The Place For Chatter

[James]

This topic has been floating around lately, and it seems to be another very controversial one. My stance on the subject is in favor of implementing gender neutral restrooms, essentially everywhere. There's a great article created by Portland Community College, which talks about common arguments and rebuttals regarding this subject. It can be found here: PCC Article

Some argument examples include:

• gender neutral bathrooms are unsafe for women and children
• men are messier and stinkier than women, so women shouldn’t be forced to share a bathroom with them
• gender neutral bathrooms will make cisgender people uncomfortable 
• sharing the bathroom with the “opposite” sex will be embarrassing
• gender neutral bathrooms are a special privilege for transgender or gender nonconforming people. Spaces should not be required to go out of their way or spend money on creating a space for such a small population

For people who don't know, cisgender is relating to a person whose self-identity conforms with the gender that corresponds to their biological sex.

Some rebuttal examples include:

• safety of cisgender women and children shouldn't be more important that the safety of trans* and gender nonconforming people
• Trans* and gender nonconforming people should not be assumed to be predators or dangerous. Also, a sign on a gender segregated bathroom does not keep actual violent or dangerous people (of any gender) out of the restroom.
• while gender segregated bathrooms do not actually insure safety for cis women or children, they do actually compromise the safety of trans* and gender nonconforming people
• gender neutral bathrooms increase access for guardians who accompany a child of another gender to the bathroom, thus increasing the safety of that child. Gender neutral bathrooms also increase access for attendants who assist people of another gender in the restroom, thus increasing the safety of the person who necessitates assistance in the bathroom
• comfort should not take precedence over safety
• avoiding embarrassment should not be more important than creating safety
• the preferences of the majority should not be prioritized over the needs of a minority

Please let me know your thoughts on the subject, as I believe we should've had gender neutral restrooms from the beginning.

[stevaw]

Gender neutral bathrooms are a great idea, it helps the upkeep and sanitation of the bathrooms.

We don't have segregated classrooms, dining rooms, or other stuff where all genders are together, and that doesn't stop people from being the weird people they are. I believe safety would be less of a concern if it were gender neutral, due to the fact that the bathrooms would be more populated, thus even less likely of a chance that someone will try to do something that will get them caught. If people are uncomfortable with sharing a bathroom, then they need to realize that this is life, it's the real world. No one goes to the bathroom for pleasant situations, nature called and you had to answer, it's all normal bodily functions that everyone does. 

[Tingo]

My entire life I never had to compromise on using a gender shared bathroom until now.
This is a challenge for me because, I'm middle aged and that's all I'm used to.  I would have to experience it first before I can make an honest assessment.

[MissBehavin]

We share bathrooms in every private aspect of our lives, and often in public. People just aren't paying attention or just don't care when it's happening. You can bet your sweet bum I'm not waiting in a line 20 deep for the ladies room if there is nobody waiting for the mens room. Nobody cared yesterday and I doubt anyone will care tomorrow unless it's made an issue.

[James]

Nobody cared yesterday and I doubt anyone will care tomorrow unless it's made an issue.

I've accidentally went into the women's restroom a few times in my life, and every time I had women react very negative and say "excuse me?!?!" - But out of the times I have seen a woman accidentally walk into a man's restroom, the men don't seem to care. If anything, they would probably prefer it.

[MissBehavin]

And that circles back to current cultural norms... If bathrooms would just go genderless and put dividers from floor to ceiling, I don't think there would or should be any issue other than the pulpit-political nonsense we're seeing today.