The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2 - 80

Deborah J. Taub * R. Bradley Johnson * Torry Reynolds

Whereas some institutions
have very well-developed and
detailed gender-neutral housing
policies, others have policies
that are quite rudimentary
or even lack them altogether.
Some institutions do not have
a formal, detailed policy
regarding GNH but, rather,
consider requests for GNH on a
case-by-case basis.

are evenly split by legal sex to share an apartment but share a bedroom only with someone
of the same legal sex); and self-contained
single rooms (which the authors acknowledged may or may not be considered genderneutral housing).
Providing GNH as an option is a practice
that has been advocated by many scholars and
researchers as a way to serve transgender students (Beemyn, 2005; Beemyn, Domingue,
Pettitt, & Smith, 2005; Bleiberg, 2004;
Finger, 2010; Gintoli, 2010; Hoffman, 2012;
Pettitt, 2010). The option is needed for several
reasons, one of which is that "Old protocols
based on a gender-divided system cannot comfortably accommodate transgender students"
(Pettitt, 2010, p. 37). In fact, as noted by Krum
et al. (2013), the gender segregation of housing
"is often the most difﬁcult to amend" (p. 65).

80

The availability of GNH can promote a greater
sense of inclusion and safety for transgender
students (Beemyn et al., 2005), as well as for
gender-nonconforming students (Henneman,
2003). Of the 100 transgender respondents in
Krum et al.'s (2013) study who had attended
college, 39% reported that their college offered
gender-neutral housing; 46.15% of those 39 students reported that the availability of GNH inﬂuenced their decision to attend that institution.
However, GNH frequently is not offered exclusively to transgender students (Krum et al.,
2013) and can be of beneﬁt to other students as
well (Bleiberg, 2004; Miyamoto, 2006). GNH
can offer a "safe space" for some gay, lesbian,
and bisexual students for whom "living with a
member of the same sex can be an extremely
uncomfortable and awkward situation" (Bleiberg, 2004, p. 4), and offering GNH as a
housing option would help to meet the needs
not only of LGBT students but of all students:
Relationships between members of the
opposite sex can be a truly educational
experience. . . . Platonic friendships existing
between men and women can provide
educational and developmental opportunities
for both sexes. . . . The notion that men and
women can only be lovers and never friends
must be overcome. Residential communities
should encourage these bonds in the same way
that same-sex bonds are encouraged. (p. 6)
Social scientists have studied the question of
whether or not heterosexual men and women
can be friends (Booth & Hess, 1974; O'Meara,
1989). Booth and Hess (1974) identiﬁed two
necessary factors for the development of crosssex friendships: (1) structural factors that allow
close interactions as peers and (2) prevailing social norms. GNH could help promote

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2
