男廁所女廁所 以性別身份區分廁所過時了

Before the Whitney Museum of American Art moved to its new location in Lower Manhattan, it hosted a discussion about what it means for a museum to be a safe and welcoming space.

惠特尼美國藝術博物館(Whitney Museum of American Art)搬到曼哈頓下城之前，進行了一場關於如何讓博物館變得更加安全可親的討論。

Providing restrooms for everyone on the gender spectrum was near the top of the list.

爲各種性別的人提供衛生間排在榜單前列。

“We invited artists of all gender identifications in,” said Danielle Linzer, the director of access and community programs, “and we heard loud and clear that it was something they really needed access to. Rather than being euphemistic, we decided to be direct.”

博物館的使用權和社區項目主管丹妮爾·林策(Danielle Linzer)說：“我們邀請具有各種性別身份的藝術家前來。我們清楚地聽到他們的呼聲，這真的是他們需要的設施。我們打算採用直接而非委婉的說法。”

The signs at the new building say “All Gender Restroom,” and Ms. Linzer has observed women wondering aloud, “You mean I can go in the men’s room?”

新館址的標識是“全性別衛生間”(All Gender Restroom)。林策注意到有些女人們問道：“你的意思是我能進男廁所？”

The Whitney isn’t alone in being challenged to rethink one of the most basic uses of public space. With the issues of serving openly in the military and same-sex marriage now largely resolved, the fight for all-gender restrooms has emerged as the latest civil rights issue in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (L.G.B.T.) community — particularly the “T” part.

不止惠特尼博物館這一個機構需要重新思考這個最基本的公共空間。在允許同性戀公開身份參軍以及同性婚姻的話題反覆出現後，爭取全性別衛生間成爲女同、男同、雙性戀和跨性別者(LGBT)——尤其是最後一個羣體——最新的人權活動事項。

Schools and universities (including Johns Hopkins and Michigan State), museums (like the American Folk Art Museum in New York City and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City), restaurants both trendy and modest (such as the Pass & Provisions in Houston and the Midtown Cafe in Santa Cruz, Calif.) and even the White House (in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) are recasting the traditional men’s/women’s room, resulting in a dizzying range of (often creative) signage and vocabulary.

很多學校和大學（包括約翰·霍普金斯大學[Johns Hopkins]和密歇根州立大學[Michigan State]）、博物館（比如紐約市的美國民間藝術博物館[American Folk Art Museum]和鹽湖城的猶他州美術博物館[Utah Museum of Fine Arts]）、時髦和保守的餐館（比如休斯敦的Pass & Provisions和加利福尼亞州聖克魯斯市的中城咖啡館[Midtown Cafe]）以及白宮（艾森豪威爾行政辦公樓[Eisenhower Executive Office Building]）正在重塑傳統的區分男女的衛生間，出現了各種令人眼花繚亂的（往往也是很有創意的）標識和稱呼。

Part of the reason is legal. Seattle, Berkeley, Santa Fe, Austin and Philadelphia are among the cities that have passed laws requiring single-user all-gender restrooms. Philadelphia has an online Gotta Go Guide showing the location of such facilities, and there’s an app, Refuge Restrooms, that does the same nationwide.

這其中有法律方面的原因。西雅圖、伯克利、聖菲、奧斯汀和費城等城市立法要求設立每次僅供一人使用的全性別衛生間。費城在Gotta Go Guide網站上發佈了這些設施的地點，另外還有一個應用程序Refuge Restrooms展示全國範圍內這些設施的地點。

Philadelphia businesses will have 90 days to become compliant, said Helen L. Fitzpatrick, director of the mayor’s office of L.G.B.T. affairs. “But the goal is that nobody should ever receive a fine,” she said. “I will be going out and using the law as a teachable moment.”

費城市長辦公室的LGBT事務主管海倫·L·菲茨帕特里克(Helen L. Fitzpatrick)說，費城的各個行業將有90天時間來實施法律規定，“不過，我們的目標是沒有一個單位收到罰單。我會出去巡查，將這項法律用作一個教育的時機”。

Introducing a new lexicon is part of the process. In September, Ms. Fitzpatrick visited a bar with an offensive sign about Caitlyn Jenner in the window. After she spoke to the owners, a new sign went up: “Cis-gender white men learned something new today!!”

