The gendered toilet is over. Why it is now time for a no-labels loo arrangement
The unisex toilet has become a contentious issue, but one where I am pro destructing the use of gendered public loos. It is a topic widely debated in a society where gender norms are dismantled for a non-binary outlook. It now seems the gendered loo is inherently outmoded.
As an openly gay man, gendered lavatories have hindered my fun-filled nights out with friends on numerous occasions. When attending a club, which I do with my predominantly female friends, I am the one waiting outside the restroom aimlessly. I wait whilst my girlfriends take selfies in the bathroom mirrors and chat with their fellow inebriated peers.
In the male counterparts; you go in, avoid all eye contact, relieve yourself and make a swift exit. The fun and frolics heard from our female neighbours always fill me envy. Imagine the laughs we could all have in a non-gendered atmosphere altogether. It surely wouldn’t cause harm to club-goers.
On a serious note, however, the use of strictly labelled public bathrooms has become more dangerous than pragmatic.
Transgender individuals are permanently torn between what toilet to enter in public spaces, so to avoid any kind of abuse. Statistics prove that transgender individuals experience incessant hate crime compared to their cis fellows. Specifically in schools, where in the UK, transgender hate crime has risen exponentially 167%. But, the transgender population in schools is only estimated at 1%. Therefore the attacks are prolific and inveterate. But the use of gendered toilets assist in this harm.
The politicisation of the unisex toilet has been captured by the alt-right and their strict conservative ideology. In the U.S, a “bathroom bill” was introduced in North Carolina that was instantly condemned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawmakers of North Carolina prohibited people using a public bathroom if their gender did not match with their birth certificate. They framed the premise of this law as productive in tackling sexual predators disguised as transgender. Similar laws have been attempted in Arizona, Florida, Kentucky and Texas. Meanwhile, in Mississippi, public toilet usage was aligned with the state’s religious beliefs and the “immutable biological sex” of the bathroom user. In other words, it is another anti-transgender bill that denigrates an already misunderstood community.
Texan senator and 2016 presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, has stood behind the “bathroom bill” and any other acts that are outlandishly anti-LGBT. Cruz was also an arch defender of a Texas ban on sex toys, with his belief being that sex should only be acceptable to procreate.
To end this exhaustive debate on the future of public toilets, it is inevitable that is inclusive and not discriminatory. If we think clearly, no one genders their toilets for home use. Whether you inhabit your abode with family or little-know roommates, the act of labelling toilets as male/female is not even discussed. This should be the same in public, but this combative discussion against it just seems irrelevant to me.
Another outlook on the subject is that not only does it suppress non-conformist attitudes, it also reveals glimpses of gender inequality. Clara Gred, professor at the University of West England, has described segregated public loos as similar to the Jim Crow laws that dominated the United States. The same principle was used, “separate but equal”, although this certainly was not the case. A Texas House of Representative, Senfronia Thompson, agreed by stating:
“ White. Colored. I was living through that era … bathrooms divided us then, and it divides us now. America has long recognized that separate but equal is not equal at all”.
To end this, we must look at ways to improve. In Scotland, unisex toilets are being introduced into every new school built in the country, in an effort to eliminate all types of bullying. Furthermore, the city council of Brighton & Hove has introduced “universal symbols” rather than the traditional male/female image for their public bathrooms. The universities of Bradford, Sussex and Manchester are also in the process of building unisex facilities.
The beacon of hope for the non-binary bathroom is spreading. Ending a gendered public space would be beneficial for the societal fightback against inequality. Campuses and city councils must do their utmost to end all kinds of gender discrimination. Moving away from gendered spaces seems very appropriate in this genderquake we are living through. Lets hope the rising alt-right who are infiltrating our mainstream politics stay silent and let the strict toilet procedure come to its natural end.
