I think that in an increasingly gay/bi/transgender friendly world that you raise a good question about segregating washrooms. Who is being protected from what information, exactly? Not only that, but at a gross & crowded concert, why wait in line for the ladies room when the mens' is empty?

However, I think there is still an old fashioned side of me that enjoys the more formalized separation of the sexes. I like when the girls go to the restroom together and I don't know what they're talking about. They probably appreciate that their dates don't hear them farting & vice versa.

The separation adds to the mystery, which I realize is not much of a mystery, but still a fun illusion. Sharing the trough, as Imago mentioned, is not something I want to do with my date.

at the library where i work, the bathroom is unisex. its funny tho cause my manager, well she almost walked in while i using it. lucky enough i was only washing my hand. she apologized all red faced and all. what do you think about gender neutral bathroom? i think their great, personally, i hate using public toilets at all! so its fine with me.

meow85 said:

uh yeh it really is

I'd rather keep them separate...

I don't like them.

I don't like urinals or pee troughs. They STINK.

I hate public restrooms anyway, but men's rooms and unisex rooms are just plain disgusting.

ehuffnsd said:

I really hate that.

fuck public washrooms period....lol.

ehuffnsd said:

!!!

ehuffnsd said:

I have to say I was VERY impressed by the Eagle in Toronto. A (straight) female friend and I were traveling with our gay male friend who has a thing with visiting every Eagle when there's one in the city he's visiting. Now, these normally aren't very female-friendly (if we're even "allowed") but we weren't gonna make him go in on his own. The doorman gave both of us ladies a complete rundown of what to expect where, where we truly weren't allowed to go, the best restroom for us to use and even mentioned watching our heels on the patio as the wooden slats were spaced a little far apart and they might get stuck.
If every gay bar could be as accomodating for female guests, that would be AWESOME.

Sadly, every bathroom in every gay bar I've ever been in (and that's a LOT, all over the world, mind you) has still been dirty nasty gross. I don't understand why that is.

CarrieMpls said:

well like at the Kylie Minogue concert in Oakland there was one female to every 100 male. of course we should get to use both restrooms to keep the lines moving and get us back to the party.

Considering how absolutely disgusting a mens' bathroom could be, I think it's a good idea women don't see inside

PanthaGirl said:

Segregating washrooms the way we do hasn't stopped pervs and pedophiles though.

Imago said:

Generally speaking though, there's a good chance a guy using a public washroom anywhere is going to have at least one gay dude in the room with him.

vainandy said:

I have never been in a unisex washroom that doesn't still have urinals, unless it's meant as a single-user unit.
[Edited 10/5/09 23:52pm]

phunkdaddy said:

Not that many really, compared to the general population. Using the logic that there are some rapists and molesters out there, shouldn't males and females be kept seperate at all times then?

DesireeNevermind said:

No greater chance than with segregated washrooms. What's to stop a man now from just walking into a women-only washroom? That cute little sign's not about to stop someone determined to get his rape on, now is it?

Everybody pisses. Everybody shits. And everybody knows that. Man or woman, why be embarassed about it? It's not as if everyone who saw you go into the washroom doesn't know what you're doing anyways.

meow85 said:

Ditto to that. Women r just as, if not MORE, gross than men. When I was in High school I worked at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was ROUTINE for the womens piss room to b dirtier than the men's piss room. I don't know how y'all do it...but U do.

I still occasionally use women's restrooms when push comes to shove and y'all fail me EVERY time.

A cpl of years ago I worked at a gas station for a bit. Blood on toilet seats has mad me gage FAR too many times. I used my rubber gloved hand to flip up the seat so I can clean the underside of the seat and it's ALWAYS there....runny ass bloof running down the seat....it gags me EVERY time. Y'ALL R STRAIGHT UP DISGUSTING.

NDRU said:

I see your point, but I don't think most people -barring those golden shower and scat enthusiasts -would think of sharing a pee with their sweetheart as a fun date activity.

Universally unisex washrooms would certainly put an end to trans people -not to mention those cis people who can't or won't live up to their expected gender roles -being harassed or even threatened or harmed for being in the "wrong" bathroom. For that reason alone I'd say it's way past time we stopped caring who piddles in which room.
[Edited 10/6/09 0:08am]

CarrieMpls said:

So maybe we need to be teaching our little boys to quit being pigs.

