"Allgender" washrooms - what's next?

Before I start, I need to emphasize the fact that I have the utmost respect for transgendered people. I have a good relationship with a local group and have enjoyed working with its members over the past ten-plus years.

Having said that, I have great difficulty processing my thoughts after reading a National Post article published this morning. It explains how student groups at University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg and Ryerson University are lobbying for what they call allgender washrooms. The Vice President of the student federation at University of Winnipeg states in the piece that "Gender-neutral washrooms are important because it deconstructs the idea of gender as a whole."

What exactly does "deconstructing the idea of gender" mean?

I am male. No matter how you look at me, that won't change. I realize that there are some sensitivities that need to be kept in mind when dealing with certain issues such as those concerning transgendered people, but when it comes down to it, you cannot "deconstruct" or change the fact that I am one gender or another.

Are these student groups taking political correctness a bit too far? I fear that I believe that they most certainly are. Why? Nowadays male school teachers are advised to avoid any risk of being alone with female students for fear of sexual-related offense accusations. North America is at such a point that people will file lawsuits for just about anything and even the most innocent of situations could be mis-construed, resulting in accusations that could forever ruin someone's career.

My point? These politically correct zealots might want to renovate washroom facilities to remove the so-called male/female "barrier"... but will they step up and defend me if and when I am accused of looking at a pretty girl in what she may view as an inappropriate manner when I walk in to the bathroom as she's coming out of her stall?

Like it or not, there are some lines that just simply cannot be crossed. With litigation coming close to replacing lacrosse or hockey as Canada's official sport, I'm not so sure we should be so quick to entertain the idea of "deconstructing the idea of gender" and help the cause along by allowing bathroom free for alls.

In the National Post article an anonymous student at one of the three universities muses about how many transgendered people actually attend his or her university. According to some quick research I just did, some studies estimate that "1 percent of the population may have had a transgender experience". Again - I know that some might quick to accuse me of being intolerant, but at what point must a society change fundamental values for groups that may not even amount to one percent of a given population?

For me, I am 100% against this change to washroom usage simply because I do not think that I am prepared to risk a lawsuit every time I have a need to pee when I'm in a public building. Like it or not, conditions are such that it's not impossible - especially when there are no other witnesses around. We're not ready, as society as a whole, for this brand of change. Sorry.