Today, I won the fight over bathroom use at work.
*I have to be careful about specifics here, but this is in Japan.*
For the past three weeks or so, I’ve been in and out of meetings trying to get permission to use the women’s restroom at work. I came out early last year, and it was received well, but it was after just a few months of E. Of course, I hadn’t notably changed then. However, after a year on E, using the men’s restroom feels a little dumb. I present as a woman every day, and my transition seems to be moving along pretty well.
There’s been a ton of back-and-forth and meetings and emails and so on. It’s caused me a huge amount of stress, as it’s felt like my personal and private affairs have been splayed open for all to see. At first, I was told to use a third restroom that no one uses, which I railed against because I didn’t want to set a precedent that sending us to a seperate restroom is an acceptable way to treat us. Eventually, it came down to this: I explain everything to the rest of the staff, and let the female staff decide whether to allow me to use the women’s room or not. This…was obviously a bad idea, but I accepted as it appeared my only real option. I braced myself for the inevitable.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel quite invasive and uncomfortable, but to my complete shock, I was informed today that the staff were moved by my speech and decided to allow me to use the (correct) restroom. I still can’t believe it, honestly. Coming from a very conservative part of the US, something like this seems inconceivable. It’s a massive relief.
It’s hard to stay positive these days with everything going on, but good things can still happen and our voices can still be heard. We can make a difference. <3
. How do I make them stop?"
