Unisex Restroom
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man, opposing opinions are welcome and may even make some
sense. As always, please, no name
calling, and that means you, you big stupid-head.
Last week on
a post about a concert I attended, I mentioned the men’s room was invaded by
ladies who did not want to wait in a long line.
They used booths that were not being used.
My comment was it was no big deal.
My comment was it was no big deal.
Several
people commented on this post that they believe we should have unisex
restrooms, not two gender specific restrooms.
Now this would not really bother me that much, I don’t care if a lady
sees something, I don’t care if anyone hears my gossip, I don’t mind man stink,
I am used to stepping around men’s poor aim and men’s sloppy sinks don’t bother
me. So, fine by me, except why?
What would a
unisex restroom accomplish?
I can see
some disadvantages. First off it would
be expensive to convert from our current protocol. I suppose you could designate one area as
“Urinals” and one area as “booths.” That
would pretty much be the same as a men’s room and a ladies’ room except that
men would take a crap on the lady’s side.
I guess
women could take some pleasure in men standing in line to use vacant urinals,
but that would only make the line longer for everyone. Longer but equal wait. Why is that better?
Why do we
feel it is better to change simply for the sake of equality, when the result of
a well-intended change results in equal but worse.
I don’t
about you, but my restrooms at home are off limits to everyone, even my wife when
I am an occupant. Why can’t we maintain
some semblance of gender separation? No
good can come of a unisex system.
How about making
the men’s rooms a little smaller…cut down on the booths, we seldom use them all
anyway. Make the ladies rooms larger and
add booths by making them smaller (are they the same size as in men’s rooms? I don’t know why, but they are way too large
in the man’s room.)
If you are
genetically male but identify as a female, use the ladies room, but don’t be
creepy. If you are genetically female
but identify as a male, you are welcome to the limited men’s room booths, but
don’t be creepy. I don’t know lady’s
room rules, but if you use a men’s room, we have rules.
1. No looking
2. No touching, not even an accidental
elbow rub
3. No talking to strangers
4. No being creepy
Right or wrong, unisex restrooms would clearly upset about 75% or more of the people in this country. I don't see any benefit to upsetting so many people other than to prove some kind of really stupid point.
Right or wrong, unisex restrooms would clearly upset about 75% or more of the people in this country. I don't see any benefit to upsetting so many people other than to prove some kind of really stupid point.
If anyone
has any benefits to unisex restrooms that outweigh the sensibilities of a very
large portion of the population, I’d like to hear them.
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man, and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
Damned if I know, Joeh. What I do know is I'm avoiding this discussion in my family like the plague.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an opinion, or give a damn who uses who's bathrooms. I think it's been so blown out of proportion as to be unrecognizable as to the intent.
There is so much more going on that is of importance, happening as we speak....immigration, refugees, abortion rights, on and on.
A time of turmoil I ain't seen before, and like you I lived through the 60's and 70's, went to VN, etc. I haven't seen anything like this before.
Bathrooms are the least of our worries now, in my usually less than humble opinion. (threw that in 'cause I knew you'd agree)
Mike
I don't see any benefit if there is room in the establishment for two restrooms. I don't like using a restroom in the first place, but would not be fun to 'go' after some little boy or careless man.
ReplyDeleteCall me germophobic but I just think a man's restroom is so much more dirty than a woman's. Call me sexist too while you are at it. I would never be comfortable using a uni-sex bathroom unless it involved lots of bottles of Lysol spray and gloves and sponges. Just saying.
ReplyDeletebetty
No thanks. I'll stick to my own restroom, preferrably my own bathroom at my house! Public restrooms are disgusting and any women who's been married and/or raised sons.. Yeah. We don't want to share your space, thanks anyway. #JustGross
ReplyDeleteBooths, (we call them stalls here) in ladies rest rooms are way too narrow, only suitable for stick thin women who don't carry handbags or any other baggage. Here, I can sit on the toilet, bash my elbow on the toilet paper dispenser, which is a huge industrial sized thing, and on the other side bash my other elbow on the sanitary waste receptacle. With elbows bent, I can easily still touch both walls at once. I find that upon entering one of these stalls, I have to inch all the way to the toilet before I can close the door behind me, and again when wanting to leave, I have to lean back over the toilet to allow enough room for the door to swing open. It's a nightmare!
ReplyDeleteOn a visit to France I found the public toilets were for both male and female. Have to admit I found it very embarrassing walking past several men using the urinals. Fortunately I seldom needed to use them. So, it's a no thanks if the idea is put to the vote.
ReplyDeleteSince i'm not smart enough to know what the answer is, i'm not saying much. It doesn't bother me to walk past men or use the same restroom they do, but i'm a janitor/housekeeper, and i know how dirty things get whether it's men or women and i just deal with it
ReplyDeleteI have been in plenty of women's rooms that have been disgusting and made we want to gag and/or hold it -- just to poke at those who seem to think women wipe down all surfaces after elimination.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts here, but I also think it should not be the big deal some make it out to be. Don't be creepy and be kind.
