Friday 8 February 2019

Do we really need all toilets to be

"unisex"?
I was approached yesterday and asked to comment on whether one of the post-secondary institutions in this state should insist on having all toilets on campus "unisex". 
Why?
I was told, "If you are home then you use a unisex toilet. Why not do the same if you are out? It's only fair to people who are LGBTIQ."
I have thought about this before. It came up somewhere else and I have considered that issue. My answer remains the same. Not all public toilets should be unisex. There is a vast difference between members of the same family using something and strangers doing so. 
It isn't a topic I have discussed with men but it is a topic I have discussed with women. The vast majority of women I know don't feel comfortable with the idea. Put simply men and women behave differently in such places. I am told men do not speak to one another in such places. Women very often do - or at least acknowledge the presence of another woman while washing their hands or applying fresh make up. When discussing this one woman told me, "They can be used as a refuge too. They're somewhere men can't come. When I was breaking up with my ex I could go into one and have a good howl. Women understand that sort of thing."
Those who do like the idea have accused me of being "homophobic", "anti-gay" and more. I don't think I am. I have gay and lesbian friends. I feel comfortable in their company - and I hope they feel comfortable in mine. Do they want unisex toilets everywhere? No, they don't.
People from certain cultural groups also feel uncomfortable with the idea of all public toilets being unisex. In a supposedly multi-cultural society how did we handle this?
Following that approach yesterday I came home and saw a piece about  two groups in another state demanding that there be training for people working in emergency situations, specifically bush fires, to be "sensitive" towards the special needs of those who are LGBTIQ . My response to that was (and is) that , in that sort of Complex Humanitarian Emergency, there is no time to consider somebody's sexuality. There isn't time to stop and ask people, "Are you LGBTIQ? If so, how would you like to be treated or how would you like to help?" There are people with far greater needs - the very young, the very old, people with disabilities will all need help. 
My friend R.... who is in a stable gay relationship told me once, "Sexuality is or should be a private affair."
I personally don't care in the least if people are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or trans-gender. I'd like to think that everyone else thought that way too. I know that isn't the case and it bothers me so I'll stick up for their right to be the way they are. 
But I will only support making all public toilets unisex when everyone treats everyone else with sufficient respect that everyone feels comfortable.
 

1 comment:

kayT said...

On our trip to Italy a few years ago we experienced several bathrooms where the stalls were quite private (walls went to the floor, etc) and the sinks and mirrors were common space. I thought this was a very efficient and private way of doing things. I hope in the future all bathrooms will either be "singles" or this type so we can quit having all this controversy!