Lots in the press at the moment about companies and schools having gender neutral toilets and people not liking them.
Hello disabled toilets, toilets in everybody’s homes, on trains and buses.
Have to laugh!
Jen xx
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And normal practice in several other European countries. Also, gender neutral facilities with properly enclosed toilets reduce bullying significantly and make school a better place for everyone.
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The only argument I can make is one of hygiene, because blokes aim is not always terribly good. Perhaps just not in pubs?
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It was never a problem in Poland, even in pubs!
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I wouldn’t be happy to think that if my 11 year old went to a gender neutral toilet a group of adults of a different gender could follow her in.
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At my uni there are 4 new gender neutral toilets but they are all separate toilets and enclosed rather than cubicles.
These toilets I’m fine with but not sure I would like to use a gender neutral room of toilet cubicles.
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Well to play devils advocate here, but I assume when you say ‘of a different gender’ you are suggesting they would be ‘following her in’ for ulterior motives other than using the toilet??
Sorry but I’ve heard/seen this said a lot in response to this kind of post but i think its a really naive view! People with bad intentions, sexual or otherwise, tend to take their chances wherever they can and don’t wait for a welcome sign! If anything, your daughter is likely to be safer in a mixed gender toilet: not being limited to either sex means there would be more chance of someone already being in there or about to enter at any moment. It just makes it less of a safe bet for any would-be predators in my view.
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seems a bit of an outdated way of seeing things to me.
ok there were 3 lesbians in my year at high school.
i got on with them but didn’t fancy them.
they felt the same about me.
that was 1975! 32 year ago!!
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Exactly Carole!
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I wouldn’t be happy for my 11 year old daughter to possibly see men using the urinal nor for her to be in a cubicle with the possibility of a man being in one (or both) of the adjoining cubicles.
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I’m with Krakowian on this one. I have a 10 year old granddaughter. In public places with separate doors to male and female toilets, it is clear to see who is going where. I’m not keen on the one door leading into an area, where there are then two doors. Male & Female. She once had a young man, an older teen, follow her into the ladies. This wasn’t noticed as it was beyond the main door that says Toilets. He got lucky. They was nobody in there and she was alone. He spoke to her and obviously had no intention of using the toilets. Thankfully two ladies came in and he apologised saying he made a mistake and didn’t realise it was the Ladies, and left. My granddaughter was scared and came and told who she was with.
She won’t be allowed to the public toilets alone for a few years. Imagine if he’d flashed her, or worse? I like separate doors, clearly visible to the public.
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Same here Pops!
I`m with you in that I do think it is better to have clearly defined male and female loos.
In the open area where the cubicles are in female toilets, women and girls preen themselves, touch up their make up, comb their hair and re-adjust their clothes. etc. I dont feel this would/could be done if males were present.
And there couldnt be open urinals if it was a mixed loo.
As for our disabled loos, they are self contained units, so that`s no problem.
If it`s different abroad, then so be it…we are stating our preferences in this arent we?
pollsx
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I think we should just have gender neutral separate cubicles - one person, one toilet. A bit like disabled toilets are. Just a toilet for anyone to use, regardless of gender, (dis)ability. That you can lock the rest of the world out of, and get on with what you need to do. Parents can go in with their children, even if not the same gender (so dads with their daughters or mums with their sons).
I think a lot of people who aren’t disabled use disabled toilets because they want privacy, and whilst I don’t condone that, I can empathise. It’s the 21st century, we shouldn’t need to pee with an audience!
Jo x
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Im neutral on this!
Wheeled myself into the disabled toilet going past the urinals on the way thought too myself not sure I’m keen on this luckily nobody at them so did the business wheeled out still empty thankfully out the main door only to realise I was in the men’s disabled toilet I was in fits of laughter and so was the table of gentlemen I appeared in front of , thankfully that branch of TGI Friday s is closed down now .
Katy
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Yup, this^^^ - one cubicle regardless of gender, I think this would work best for everyone. As a mother of a trans boy (to avoid confusion for those that don’t understand trans, he was born female) I understand all too well from experience why specific gendered toilets can cause a lot of anxiety - and as you say, the problem of dads/mums feeling that they can’t accompany their young daughters/sons would be no more!
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Absolutely agree with you! I wouldn’t be happy for my six year old daughter either for the very same reasons as you have pointed out !! We have gender neutral toilets at home obviously (as everyone does) but it is one at a time I don’t think it will be that way in public places somehow.
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Totally agree with Poppy and Poll on all the points they have made. So sorry your grand daughter had that experience Poppy! Awful.
Toilets are more than just for relieving oneself … I have to check for trailing tissue on my shoes in the mirror… not to mention make sure I do not resemble anything like Alice Cooper… waterproof mascara or not…
I’m coming back as a man - I am convinced it’s easier! Now I’ll really shake things up !!
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Hahaha Katy - that’s brilliant!! Really made me laugh thank you for sharing 
Ooh what an interesting subject. My automatic reaction is to say why shouldn’t toilets be gender neutral? Then I read parents of young children talking about not wanting their daughters using loos where they could be followed in by dodgy men. And I can see the rationale for that. But then the argument that the children are actually safer when just anyone can walk in is a good one. Plus of course, boys could be pestered by paedophiles in public loos, so the argument only really works for parents of girls. And again, if toilets are gender neutral then both men and women can take their children to the loo, regardless of the child’s gender.
Then I read the post by Lilac Soo about her trans son. And that is definitely the one that sways me because all children can have issues or worries about their gender. And normalising equality and difference is surely the world we should be aspiring to.
And safety is something that we can ensure by not letting children go to a public loo alone. Confidence in body type and de-emphasising gender difference must be of equal importance.
Sue
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