這個過程包括想出一個合適的說法。今年9月，費城的一家酒吧在窗戶上貼出拿凱特琳·詹納(Caitlyn Jenner)開玩笑的無禮標語。菲茨帕特里克趕到那個酒吧，跟老闆們談了以後，他們豎起了一個新標語：“順性別的白人今天學到了新知識！！”

The legal sanction hasn’t gone unchallenged, even after a landmark case in Maine last year, when Nicole Maines, a transgender high school student, successfully sued the school district that had denied her access to the restroom of the gender with which she identified. (Her story is chronicled in a new book, “Becoming Nicole.”)

這項法律制裁並不是沒有遭到質疑，即便是在去年緬因州的那個里程碑事件發生之後。當時，變性高中生妮科爾·梅因斯(Nicole Maines)起訴學校禁止她使用她認爲自己應該去的衛生間，並贏得了訴訟（新書《成爲妮科爾》[Becoming Nicole]記錄了她的故事）。

In September, the school board in Elko County, Nev., voted to keep transgender students out of restrooms corresponding to their gender identity. In Wisconsin, two state legislators want to require school boards to designate restrooms as exclusive to one gender, and gender is defined as the “physical condition of being male or female.” (In neighboring Minnesota, the Democratic-led State Senate defeated a similar bill.)

今年9月，內華達州埃爾科縣的教育委員會投票決定，繼續禁止變性學生進入他們認爲自己應該去的衛生間。在威斯康星州，兩位州立法委員想要求校委會規定衛生間僅供某一種性別的人使用，性別標準根據“身體性徵”界定（在旁邊的明尼蘇達州，以民主黨爲主的州參議院否決了類似的提案）。

And on Tuesday in Houston, voters rejected a measure known as the bathroom ordinance, which would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.

週二（11月3日），在休斯敦，投票者否決了一項被稱爲衛生間法令的措施，這項法令意在禁止基於性別身份的歧視。

But some change is taking place because organizations believe it simply makes sense. Samuel Bass is the principal of Miraloma Elementary School in San Francisco, where restrooms for the younger grades are now all-gender, and the remaining facilities will be converted.

但是，有些機構正在進行變革，因爲他們覺得那樣更合情理。塞繆爾·巴斯(Samuel Bass)是舊金山米拉洛馬小學(Miraloma Elementary School)的校長，現在該校低年級的衛生間都是全性別的，其他的設施也將進行改造。

“For too long in K through 12, we have asked every single student to conform to one or the other binary,” he said. “We had several students on the gender spectrum, and decided it was the right thing to do. It doesn’t affect other students. Children don’t know gender norms until we as adults teach them. With any change, parents have questions. When they realize that it’s just like it is at home, it’s not a big deal.”

他說：“有太長時間，從幼兒園到高中，我們讓每位學生必須在男和女之間選擇一種性別，並遵守它的行爲規範。但是我們發現有幾個學生不屬於任何一種，所以我們認爲需要做些改變。這不會影響其他學生。如果不是我們大人這樣教孩子們，他們並不會知道那些所謂的性別規範。只要有改變，家長們就會產生質疑。但是當他們明白這就像在家裏一樣時，就會覺得也沒什麼大不了的。”

Many transgender people report planning their days around where and when they can go, enduring bladder infections if they hold it in, risking harassment or violence if they don’t. The Stonewall Center, an L.G.B.T. resource group at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, recently completed the first national study of college students who identify as something other than male or female. Guess what almost everyone named as the biggest issue?

很多變性者稱，他們按照自己能在何時何地上廁所來安排一天的生活，如果強忍，就可能感染膀胱炎；如果不忍，就可能遭遇騷擾或暴力。前不久，馬薩諸塞大學阿默斯特分校的LGBT資源組織石牆中心(The Stonewall Center)完成了第一份關於非傳統男女性別大學生的全國調查報告。你猜猜幾乎所有人都認爲的最大問題是什麼？

Even when the intention is inclusivity, the reality is complicated. Under the New York City Human Rights Law, people must be allowed to use the single-sex restroom consistent with their gender identity.

