Should Public Restrooms Become Gender Neutral?

[Minoriteeburg]

"Gender neutral" public toilets to be built in UK

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/odd/2013-02/18/c_132175543.htm

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The Brighton and Hove City Council, England, has scrapped male and female public toilets in favor of "gender neutral" facilities.

Facilities to be built are designed to be shared by adults and children and do not feature the words "Men" or "Ladies" but instead will show symbols indicating they can be used by people of any sex or age.

The move was described as "political correctness gone barmy" by opponents, who warned that the vast majority of residents would prefer to use single-sex lavatories.

The Brighton and Hove City Council disclosed in emails that it wished to promote the term “gender neutral” and build facilities which are open to all, regardless of sex.

It believed such facilities will be more accessible for those who do not identify with the male-female binary.

The block will include four new lavatories and a café. Images depicting a man, a woman and a child will be fitted to the doors.

Lynda Hyde, a Tory councilor in the Rottingdean ward, in which a new facility is being built, said: "This does seem to be a case of unnecessary bureaucracy and political correctness."

I mean it's awkward enough going to the restroom with a bunch of strange dudes you don't even know. But now it would be both? Interesting.
There of course would be concerns about harassment, and men with ego problems who probably don't want to know that women are in the room while he uses the facilities.

But then every man in his right mind would let the lady go first, thus the gender neutral bathrooms just become women's restrooms that men are allowed to go in.


I personally would not care if public restrooms became gender neutral, but I can see why people would get upset over it If a woman wants to be in the presence of me using the facilities, that is her unfortunate choice.


But seriously NSG, what do you think about the possibility of all Public Restrooms becoming gender neutral? Good thing? Or bad thing?

[Mkuki]

No. In this case, I think "separate-but-equal" better serves society. Then again, maybe I'm just being misogynistic/mysandrous (sp?).

[TaQud]

i don't really care if it stays a male restroom and female restroom or gender neutral.

if people have a problem with public restrooms being gender neutral, than don't use the public restrooms...

[Lunatic Goofballs]

Nah. Women's restrooms are nasty.

Here is something I wonder: Women tell me that they squat over a toilet rather than sit on it because they don't trust that the toilet seat is clean. They then proceed to piss all over it.

Is the irony lost on them?

[Unidox]

Sure, gender neutral restrooms makes some sense, but all it takes is one little rapey and bam! Back to seperate pee bowls.

[Souseiseki]

eh. i think the public toilets on one of the streets i often pass were replaced with just stupid metal stalls that appear to be gender neutral. the city did not collapse under this weight of political correctness gone mad but i will keep you updated just in case. i'm not sure what the actual facilities in this case are like though.

[Trotskylvania]

I think it would go a long damn way to demystifying the other sex.

[Minoriteeburg]

Nah. Women's restrooms are nasty.

Here is something I wonder: Women tell me that they squat over a toilet rather than sit on it because they don't trust that the toilet seat is clean. They then proceed to piss all over it.

Is the irony lost on them?

Men do the same, but without the hovering.

[Norcroft]

im for it. in fact it doesnt go fa enough. i think all public bathing and changing areas should b gender neutral.

[German American States]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

[Choronzon]

Yes, but on my list of things I'm going to devout my energy and efforts towards this is pretty low.

[Choronzon]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

This is one of the most absurd comments of the thread.

[Silent Majority]

Sure. It's about time we stopped being embarrassed by each other's bodies.

[Farnhamia]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

Right, because sexual predators stop and think, "Damn, she's in the ladies room. I can't go in there."

Just put the seat down and we'll be fine.

[Mkuki]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

This is one of the most absurd comments of the thread.

Why?

[Minoriteeburg]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

Right, because sexual predators stop and think, "Damn, she's in the ladies room. I can't go in there."

Just put the seat down and we'll be fine.

I'll drink to that.

[Nadkor]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

Only if you think that men can't help themselves, and can't stop themselves raping women, in which case you're basically putting forward an argument for restricting men from any space in which a woman might be present.

And that would be silly.

Re: the OP. I don't particularly like public toilets anyway and try to avoid using them as much as possible, so I suspect it would make no difference. When I'm driven to use a public toilet it's usually because I need to use any toilet pretty soon, and if I'm at that point then I probably won't care much.

I'm instinctively driven to support gender neutral toilets, if only because their opponents seem to mostly use variations on "political correctness gone mad".

[Souseiseki]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

This is one of the most absurd comments of the thread.

well you see men are basically evil rape machines that need to kept away from women

i'm actually very entertained by the thought of the conservatives who throw up sentences like that as strawmen of feminists making that exact argument in this thread

[Silent Majority]

This is a perfect formula for a rape.

This happens already. Believe it or not, but a little plastic sign won't stop someone who wants to commit a rape.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

Nah. Women's restrooms are nasty.

Here is something I wonder: Women tell me that they squat over a toilet rather than sit on it because they don't trust that the toilet seat is clean. They then proceed to piss all over it.

Is the irony lost on them?

Men do the same, but without the hovering.

Yeah, but we leave the toilet seat up to drip dry.

[Pendo]

I personally have no issue either way but I do think that more people will be awkward with gender neutral bathrooms and the problems those people would cause I wonder weather it would be worth it. The bathrooms would also have to be way bigger since the long lines for the woman's restroom problem would still be there except longer and now including men as well XD

[Trotskylvania]

This is one of the most absurd comments of the thread.

Why?

Rape tends to not occur in public places were other people are frequently coming and going for one.

Moreover, pissing and shitting are not things high up on people's list of sexy. Even if men were given into lust at the mere thought of being in a confined area with women (they're not), they probably wouldn't choose a public restroom as the place to make that happen. And of course, there's the simple fact that men aren't ravening beasts, and won't rape women because they have their drawers down in the next stall over.

[The Serbian Empire]

No, it's hard enough to pee with another person in the bathroom.

[Minoriteeburg]

Men do the same, but without the hovering.

Yeah, but we leave the toilet seat up to drip dry.

Not all of us. Especially the ones drunk at sports venues.

Could you imagine those being gender neutral? The horror....

[Choronzon]

This is one of the most absurd comments of the thread.

Why?

How is it not? How in what way would gender neutral bathroom be a "perfect formula" for rape? How is this not a mind numbingly stupid notion?

Seriously men and women with their pants down in the same room does make every man in the room think rape.