DesMoines Register.com

Grinnell College dorms: Where gender doesn't matter

Written by MIKE KILEN | 10:02 PM, Oct. 22, 2011

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111023/LIFE/310230045/Grinnell-College-dorms-Where-gender-doesn-t-matter?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+desmoinesregister%2FHockey+%28DesMoinesRegister.com+-+Hockey%29


Freshman Austin McKenney, 18, lives on one of the gender- neutral floors. He found it refreshing that people at Grinnell were comfortably upfront and actually asked him what pronoun he preferred. / Mary Chind/Des Moines Register

Male, female, transgender, no gender, gay, lesbian, straight. Labels don't matter at Grinnell College. Students can share a dormitory room, bathroom, shower room or locker room with any of the above, if they choose.

This fall, the progressive private liberal arts college on the Iowa prairie added a gender-neutral locker room to its mix of gender-neutral dormitory options.

article includes a poll:

QuoteWhat do you think of Grinnell's gender-neutral dorm rooms?
The option makes sense for today's students.
I think it's OK but wouldn't allow my children to live there.
Dorm rooms should be single-gender. Period.

When I voted, the results for "The option makes sense for today's students" had a majority of 67.06%