即使目標是包容，現實也很複雜。按照紐約市人權法，人們應該被允許使用自己認同的性別身份的單性別衛生間。

But strict plumbing codes or landmark status mean that businesses can’t just change the signage and then be in compliance. Multiple codes regulate the requirements, depending on the type of building, the year it was built and occupancy. In some cases, the code stipulates that a venue is allowed to have all-gender facilities rather than being required to do so, reflecting a shift from economic to societal considerations.

但是嚴格的管道施工規定或建築物的地標身份意味着各個行業不是僅僅更改標識就能遵守法律規定，而是需要考慮多項法規的要求，包括建築物的類型、修建年份和使用情況。在某些情況下，法律規定一個場所可以設立全性別衛生間，而不是必須這樣做，反映出從經濟到社會因素考慮的轉變。

Broadway theaters are still grappling with the issue, but the Theater at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles had all-gender restrooms for the red carpet premiere of the Emmy-winning television series “Transparent.” (The digital series about a father transitioning to being a woman introduced a guerrilla campaign in the lead-up to the awards in which the production company covered up gender-specific signs on the doors of single-stall restrooms in restaurants, replacing them with signage that said “Be Transparent.”)

百老匯的劇院仍在糾結這個問題，不過洛杉磯市中心的埃斯酒店劇院(Theater at Ace Hotel)爲艾美獎獲獎電視劇《透明家庭》(Transparent)的紅毯首映禮準備了全性別衛生間（這部在流媒體上播放的電視劇講述了一位正變性成女人的父親的故事。在艾美獎頒獎之前，爲了宣傳該劇，製作公司打起了遊擊營銷戰，把餐館單獨隔間廁所門上的具體性別標識遮了起來，換成寫着“透明”字樣的標識）。

Public restrooms didn’t become commonplace in this country until the late 19th century. A cholera epidemic during the Civil War made people realize that it was inappropriate to throw the contents of a chamber pot out the window, and generated a deep commitment to public hygiene.

直到19世紀末，公共衛生間纔在美國成爲常見事物。美國內戰期間的霍亂瘟疫讓人們意識到，把夜壺裏的髒東西倒到窗外不合適，並對公共衛生作出堅定承諾。

Ever since their introduction, restrooms have been a curious ground zero for civil rights, whether for African-Americans or people with disabilities.

從誕生之初，衛生間就出人意料地成爲民權運動的一個重要戰場，不管是對非裔美國人還是對殘障人士來說。

Discrimination against transgender people has brought the issue into sharp new focus. But the idea of shared restrooms is not new, as fans of “Ally McBeal” will remember (even though the facilities at the Cage and Fish law firm often seemed to be commandeered for frolicking with Jon Bon Jovi or Robert Downey Jr.).

對變性人士的歧視讓這個問題成爲新的關注焦點。不過，共享衛生間的想法其實並不新鮮，電視劇《甜心俏佳人》(Ally McBeal)的粉絲們應該都還記得（儘管凱奇菲什律師事務所[Cage and Fish]的男女通用衛生間似乎大多被用來與喬恩·邦喬維[Jon Bon Jovi]或小羅伯特·唐尼[Robert Downey Jr.]調情）。

That fictional multi-stall restroom gets more complicated in real life, especially if it’s the only option; some places are taking the less controversial route of single-user facilities, and some are covering their bets by continuing to provide traditional male or female restrooms, too.

該劇中虛構的多隔間衛生間在現實生活中變得更加複雜，尤其是如果只有這一種衛生間的話。有些地方提供不太有爭議的供單人使用的衛生間；另一些地方則不敢冒險，繼續同時提供傳統的男女分開的衛生間。

As with gender self-identification, even the language is tricky: gender-neutral, all-gender, gender-inclusive, gender-open, unisex … all are in the mix. Barnard College uses the term “Gender Inclusive” on restroom doors that also show icons of toilets and dripping faucets. (Barnard’s efforts to educate the campus included a flier that proclaimed, “We want everyone to be able to pee in peace.”)

