University offers toilets for transsexuals (VIDEO)

TRANSGENDER university students have been given their own set of toilets at their union's nightclub.

Staffordshire University Students' Union nightclub, LRV, is believed to be one of the first in the country, and the first venue in Stoke-on-Trent, to have gender-neutral toilets.

They were introduced for the first student night of the new semester last Wednesday.

A decision was made by the student council in December to trial the toilets.

The nightclub at the university's Leek Road campus, in Stoke, is now trialling them for the rest of the semester.

If it proves successful, gender-neutral toilets could be rolled-out in other union venues at the university.

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Students' Union president, Fee Wood, said: "It is known that public toilets are gender separate and are often difficult to negotiate for transgendered or androgynous people.

"This often leads to embarrassment, harassment, or even assault by others who are offended by the presence of a person they interpret as being of the other gender."

The term transgender refers to someone who considers they do not identify strictly to one gender or the other, identifying themselves as neither fully male, nor female.

It includes a number of sub-categories, including transsexual, cross-dresser, gender-nonconforming people, transvestite, and consciously androgynous people.

Androgynous means to have both female and male characteristics – being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, for example in dress, appearance, or behaviour.

There are no official figures outlining the amount of transgender students at Staffordshire University, but the number is said to be increasing from year to year.

The gender-neutral toilets consist of a set of cubicles in a block which used to be for female students.

Males, females and people who are disabled still have separate toilet facilities.

Fee added: "There have been quite a lot of people using the new toilets.

"We had one complaint from a girl on the first night, but overall the feedback has been positive."

Fellow student Cara Stokes, who is studying forensic science, said she thought the move was a good idea. The 24-year-old said: "The toilets will eliminate all bias about what gender people are, or what gender they would like to be.

"I'll definitely use them. And it will sort out the problem with queues anyway."