Gender neutral toilets

The sign for the multi-occupant gender-neutral bathroom at the Reeves Center in DC. Bathroom access might be the most visible battle right now in the wide-ranging fight for transgender civil rights, but the issue is more complex than many people realize. Gender-neutral bathrooms are the most inclusive option and bring real health benefits to real people, but in most of our region, they aren’t yet required. DC, like about half of the populated areas of the United States, This idea, that there are people with non-binary gender, might be a new one to some readers. There are Some argue that non-binary people should simply be allowed to choose which gendered bathroom they want to use. That’s the status quo, and is a pragmatic solution. But it’s a little like suggesting that DC residents, who are denied the right to vote for congressional representation, should just be allowed to choose between voting in Maryland or in Virginia—it doesn’t respect the identity of the third option. Gender-segregated bathrooms, though omnipresent today, are a thoroughly modern invention. Less than 300 years have passed since the first gendered bathrooms appeared in Paris in That unusual trend may be on its way out. Universities across the country, like Why are gender-neutral bathrooms so important anyway? Transgender people benefit from inclusive restrooms as much as non-binary people do. They might not feel comfortable or safe in a gendered bathroom, even if their right to use it is legally protec...

‘We used computer simulations to determine how men and women will be affected in both single-stall and multi-stall toilets.’ Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters ‘We used computer simulations to determine how men and women will be affected in both single-stall and multi-stall toilets.’ Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters The waters of this ideological debate are deep. But there is one advantage of a move away from segregated facilities that should appeal to all: it will reduce waiting times for women. We are all too familiar with the long lines that form in front of women’s facilities in theatres or in any public places, while there is little pressure on the men’s. Women have for a long time demanded Read more But making existing WCs gender-neutral requires little more than changing the signs on the door. And it perfectly equalises the waiting times for men and women. In our research, we used computer simulations to determine how men and women will be affected in both single-stall and multi-stall toilets. Suppose that we have a setup with one male and one female single-stall facility. The evidence is quite limited, but a study published in Suppose that we have a male and a female multi-stall toilet with six stalls each. We have 150 males and 150 females answering the call of nature over a one-hour period. Then the average waiting time for men is roughly 27sec and for women roughly 7min 40sec. This seems close to what we see in toilets in West End theatres. If we make them gen...

Clipboard "COPY" Copy “Creating an equitable city implies that + 3 One such partial public space, that seem more private, are shared toilets. When it comes to gender inclusivity, toilets have been met with resistance and heated debate. For transgender people, the decision between using the men’s or women’s bathroom can be tough, even harmful. Nearly 70% of transgender people, in particular trans women, have undergone verbal The modern-day gender-neutral bathroom is simply a public toilet that is accessible and designed for the use of any gender group. It can take the form of a single-user toilet, similar to those in private residences, or as a multi-user communal bathroom. Single-user toilets are straightforward in design - a washbasin and water closet enclosed in a private room. This typology maintains the privacy of the user and has worked well in shared environments. Multi-user public toilets, on the other hand, have required modifications in their designs to better cater to the public’s concerns. Save this picture! Students in a gender-neutral bathroom. Image Courtesy of The Gender Spectrum Collection Hesitancy is a significant hurdle behind the widespread acceptance of gender-neutral toilets. Historically, gender-segregated bathrooms have Embarrassment around other genders also holds people skeptical about a communal toilet experience. Women may feel uncomfortable tidying up in front of the mirror or attending to their menstrual needs in unisex bathrooms. They may als...

Let’s be clear: The transgender people currently entangled in America’s “They’re fighting for the right and dignity to use the restroom that they feel matches their gender identity,” says Maxwell Ng, an architectural designer at DiMella Shaffer in Boston and chair of the steering committee for the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. But the debate has raised some interesting questions for designers. If there was an easy way to make restrooms more functional (technically “bathrooms” have baths in them), why not explore it? As Matt Nardella, architect at Moss Design in Chicago, notes, “We can design restrooms in such a way that people of all genders feel safe. There is a better way.” So what does that better way look like? “It’s a little bit like the Wild West out there,” says Ng. “Nothing’s been codified as far as best practices go.” The biggest culprits are building codes that mandate sex-segregated restrooms, but some of those are being revised. The goal may be unisex, but there’s no “one size fits all” approach. “There are hundreds of small decisions that can make things more open,” says Stephen Cassell, principal at Architecture Research Office (ARO), who designed gender-neutral restrooms for Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City. Importantly, unisex restrooms already exist. They have quietly become more common in the benign, non-politicized form of “family bathrooms,” which are popular in high-traffic spots like airports and highway rest areas. Th...