The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1 - 34

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the lack of visibility of this housing option, as
well as its unfortunate consequences. "I can't
speak to how people found out about it this
year, in general . . . I have friends who are like,
'oh, I didn't know that existed.'" Lack of clear
advertising and procedures thus prevented students from accessing needed housing.
Additionally, students noted the inaccessibility of residences designated as genderinclusive housing. One institution located
its gender-inclusive housing near the top of
a steep hill that was difﬁcult to navigate depending on your ability status or inclement
weather. At SW University, Casey noted, "It's
not like there's a plethora of gender-inclusive
residence options. Which is really a bummer
because I wish there was . . . I think it kinda
goes with the assumption that like there's . . .
a monolithic trans* experience and it's not
true." Finally, some institutions introduced
signiﬁcant barriers to access. Casey explained
how cost was a considerable barrier to accessing gender-inclusive housing.
You get this letter like "Congrats! We really
want you to live in this hall. Here's all the
things you should know." And it . . . lays out
some logistics about . . . bathrooms and what
gender neutral is, and disability acts and
some things like that. And then it was like,
by the way, you should know that this is an
expensive hall, and this is what rent is.
Another institution required students to identify and maintain an intact roommate group to
access housing, which resulted in stress when
students were required to sign an acknowledgement that they must keep the space ﬁlled
or they would forfeit access to the housing.

While generally originating from
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gender-inclusive housing is often
now perceived of (and marketed
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Framing it this way shifts the
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empowerment to more choices
and options for all communities.

Not Centering Trans* Students' Needs
While generally originating from the activism
of trans* students, gender-inclusive housing
is often now perceived of (and marketed as)
a resource for all students. Framing it this
way shifts the focus from trans* safety and
empowerment to more choices and options
for all communities. As a result, cisgender
students exercised their option to live in gender-inclusive housing, and because of their
greater numbers, they became the dominant
presence in housing originally formulated to
meet the needs of trans* students. Colby asserted frustration with this outcome, noting
how several community members opted into
gender-inclusive housing in order to live with
a heterosexual partner.
It' s not your space! Not to be weird and gate
keeper-y but this space wasn't made for you.
That' s kind of how I feel about it, it' s just
I feel like people like that are pushing out
people who need that. And that . . . upsets me.

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1