Suddenly appear
Alabaster calves and thighs
Just like the crocus
An appropriate haiku is always a nice way to greet the spring, isn’t it? But beyond that poetic sigh of relief, the rising temps portend Milwaukee’s LGBT community’s greatest celebration, PrideFest.
As the season’s inaugural lakefront festival, PrideFest represents all the community has to offer from belly dance to religious ceremonies and from top-headline entertainment to volleyball. Taking place on the first weekend of June, it truly launches the summer season. And this year it officially addresses a new sensitivity to a particularly personal issue for the trans community. The binary gender bathroom, it is hoped, will be officially no more.
For most of us, using public toilets consists of simply noting signage for “Men,” “Women” or a Lego-like icon of a male in pants or a skirted female. There are usually no questions or ramifications to cope with when determining, based on our gender, which we use. For transmen and transwomen, however, it’s not so easy. There are single-use unisex or family bathrooms, of course, but the real problem arises in a more public environment like, say, the Summerfest grounds. There, the only choice is one of those cavernous multi-stall facilities. One might think a transman or transwoman would simply use the men’s or women’s accordingly. For those who do not subscribe to a male or female gender qualifier, the choice would be either. But now that trans issues in general have come to the fore, the binary gender bathroom has become a battleground. Some people are not so keen on the idea of sharing such an intimate common space with transgenders.
Not surprisingly, the conservative religious types are simply opposed to anything resembling LGBT rights. In fact, some red states, (mercifully, Wisconsin in not among them, at least not yet) are drafting legislation making use of a “wrong” gender bathroom a criminal offense. If these laws are passed, an offender could be fined or spend years in jail. Ironically, although transmen experience little or no resistance from the gay males, some radical feminists are vehemently militant in their opposition to transwomen, especially in the ladies’ room.
Meanwhile, despite these problematic cracks, PrideFest is working on a solution. Although Milwaukee’s annual LGBT festival has always had all-access, open bathrooms, it is now intent on making that policy official and public. The technical details on how this game of thrones will be resolved remains to be seen. It could be as simple as temporary signage indicating universally accessible bathrooms. An advance information campaign to advise the public and special training for PrideFest staff to negotiate potential confusion may be implemented as well. For those uncomfortable with universal access, private individual bathrooms may be made available. According to PrideFest President Scott Gunkel, arrangements with Milwaukee World Festivals, the event’s host body, are moving forward. Ultimately, although this issue is seemingly unique to the LGBT community, it may soon be one that becomes ever more visible, if not contentious, in the grander scheme of things.
