Unisex public toilet
Key differences between male and female public toilets in most Western countries include the presence of urinals for men and boys, and sanitary bins for the disposal of menstrual hygiene products for women.
They can accommodate not only the physically disabled, but also elderly people who may require assistance from a carer of another gender, and other cases where public sex-segregated facilities might lead to discomfort.
The latter arrangement is more friendly to people needing to use the sink in a manner calling for a degree of privacy, or taking off items of dress typically worn in public.
Examples are emergency removal of menstrual blood stains from clothing;[18] refreshing the upper body, face, or underarms over the sink; applying makeup; or combing and styling hair.
Socio-cultural conventions make the concept of men or boys urinating with their backs visible to women or girls potentially uncomfortable for both genders, and this would currently seem aberrant and contrary to common morals and etiquette for many users.
Alternatives would be to accommodate urinals for both sexes in cubicles, limiting their space advantages, or to continue to offer them only in public toilets assigned for males.
[36] In February 2016, South Dakota was the first state in the US to pass a bill that forces transgender students in public schools to use sanitation facilities that correspond with their 'chromosomes and anatomy' at birth.
HRC president Chad Griffin stated on the brief that "These companies are sending a powerful message to transgender children and their families that America's leading businesses have their backs.
This movement, according to commissioner Trevor Loke, was aimed to make everyone feel welcomed and included: "We think that the recommendation of universal washrooms is a good idea [...] [w]e will be using more inclusive language based on the BC Human Rights Code."
[66] In 2017, The Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation sent out guidelines to the Swachh Bharat Mission decreeing that members who are part of the transgender community should be allowed to use the public toilet they are most comfortable with.
[71][needs update] MP Sunil Babu Pant used part of the Parliamentarian Development Fund to build the first two unisex toilets in Nepalganj, one of which is in Bageshwori Park.
[78] On the federal level, the US Department of Labor is in charge of[clarification needed] workplace toilets, which means setting state guidelines through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
[81][80] Various private businesses such as Target have publicly committed to maintaining all gender restrooms in stores nationwide even when not mandated by local or state ordinances.
[97] This change aimed to create a safe environment for trans students and also benefited those with other needs, such as health issues or home conditions that hindered proper hygiene.
[97] The legislation passed in December of 2023 emphasized the need to ensure the well-being of all students in accessing bathrooms and changing rooms, encouraging necessary adaptations.
[98] Psychologist Ana Silva warned of cases where children avoid using gendered restroom facilities due to fear of insults or aggression.
[97] The Conselho de Ética e Ciências da Vida supports the existence of neutral bathrooms in schools, emphasizing the importance of respecting the right to privacy and intimacy.
argue that with increasingly strict prohibitions on bodily display and the emergence of a rigid ideology of gender, visual privacy and spatial separation of the sexes were introduced into public toilet design.
[100] George Jennings, the sanitary engineer, introduced public toilets, which he called "monkey closets", to the Crystal Palace for The Great Exhibition of 1851.
[107] Some scholars say the practice of maintaining separate toilets coincides with early 19th century moral ideology regarding the appropriate role and place for women in society.
[109] Legislators and policymakers acted on protecting "weaker" women by limiting their work hours, requiring rest periods during the day, and prohibiting certain jobs.
[1]: 268–69 Furthermore, ancient evidence, including art-work, confirms widespread use of sex-separation (or sex segregation), especially in multi-use spaces - therefore not limiting the concept to public toilets.
[114] Advocates of this view argue that these approaches share a theme in which a warning is issued against the looming threats: violence and sexual assaults would increase.
[119] There is historical evidence that authorities have enforced the norm of sex-separated facilities to resist attempts by sexual minorities to create safe spaces that reimagined sex and gender lines.
[124] In the case of India, it has been found that designing transgender-inclusive sanitation is more than just a technical issue: It requires a deeper examination of the role of caste, gender, and age within the transgender community.
[129] Several studies have found that preventing transgender people from using public toilets has negative mental health impacts, leading to a higher risk of suicide.
[142][143] In the early twenty-first century, with increased coverage of the transgender community, there have been some initiatives calling for unisex public toilets, instead of only male and female ones, to better accommodate genderqueer individuals.
This has become an increasingly contentious issue, as shown in the battles over North Carolina's 2016 Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, among other bathroom bills.
In 2017, a conservative Christian faith group leader in Texas has compared the introduction of unisex toilets with the abolition of Bible reading in state schools.
[172] In May 2021, The Daily Telegraph reported that Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, was planning to ban unisex toilets in public buildings in order to "maintain safeguards that protect women".
