoalsolooked different from both women and adult men.

Prior to the exhibit's opening in early May,curators held workshops with theLGBTcommunity in Toronto.

The issue of gender-neutral washrooms came upandresulted in ROM officials deciding to openmore, in addition to several the museum opened in December 2015.

"The exhibition sharpened our thinking around gender and sexual diversity at the museum and expedited our efforts,"ROMmanaging directorSaschaPriewe told CBC News.

Art galleries and museums do not fall under federal regulation, so the decision aboutwhat types of washrooms are available on the premises rests withthe individual institution and itsstakeholders.

Gender-specific publicwashrooms don't go back as far as some might think: the first instance of separate public toilet facilitiesfor men and womenis believed to date to Paris inthe 1700s.

'Something to celebrate and value'

Both the revamped washrooms and the exhibit impressedSheila Cavanagh, aprofessor of gender and sexuality studies at York University andauthor ofQueering Bathrooms: Gender, Sexuality and the Hygienic Imagination.

"This development enables those who are gender variant andtransto more easily access the museum. I hope other cultural institutions follow suit," she said.

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"It is high time we designed public toilets to include and celebrate a myriad of ways ofbeing gendered. Gender variance is not something to fear. It is something to celebrate and value,"Cavanagh added.

The ROM'sPrieweagreed.

"I do hope that the goal of creating inclusive institutions for staff and audiences is at the forefront of the thinking of cultural institutions," he said.

A Third Gender:Beautiful Youths in Japanese Prints continues at the ROMthrough November 27.