You go to the bathroom to piss and shit.
I think the MAIN bathrooms should be gender neutral. It’s for pissing and shitting. Washing your hands. Changing your baby. That’s ALL men do in bathroom generally and that’s ALL women do in bathroom generally.
BUT for those who have trigger issues, there can be SMALLER bathrooms separate for men and women who wish, as there are women uncomfortable with men and men uncomfortable with women.
But I think a toilet is a toilet and separate exclusive facilities should be the “nice gesture” exception rather than the rule when separating genders into binary (or trinary) categories. So, yes.
==
Gender neutral bathrooms eliminates the problem of mothers or fathers alone with their other-gendered children.
“Do I let my 7 yr old son into the mens room by themselves?” is a VERY common questions mothers have to ask now. It shouldn’t be that way. They should be able to in with their kids if they want. Gender neutral solves that issue. It solves lots of issues. Have smaller bathroom for men or women who have personal issues but the rest probably don’t care who they’re with in a bathroom: it’s a bathroom.
==
I mean, I never cared where I took a whiz. Behind a tree. On a wall. I’ve been places where the “urinal” was a long horse feeding trough. It sounded almost musical.
But really they should be in stalls. How much more $ can it cost to enclose the urinals? Can’t be that much more.
==
If you don’t use the restrooms, then what others do shouldn’t matter though should it? Just sayin’.
When I was a teenager, I was the custodian of my church where I grew up. It was 7 days a week ’cause they had a full time nursery school there.
I had to clean the men’s and women’s rooms. Daily.
Let me tell you: The women’s room? Worse than the men’s room. Well, just as bad, just with different things littering the place. I won’t go into details. But I had a strong stomach so it wasn’t a big deal.
==
Yeah, I hear ya. I’m glad you got them to put the doors back on. I’ve heard of schools trying to pull that shit. I’m sure they still do. Nobody has to listen when kids complain so it’s rigged against them.
But yeah, even though it doesn’t bother me, privacy should still be a basic expectation for everybody because honestly, between letting it hang out and going in a stall, I much prefer a stall.
I think the days of the itty-bitty partition between urinals are numbered. I won’t miss ’em. It’ll be nice to have a door to shut.
==
But you see, parents can go WITH their kids in a gender neutral bathroom. Right now, they have to split up if they’re differently gendered.
Besides, there can still be separate facilities for men and women and family, just smaller.
==
I went to Hampshire College in Amherst way back in 1990. [I’m 44] and they had gender-neutral bathrooms all across campus.
It took about three days to get used to it. Then it was no big deal.
Some floors did make themselves “women only” “men only” “queer only” “transgender only” – and stuff, keeping their bathrooms distinctive and that was fine too.
I figured 25 years later by 2016, SOCIETY would have gender-neutral bathrooms.
But, alas, we’re still stuck in the past.
==
Separate facilities could still be made available. I’m not saying “all should be gender neutral”, just most.
Believe me, most MEN do not want to be around during the monthlies either.
Those bathrooms I had to clean in the church? What mess did I find in the women’s room? Tampons. Maxipads. Blood. On the seats. On the floor. The unique odor.
But I was 13 years old. The custodian. I had to clean it up and I did. It was my job ’til I was 18 yrs old.
So, it was just a part of things.
==
Oh you”re right. Now we have handicapped stalls. We have family restrooms. Better security. It’s much better.
But the binary gender thing still remains. I thought it would be a non-issue by now.
==
Crimes against children in public facilities are in the same places as they’ve always been: In the USA, it’s rest stops along desolated highways. It’s lonely locker rooms in schools. Yet they’re exception. Kidnappings are very rare. Most crimes against children are at home by the mothers and fathers or the aunts and uncles. Those things never changed.
I don’t know the rape statistics though nor do I know where most rapes occur. afaik, it’s among those who know each other at least somewhat… I think stranger rape is still very uncommon.
The thing is: Do separate bathroom facilities make a difference in the places where these crimes occur?
I don’t think they do. In most places where there are public bathrooms, the PUBLIC is there too. Other people. People do watch out for other people, even those they don’t know.
Plus, it’s one less bathroom to clean if they go exclusively gender-neutral… and even in the social transition phase (where a generation or two of people have to get used to the idea), it MIGHT just change people’s attitudes towards gender.
I dunno. I could be wrong about all of this and perhaps nothing should ever change.
Although when it comes to security, I’m not worried. SOMEBODY will deem themselves, THE WATCHER of the rest room, to make SURE that no hanky-panky takes place.
And that’s not a bad thing.