至於性別自我認同，甚至連術語都五花八門且微妙：中性、全性別、性別包容、性別開放、男女通用……巴納德學院(Barnard College)衛生間的門上寫的是“性別包容”，另外還有馬桶和滴水水龍頭的圖標（巴納德在校園裏發傳單進行教育宣傳，上面寫道：“我們希望每個人都能平靜地如廁”）。

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas chose a colorful commode and the words “Gender Neutral” and “Unisex,” although these terms meet with less than enthusiasm in the transgender community.

內華達大學拉斯維加斯分校(The University of Nevada, Las Vegas)採用彩色坐便器圖標以及“中性”和“男女通用”等標語，不過這些說法在變性者羣體中遭到冷遇。

“To me, saying gender-neutral is like saying colorblind,” said Genny Beemyn, director of the Stonewall Center. “We see gender. To deny it is to deny people’s reality. We’re trying to increase recognition of the diversity of gender rather than to erase it.”

石牆中心的主管真妮·比明(Genny Beemyn)說，“在我看來，說中性就像是說我們是色盲。我們能看到性別差異。否認它就是否認現實。我們是想讓人們更多地意識到性別的多樣性，而不是抹殺它。”

The term “all gender” seems to be in favor. That’s what it says on restrooms at the New School in New York City, along with pictographs of the plumbing inside. “I never thought I’d be talking so much about urinals,” said Gail Drakes, director of social justice initiatives.

“全性別”這個術語似乎更受歡迎。紐約市新學院大學(New School)的衛生間就是採用這種說法，還配上了內部管道的圖標。該校社會公平項目的主管蓋爾·德雷克(Gail Drakes)說：“我從未想到我會就男用小便池展開這麼多討論。”

In a state not generally regarded as a bastion of progressive thinking, there are all-gender restrooms at the University of Utah. Illinois State University also decided on that signage, with a somewhat prolix addendum: “Anyone may use this restroom regardless of gender, gender identity or expression.” “We’re not changing the purpose of the facility,” said M. Shane McCreery, director of equal opportunity, ethics and access at the school, “just acknowledging that we recognize everyone and want them to be included.”

人們通常不認爲猶他州是進步思想的堡壘，但猶他大學卻提供全性別衛生間。伊利諾伊州立大學(Illinois State University)也採用這種說法，還加了一句冗長的解釋：“無論性別、性別身份或表達，任何人都可以使用這個洗手間。”該校公平機會、道德和使用權主管M·沙恩·麥克裏裏(M. Shane McCreery)說：“我們不是要改變這些設施的用途，只是想承認，我們認可幷包容所有人。”

It’s unsurprising that college students are pushing the agenda of all-gender access. The tectonic plates of corporate America shift more slowly. The policy at Target is that “family” restrooms suffice for now. Starbucks issued a boilerplate assertion that “a coffeehouse should be a welcoming, inviting and familiar place.” (Translation: Some locations have all-gender restrooms, and there may be more.)

大學生們在推動修建更多全性別洗手間，這並不奇怪。美國的公司改變起來就更慢。塔吉特百貨公司(Target)的政策是“家庭”衛生間足以滿足目前的需要。星巴克(Starbucks)發佈了一句套話：“咖啡館應該是一個讓人覺得熱情親切的地方（意思就是：有些地方有全性別衛生間，可能還會有更多）”。

But Nike World Headquarters in Oregon is using a simple black-and-white image of a toilet, created by a 28-year-old self-described social justice advocate named Sam Killermann. He was motivated by the prevalence of a “Victor/Victoria” stick figure wearing a divided skirt/pants that is widely loathed by those who identify as gender nonconforming and stress that they don’t feel like half of anything.

不過，俄勒岡州的耐克全球總部(Nike World Headquarters)採用的是簡單的黑白馬桶圖標，它是28歲的山姆·基勒曼(Sam Killermann)創作的。他自稱社會公平支持者，他的創作動機是，很多非傳統性別人士憎惡常見的穿着一半裙子和一半褲子的“雌雄莫辨”簡筆人物畫，因爲他們不認爲自己是任何東西的一半。

“People were terrified of this idea,” Mr. Killermann said, “and the conversation kept coming back to: What do we put on the door? I kind of snapped, not in a bad way, and did a blog post making fun of the half-woman/half-man sign, hoping it would illustrate how absurd it was and the very real issue of people being safe.”

