Icelandic Secondary School Switches To “Genderless” Bathrooms

The secondary school Verzlunarskóla Íslands, following a proposal from the school’s Feminist Society, has done away with labeling their bathrooms as being for male and female staff and students. In their place, all bathrooms are simply labelled “WC”.

Feminist Society co-chair Helena Björk Bjarkadóttir told Vísir that the change was made to make life easier for students who are not sure what gender they are. It should be added that these bathrooms may also make life easier for those who do not identify as having any gender, those who are gender fluid, or simply those who do not want to concern themselves with gender divisions when wanting to use a toilet.

The idea was well-received, by both the principal and the student body alike.

“It has generally been very well received, and a lot of respect has been shown for this,” Helena told reporters. “It’s obviously something people wanted to see.”

The school is not alone in embracing the idea, either. Genderless bathrooms were also instituted at a primary school last January. Last March, the City of Reykjavík announced they were looking into the idea of genderless bathrooms and changing rooms at city swimming pools.