I realize it's off topic, but when did it become acceptable for men to be messy motherfuckers?


Since it's unlikely most parents will be instilling the same tidying up habits they insist on in their daughters in their sons anytime soon, perhaps businesses need to be making sure their cleaning staff are on top of keeping the bathrooms free of people's grossness.

Christopher said:

What for, though?

BobGeorge909 said:

Having been in cleaning jobs off and on since I was 14, I can honestly say that it is a complete and utter fucking myth that women's washrooms on the whole are any cleaner or nicer than men's.

meow85 said:

If the men's room is full and I got summin I gotta handle...I got NO problem using the womens room. I don't cross dress and I ain't transgendered. I know I ain't raping or assaulting anyone so that broad who sees me in there or sees me coming out of the women's restroom can think whatever she wants. She can even call the police for all I care. U can't get arrested or fined or anything for using the restroom of the opposite sex. So what ever. If I have business I HAVE to handle, imma handles when and where I can. It's only in urgent situations though. What I mean is that I have Crohn's disease and it gives me problems with urgency with my bowels on occasion. If the mens room is full and imma 'bout to have booboo run down my leg if I don't sit down pronto...imma sit down pronto, even if it means using the womens facility. if I gotta piss, i'll piss outside without giving it a second thought. I got NO problem pissing outside.

meow85 said:

some people of opposite sex like that privacy, men can be perverts. i personally don't really care but it's not that serious, if u have a penis go to the men's room and if not go to the women's. if u have both then flip a coin or chose which sex u identify with

mimi07 said:

Some men can be perverts, most men are not. For the record, women can be perverts too.

Not everyone is or identifies as one gender or another. Some trans people and some intersex people actually prefer to live halfway. Which bathroom should they use? What about women who look masculine, or men who look feminine? If you're either, chances are every once in a while you're going to be harassed or threatened over which room you choose.

BklynBabe said:

meow85 said:

probably the chance of him getting his ass kicked by a group of females.

It's not a matter of what everybody does and being embarrassed. Dang near everybody has sex but that doesn't mean we need to do it in front of one another. You also have to take into account that women menstruate and men don't. I've not heard of any man being comfortable with the idea of walking into a stall where somebody forgot to flush and viewing a pool of bloody tissue and what not. Shit I've had boyfriends who can't bare to see a box of pads/tampons under the sink or in the medicine cabinet. I think both sexes in general probably like their own bathroom space.
[Edited 10/6/09 10:06am]

DesireeNevermind said:

NOBODY wants to see a mess of bloody tampon floating in the toilet. I can't think of any women who are cool with that idea, either.


I just don't see what the big deal is. Who's being protected or served by keeping washroom space separate?
[Edited 10/6/09 12:50pm]

meow85 said:

The first time I saw it I was grossed out but then I flushed and went on about my biz cuz all the other stalls were occupied. I think all the other women avoided that stall but I was like "oh well, we all get them".

I think women would be mostly opposed and are probably the protected group in this hypothetical. Another thing to consider is that some women bring their children/babies into the bathroom with them. Just not cool having dudes in with the ladies/kids. I don't see the added benefit of shared bathroom space among the sexes. We just need more bathrooms with more stalls in place.

DesireeNevermind said:

A lot of men take their kids out with them too. What do you suppose some Dad with his little girl does when she's got to go, or when he does?

I remember as a small kid, my Dad having to resort to asking complete strangers to take me or my sister to the bathroom, or watch us while he went. Entrusting your children to a stranger, even a woman, is a terrible idea of course, but what else could he do? More and more fathers are becoming "hands on" dads and if they have daughters public bathrooms can be an issue. Ditto mothers with young sons.

meow85 said:

Honestly I've never seen a Dad take his little girl into the men's bathroom. The fathers I know who have small kids usually let the girls go in the ladies bathroom themselves. I don't know guys who go to public joints alone with baby in tow and didn't know they had baby tables in the men's rooms. I learned something new today. My parents made us go by ourselves or with mom, never strangers. If it was just dad he'd lurk outside the bathroom like a hawk. If anything untoward was going to happen he was ready to