The Paradox of Gender-Neutral Toilets
Leave it as you’d like to find it, you filthy lot!
If there’s one topic that’s guaranteed to get people pissed off (ha), it’s gender-neutral toilets; or as we used to call them, unisex toilets. Or as I call it, the bathroom. There’s a lot of emotional energy that goes into defending or attacking the concept, when all most people want is a space where they can go and do their business. The contrived arguments about privacy and safety have largely been addressed and/or debunked, but one problem remains: that of cleanliness and hygiene.
In theory, I’m a strong proponent of unisex toilets. They seem to cover all bases, with cubicles to allow privacy and no gender segregation to allow everyone to exist as their authentic gender. They do have their limitations; not everyone wants to use unisex toilets, and there are challenges installing them in existing spaces. But they are the best answer we’ve got at the moment, as we navigate changing gender norms and experiences.
At my old university, they tried to make the best of all worlds. Most buildings would have one large unisex toilet with cubicles and a walled-off urinals space, that people of any gender can use. There were also larger accessible toilets at ground floor level, sometimes integrated into the shared space, sometimes nearby, depending on the…
