Members of DU Players have replaced gender-specific bathroom signs with gender neutral signs at the Samuel Beckett Theatre in a protest for inclusivity.
Students gathered outside the toilets of the theatre at noon today as DU Players Chairperson Faith Jones and TCDSU Gender Equality Officer Jenny Maguire removed the gendered signs from the building’s bathroom doors.
The signs were removed by the students using a drill, in response to College’s reported silence on the issue of gender neutral toilets on campus.
Speaking at the demonstration, Q Soc committee member Daire Kelly explained that they had previously emailed the Estates and Facilities department on four occasions about the demand for gender neutral bathrooms, but received no correspondence in response.
Speaking before the signs’ removal, Jones said “because the building is gender neutral, the toilets deserve to be too”.
Maguire spoke of the previous establishment of gender neutral dressing rooms in the Players’ building, and that she believes “it’s about time that the rest of the building reflects this”.
She spoke of the “injustice” of limiting students’ access to services, as she stated that “all bathrooms in college should be accessible to all students, regardless of their gender”.
Speaking to Trinity News following the demonstration, Maguire said: “It’s important that students protect other students. So often in the bureaucracy of College, things get lost and things take ages…the bureaucracy just doesn’t work for students, so we’ve deemed it necessary to make it work for us”.
“We think it’s important that students take action into their own hands, and make College just that little bit better for everyone”.
This demonstration marks the beginning of DU Players’ annual “Women’s Week”. According to the society, this festival “aims to give a platform to those whose voice is not as easily heard” and “explore our relationships with gender”.
College has been contacted for a statement.
