Sudbury mine story was ‘about a man using the men’s showers,’ says gender studies professor

A previous story that misgendered a transgender miner sparked debate on inclusive language in the Greater Sudbury community and beyond. Angela Gemmill has more.

A professor of women and gender studies in Greater Sudbury is taking CTV News Northern Ontario to task for a recent story about gender identification and shower policies at Vale Ltd.

The story quoted a letter writer who works at Vale in Sudbury who said he was uncomfortable sharing the showers with someone with “female body parts, both top and bottom,” adding that it was “compromising our marriages.”

But in an interview, Laur O’Gorman said we incorrectly identified the person as “a woman who identifies as a man,” when really, it was about a trans man.

Inflammatory language

“So if you’re using the language the letter writer used, and you’re saying a woman who identifies as a man is using men’s changing rooms, well, that sounds like (it’s) really a woman in the men’s room,” they said in a Zoom interview.

“But if you use the accepted language and you say, ‘trans man showers in men’s changing room,’ it’s a man using a men’s room, right? And it takes away a lot of the piece that seems inflammatory.”

Under the law, O’Gorman said employers as big as Vale are required to allow workers to use facilities that match their gender identity. In this case, the person’s gender identity is male and so uses the men’s shower.

“As a trans man, you are a man and not a woman who identifies as a man,” O’Gorman said.

“A trans man may choose to use the all-gender facilities or may feel safer using the men’s room -- or more affirmed using the men’s room.”

It comes down to safety, they said, and which room this person feels most comfortable using.

O’Gorman, who is non-binary, has co-authored a comprehensive guide on the use of inclusive pronouns and language. They also used to teach in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Thorneloe University.

The guide defines a trans man as “men who were assigned female at birth (AFAB). They often have a masculine name and appearance.”

O’Gorman said it’s challenging for trans men to live in a body that people may see as another gender.

“You see yourself as a man,” they said. “Other people may or may not.”

O’Gorman said some trans men look very masculine and don’t feel comfortable using non-gender facilities. And employers such as Vale are required to accommodate them.

“I’ve seen like a lot of trans men that have full beards and are like these big, buff, tall guys,” they said.

Following the law

“The employer is just doing what the law says. The union is supporting the employer and doing what the law says. The trans person is using … the showers where they feel most comfortable.”

Another part of the worker’s letter said he not only felt uncomfortable, but that the trans man was threatening his marriage.

O’Gorman said it’s difficult to understand how showering with a trans man could threaten someone’s marriage.

“The solution is close your eyes – (then) there’s no problem,” they said.

“I would suggest talking to a therapist about it because, like, there’s no physical threat. The person is not doing anything. They’re minding their own business and taking a shower.

“The whole situation can be fixed by just not looking at them, just the way you don’t really look at any of the other men’s bodies. Don’t look, right? Like, it’s a very simple thing in my opinion.”

O’Gorman said the issue is part of a larger narrative that portrays trans people as somehow a threat, when in reality, they are extremely vulnerable.

Current political discourse is also demonizing immigrants, homeless people and even vaccine use, O’Gorman said, just as fear was spread during desegregation movements in the United States decades ago.

Politicians play on the fear of the unknown for their own political purposes, not reality, they said.

“The political rhetoric is really dangerous, especially all of the discussion around bathrooms and what bathroom people should use,” O’Gorman said.

While fear is being spread about bathroom use, O’Gorman said the reality is trans people are the ones at risk of being attacked in bathrooms, not the other way around.

“There is no case in North America … of violence in bathrooms involving trans people,” they said.

“There has never been a case of a trans person hurting somebody else in a washroom, in a shower, in these spaces. It has never happened.”