基勒曼說：“人們討厭這種表達，那麼問題又回到了原點：我們該在衛生間門上貼什麼？我有點惱火，不過我的發泄方式還不算太壞，我在博客上發了一個帖子，取笑半男半女的標識，希望它能表明這是多麼荒謬，讓人們明白真正的問題是人們需要安全感。”

A Brooklyn company called SmartSign, which used that hermaphrodite-ish graphic, contacted Mr. Killermann, offering to buy the rights to his toilet sign (and, by the way, he’s perfectly O.K. with being known as the toilet sign guy). He said the company could have it free. “They took that sentiment,” he said, “and one-upped me, and started giving it away.”

布魯克林的一家名叫SmartSign的公司本來用的也是類似雌雄同體的標識，它與基勒曼聯繫，提出購買他的廁所標識（順便說一句，他完全不介意被稱爲廁所標識男孩）。他說，這家公司可以免費使用它。他說：“他們也理解人們的那種情緒，他們比我做得更好，開始四處分發。”

So far, the company has donated the toilet sign to churches, hospitals, libraries, public school districts, food co-ops, one circus and 128 colleges.

到目前爲止，該公司把這種廁所標識捐贈給了教堂、醫院、圖書館、公立學校、食品合作社、一個馬戲團和128所大學。

In many parts of the world, W.C. (water closet) is already a well-established all-gender sign, but there are new variations from as far away as Kenya, where the door to each restroom at the Angama Mara Safari Lodge shows boy and girl Maasai warriors.

在世界上的很多地方，WC(water closet)已經成爲公認的全性別標識，但是在遙遠的肯尼亞出現了一些新變體，比如安加馬·馬拉狩獵酒店(Angama Mara Safari Lodge)的所有衛生間門上掛的是馬賽男戰士和女戰士圖像。

The White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia had an original solution: two restrooms designated for Democrats and Republicans, another two for Pointers and Setters. (A little joke about anatomy — get it?) “Customers loved the idea,” the former owner Judy Wicks said, “although it was confusing to foreigners. Tourists from Japan, where the culture is so polite, would stand there trying to figure out where to go.”

費城的白狗咖啡館(White Dog Cafe)想出了一個獨創的解決方法：它把兩個衛生間分別指定給民主黨和共和黨，另外兩個指定給指示犬和塞特犬（這是一個關於解剖學的笑話，你看懂了嗎？）這家咖啡館的前老闆朱迪·威克斯(Judy Wicks)說：“顧客們很喜歡這種標識，雖然外國人會感到迷惑。你知道日本人很講禮貌，所以日本遊客會站在那裏，努力弄清該上哪個廁所。”

(Alas, the new owners removed those signs. The four restrooms now have decals of dogs with no mention of gender.)

（可惜呀，新老闆們去掉了那些標識。現在的四個衛生間都貼着狗的圖像，沒提性別）。

There is no mistaking who can go where at the Founding Farmers restaurant in Washington, D.C.; its restroom doors read Men, Women and the Rest of Us.

在華盛頓特區的Founding Farmers餐館，你絕不會上錯廁所，它的衛生間門上寫着“男人、女人和我們剩下這些人”。

“Men are generally pigs in restrooms, and women are nice and sensible,” the owner Dan Simons said. “That’s where I started. I have two restrooms right next to each other, so I labeled one ‘Women’ and the other ‘Everyone.’ Then I received a letter saying that the restrooms were discriminatory because women had their own.

這家餐館的老闆丹·西蒙斯(Dan Simons)說：“男人通常會把衛生間搞得一團糟，而女人就很好，很懂理。這啓發了我。我們這兒有兩個緊挨着的衛生間，我在一間門上寫着‘女用’，另一間門上寫着‘所有人都能用’。後來我收到一封信，說這樣做帶有歧視性，因爲女人有自己的衛生間。”

“I realized that for some people this is a stressful topic,” he added, “and I thought: ‘Why don’t I make it clear? We need a label that says no label.’ ”

他補充說：“我發現，對有些人來說，這是個沉重的話題。所以我就想：‘我爲什麼不說清楚呢？我需要一個標識來表明這裏沒有任何標識’。”