Unisex - Definition and Overview

Gender-blind (or unisex) is a term describing activities undertaken and services provided without regard to the sex of those who participate.

An example would be a college offering a gender-blind dormitory. In the gender-blind dorm, roommates could be assigned without regard to any person’s sex. This allows transgender persons and persons who do not accept gender labels to live in more comfortable settings than may otherwise be possible in single-sex housing. It is also good for heterosexuals who otherwise couldn't live with their partners while at the university.

The first gender-blind dorm in the United States opened in the fall of 2003 on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

Choice of words

Unisex is an older term and some feel it carries the connotation of actually being duo-sex, whereas gender-blind goes against most tenets of heteronormativity, by not looking at gender at all.

See also

• Race-blind
• Non-sexist language
• Equal opportunity
• Third gender
• Genderqueer

• Unisex name