Ask Matt: Trans Roommates in Institutional Settings

[Shana A]

Ask Matt: Trans Roommates in Institutional Settings

July 12, 2012 by Matt Kailey

http://tranifesto.com/2012/07/12/ask-matt-trans-roommates-in-institutional-settings/

A reader writes: "A discussion at work ensued when a trans person requested a private room. It is a locked psychiatric unit with only one private room, which is primarily reserved for someone so psychotic or violent that they could not possibly have a roommate for safety reasons. So in order for the trans person to have a private room, another person would be denied in-patient psych services.

"But there are many reasons people need private rooms, so having one person in a room with two beds is fairly common – leaving a bed empty to create a private room isn't a crisis.

"One person on staff states the FtM person should have a roommate with the same physical genitalia (female). Another staff thought the FtM person should room with the gender he affiliates with (male). A third person said the FtM patient had been a patient before and had not asked for a private room, so maybe he was just creating drama for the sake of creating drama.