I agree with you, Joeh. In as much as we are all in the same boat of 'if you gotta go, ya gotta go' we should just get on with it and appreciate it as another way in which we are all alike!
ReplyDeleteWe're not ready for unisex in most of the country. There could be murders and beatings. I'm good with women using the men's, until the rest of us chill a bit.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue with this is sexual predators and our children. That's what really worries me the most. The rest of this issue is a nonissue with me.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
I've seen in some malls a men's room a women's room and then a unisex bathroom. I think it's meant for families so if a dad is out with his daughter they can go in the unisex bathroom where it's all stalls.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm old fashioned (or just old) but I like knowing I'm in the ladies and only ladies will be coming in. I know not all women are ladies but that's another discussion altogether lol.
ReplyDeleteWait. Creepy is a no no? I didn't realize that :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know when this has ever been a problem. I haven't seen any statistics to show that transgenders using restrooms EVER caused a problem. This is yet another social issue conservatives use to distract people from realizing just how much conservatives want to push policies funneling our nation's wealth to those who need it least.
ReplyDeleteI agree with it not being a problem, i'm sure when a transgender uses the room no one really knows he/she is transgender, the second part of your comment I think is just silly, I know many liberals who are uncomfortable with the concept and like I said occasional sharing doesn't bother me, but I don't think unisex bathrooms have any real purpose, they are a stupid idea trying to force a non issue down other peoples throats...in my opinion.
DeleteYou know what, I think we have been solving this problem forever! I have used the men's side many time but not when a man is in there. I would really not want to do that unless everyone was okay with it and did the same. We are herd animals aren't we.
ReplyDeleteI loved your rules. Hopefully we will seeing signs soon that say DO NOT BE CREEPY. The shortest distance between two points is always best. :)
If it's a single bathroom, then I don't care if it's unisex. What I don't want is to be in a stall with my pants pulled down in some bathroom down a hall and have a would-be rapist walk in. Unless you're a woman, you really don't understand how vulnerable some of us feel in certain situations.
ReplyDeleteI will stay at the entrance of a store if I see a man standing near my car. I cross the street if a man is standing around and Im in a secluded area, even my own neighborhood. My point is that there's a level of trust that women have with other women strangers, that we don't have with men strangers.
I'm the same way with "sketchy" looking people. Crazy eyes, goofy hair, strange clothes...there is a look.
DeleteBijoux said it all for me!!
DeleteI never gave this a thought until it became an issue. I was in the ladies room yesterday and this woman looked transgender and I felt very uncomfortable. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. Prior to this issue though I would never have given it a thought. I would have just observed that she was a manly looking woman.
ReplyDeleteAnd besides, if we hand unisex bathrooms it would no longer be such a humorous gaffe to accidentally walk into the opposite gender's bathroom. What fun is that?
Agree with everything you said here, Joe. If people are in the booths, nobody should know what they have as equipment nor care about it. So no big deal for me, as a man, no matter what rooms someone else is using. But if somebody goes into the mens room dressed as a woman and uses a urinal, they don't have a right to expect nobody to notice. Likewise, if someone dressed as a gent goes into the ladies, and stands while taking care of business (maybe with the door open, as many men do when using a booth for peeing) then that person should expect a bit of reaction.
ReplyDeleteI came over from Retire in Style blog to say hi. What a world we live in. Here on the left coast this is a big topic. I am concerned about the ladies showers at my fitness center and hope to see only ladies there. I like your humorous take.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why all urinals don't have partitions like some places so you guys wouldn't have to even have a code about peeking and touching? I could handle unisex bathrooms but that is probably because at my age, I'm pretty much off a rapist's shopping list.
ReplyDeleteI'm pickin' up what you're layin' down.
ReplyDeleteI'll grant you that there are at least stall separators in most restrooms that make this less of an issue but here-abouts them stalls can sometimes be mighty skimpy or downright exposure booths. Well, on the men's side of the fence anyhow. Until that 'little' bit of a loophole is corrected I don't really think this is all that great of an idea.
ReplyDeleteBTW- Some of the schools (in riskier areas) have taken the stalls out or cut 'em to a bare minimum on the boys side to combat contraband transactions (drugs, weapons, etc) and/or to reduce 'private' liaisons during school hours .....
The real issue, for us fathers of daughters, is the school/gym/pool shower rooms where there is no place to hide now that the flood gates are opening. If you're gonna go all anything goes then our nudity statutes shouldn't exist either as they would no longer mean anything. Well I suppose with some of the skimpiness going round they ain't worth the paper they're written on already, huh?
I want to know who actually goes and checks the genitals to make sure the persons gender at birth is actually using the correct restroom. Dumbest crap ever.
ReplyDelete