Introduction

The purpose of this study is to qualitatively explore transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals’ experiences with bathroom use in neighborhoods and public spaces in the context of navigating experiences of harassment, lack of safety, and discrimination in New York City.

Methods

Forty diverse TGNB individuals were recruited in the summer of 2017 in New York City for semi-structured qualitative interviews on health and neighborhoods. Inductive thematic analysis coding process was used to determine themes. Themes related to public bathroom use were compiled and analyzed.

Results

A total of 31 participant interviews identified bathroom use as an experience that shapes their health and wellbeing. Major themes included avoiding restroom use or planning travel around perceived bathroom access; planning bathroom use compromised mental health and self-image; delaying bathroom use to avoid harassment that leads to negative physical health effects; perceived gender presentation limited bathroom use; and bathrooms advertised as gender-neutral promoted safety and comfort.

Conclusions

In a diverse, urban sample of TGNB individuals, bathroom use was identified as relevant to physical and mental health. Despite progressive bathroom laws in the state and city in which the study was conducted, respondents described how bathroom use influences how they move throughout their day. We demonstrate the continued importance of nondiscriminatory access to public spaces such as restrooms to the health of TGNB populations and the need for further prospective research elucidating the impact of nondiscrimination legislation.

中文翻译：

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邻里和公共空间中的公共厕所：对纽约市跨性别者和非双性成年人的定性研究

介绍

这项研究的目的是定性地探索跨性别和非二元（TGNB）个人在邻里和公共空间中浴室使用的体验，并以骚扰，缺乏安全感和歧视为由在纽约市进行导航。

方法

2017年夏天，在纽约市招募了40名不同的TGNB个人，以对健康和社区进行半结构化的定性访谈。归纳主题分析编码过程用于确定主题。汇编和分析了与公共浴室使用有关的主题。

结果

总共31位参与者访谈将洗手间的使用视为塑造他们健康和福祉的一种体验。主要主题包括避免洗手间使用或计划在可感知的浴室通道附近旅行；规划浴室使用会损害心理健康和自我形象；延迟卫生间的使用，避免造成负面的身体健康影响的骚扰；感知的性别表现限制了浴室的使用；标榜为“不分性别”的洗手间提高了安全性和舒适性。

结论

在TGNB个人的各种城市样本中，浴室的使用被确定与身心健康有关。尽管在进行该研究的州和城市制定了渐进式的卫生间法律，但受访者仍描述了卫生间的使用如何影响他们在一整天的活动。我们证明了非歧视性进入公共场所（如厕所）对TGNB人群健康的持续重要性，以及进一步开展前瞻性研究以阐明非歧视性立法的影响的必要性。