A transgender student has been verbally abused and pushed out of the Union’s female toilets. The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning, during Fruity.
Alexis, a Microbiology student who is currently transitioning to become a woman, was shouted at and shoved in the chest by two girls. Alexis spoke to Leeds Student about the incident: “I’m very angry at those girls. I know better than anyone that I don’t look like a girl yet. Misgendering me is something I expect, but grabbing my breasts and shoving me is completely unacceptable.”
Security were called to the scene and spoke to the girls in question. A Union spokesperson told this paper: “As a Union we support the right of transgender students to use the toilets in which they feel most comfortable. A member of our security team explained the situation to the two females and they said that they understood.”
Alexis added: “It’s wrong for a natural-born girl to insult a trans girl, especially one who prefers to dress more masculine, simply because she likes to. We’re doing the best we can – you’re lucky to have been born that way, and we can dress however we please, just like you.”
The second year student did not wish to take any further action but added: “The security staff were excellent, and I really appreciate what they did”. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans* Society (LGBT) currently has two dedicated Trans* welfare officers.
The society said: “The welfare of our members is the number one priority of our society and we’ve been working closely with the Union to raise awareness of the added struggles that Trans* people face.”
In January 2010 a Better Union forum passed an idea to introduce gender-neutral toilets.
The Union’s Equality and Diversity officer, Charlie Hopper, said “Since the idea to create a gender neutral toilet passed in 2010 the Union has made progress in ensuring support for Trans* students, including Trans* awareness training for staff.”
LGBT’s trans welfare officers can be contacted on lgbt_welfare@leeds.ac.uk.
Words: Lucy Snow