Once again cementing its place as the most inclusive of the major comic conventions, Emerald City Comicon just announced that as of this year's convention, there will be men's, women's, and all gender restrooms. This is a great acknowledgement that not everyone identifies as a man or woman or feels comfortable in restrooms for those genders. The all gender restrooms are gender neutral and open to everyone.

Last year, ECCC focused on a widely talked about campaign to prevent harassment, including flyers posted all over the convention center that said, "Cosplay Is Not Consent." It seems this year, they're continuing to try to make their convention a comfortable space for all.

One Tumblr user, in response to the announcement, pointed out that while it was great that these bathrooms existed, they are in limited areas despite there being many restrooms throughout the convention center.

Ideally, everyone would have easy access to restrooms they are comfortable using, and hopefully conventions take note of that fact. Still, ECCC's all genders restrooms are on the main show floor spaces, which is usually the most populated area of any convention. And ECCC is the only major convention I've ever heard of doing such a thing, which is definitely a step in the right direction. But the convention responded on their Tumblr, saying:

 

We agree that we have more room for improvement, and we’d like to offer more gender neutral bathrooms at next year’s show. We had none last year, so we think this is a step in the right direction, but we strive to do better for future editions of ECCC.

 

So it's an imperfect solution, but still a step forward in making sure everyone is comfortable at the convention.

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