Restrooms

[Reeve]

So the Houston Municipal Elections are coming up, and our City's Proposition 1 is getting lots of press. It's a re-approval of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO).

Basically, the city was getting complaints that people were being turned away from public businesses (like taxi services) because of discrimination. For example, a gay couple was kicked out of a taxi in a bad part of town once the driver realized they were gay. So the city, in order to do it up right, made the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy.

There has been a successful effort by the conservative groups of the city, however, to rebrand the ordinance as an insidious effort to make sure that transvestites/transgendered persons will be using restrooms of the opposite sex from what they were assigned at birth, where they're sure that these people (who are apparently pedophiles too for some reason) are going to molest their 12 year olds.

I think the whole thing is a bit silly, and that if someone is a pervert, it doesn't matter if they're a man, a woman, a man dressed as a woman, or a woman dressed as a man, or a former man or woman, they're going to be a pervert anyway. But I also generally think separating restrooms by sex is a bit silly to begin with.

What do you all think? Does the idea of transvestites/transgendered people using restrooms opposite to the sex they were born with bother you? Do you think it's worth giving up all the other benefits of an equal rights ordinance to prevent it from occurring?

[Gamdwelf]

I wouldn't give a fuck if bathrooms were all unisex. Everyone poops.

[Xargoth6634]

I'd be pretty weirded out if a transgendered woman used the men's room, and probably even more uncomfortable still if I were a woman and a male tranny used the ladies' room. I'm not ok with discriminating against gay/trans people in general, but I don't personally accept trans as anything but a mental health issue so restroom mixing is out of bounds, from my perspective.

And since I know a number of this site's tumblrite sjw population will jump all over what I said, Reeve asked for opinions and I shared mine. You're free to disagree with me.

[the game]

If we're integrating mens/womens latrines will urinals now go in stalls?

[Lenonis]

I think it's a horribly complex question that if you strip away the fearmongering bigotry still has some legitimate complexity.

There are a few possible solutions:
1) Require all buildings to have a family bathroom. Expensive and not very practical but would solve the problem.
2) Refuse to let anyone use the bathroom of anything other than their assigned sex at birth. That's not a very realistic solution, especially as people present as the other gender.
3) Allow people to use the gender of what they present as. Solves those who are identifying as male or female, but doesn't address those elsewhere on the spectrum.
4) Have everyone just chill out and not get so freaked out about who is in the bathroom with you. Have all bathrooms use private stalls and call it a day.

I mean, how much sexual assault happens in bathrooms anyway?!?

[primalmatter]

If you have a penis your a man

Christ have we really gotten to this point?

[DocHibb]

I'd rather a 'scary' transvestite using the restroom at the same time as me, than that one guy that's always grunting or talking on the phone while taking a shit next to me.

I think the conservative people in your area are being silly. I'd personally prefer single person restrooms, but that's just because I don't like being in the bathroom at the same time as other random people.

Edit: I'd also prefer it if the urinals in men's restrooms were converted to regular toilets in a stall, because I hate that there's only ever like 1 toilet in the men's restroom. Doesn't make for a fun situation when the people mentioned above are taking their sweet ass time.

[Kathandira]

How do they handle homosexuals using bathrooms? If a gay man enters the men's bathroom, do they not have the same issues? Or how about a lesbian in the women's bathroom?

I vote unisex bathrooms for all.

[ghotihook]

If you're a man and have changed to look like a woman, you should use the women's bathroom and vice versa. But, you have to actually look like the opposite gender.

I'm not comfortable with some guy walking into a ladies bathroom, clearly looking like a dude, but saying "I'm transgender". If you haven't had the "transformation", don't use the other genders bathroom.

Are you going to have a door judge say who and who does not look like a man or woman?

[Dread Pirate Phayde]

I don't care about what restroom a trans person is using, we're not in there to compare, I care more that public restrooms tend to be disgusting because people can't be bothered to not piss all over everything or flush an entire roll down at once.

[Kalis]

Do perverts only molest children of the opposite sex? I'm not convinced that is the case, so I don't understand that line of argument.

[Polar1]

Are you going to have a door judge say who and who does not look like a man or woman?

I think she means a person who is transgender but has not gone under the scalpel yet and still carries a month-old beard.

So the city, in order to do it up right, made the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy

Article 2 of the labor code here specifies there can be no discrimination in employment by any cause other than the ability to perform the job. Period. When you specify so many causes but it's still a limited list you open a lot of loopholes.

The issue is not unisex restrooms. The issue is discrimination in employment.

And what exactly do you think happens in restrooms? That every unaccompanied person needs to declare his sexual orientation when they go in a stall?

[Endus]

I wouldn't give a fuck if bathrooms were all unisex. Everyone poops.

This.

Gender-segregated bathrooms just mean we end up doubling up a lot of the piping and such needed. You've got independent stalls, anyway, for privacy. If it's that big a concern, make the gaps above/below the barriers smaller.

Particularly with smaller establishments where the bathroom's a single-person bathroom, having one for each gender is just pointless. You're never going to be in there with anyone else you didn't invite in on purpose (like your kid, or something).


Even where we do have gender-segregated bathrooms, whichever gender you identify with, that's the bathroom you use. The idea that anyone's going to double-check your genitals or DNA to "confirm" your "gender" is wildly fascist nonsense; it's nobody else's freaking business.

[Gamdwelf]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the toilets are generally built to have stalls, right?

How would you even know if a transgendered person went to a toilet opposite of their biological sex?

When they come out and you wash hands next to them?

[luc54]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the toilets are generally built to have stalls, right?

How would you even know if a transgendered person went to a toilet opposite of their biological sex?

This. I don't know why people care so much who the hell is taking shit on stall next to you. The only problematic aspect would be urinals and I don't think you would have them in unisex bathrooms unless they are in some stall area as well.

- - - Updated - - -

When they come out and you wash hands next to them?

Yea think of the people having to see someone they are uncomfortable with washing their hands next to hem. Oh the horror..

[Redfingers]

I wouldn't give a fuck if bathrooms were all unisex. Everyone poops.

It's called a urinal.

[wowaccounttom]

If you're a man and have changed to look like a woman, you should use the women's bathroom and vice versa. But, you have to actually look like the opposite gender.

I'm not comfortable with some guy walking into a ladies bathroom, clearly looking like a dude, but saying "I'm transgender". If you haven't had the "transformation", don't use the other genders bathroom.

i know you are a girl so i am not including you in this...


but how are men so horrible at telling us apart... its a dude.... you can tell by the posture, way the person walks, build, etc... its not even funny.... i am not talking about a picture on the internet... im talking about being in front of someone irl...


regardless, if i ever have the misfortune of being in the same restroom as a dude, i dont care how girly it feels or if it has been mutilated or not..... i will voice my disgust and concerns for my safety.

[rayvio]

simple solution, have all public bathrooms use individual stalls that can be used just as easily by either gender just like people have in their own houses. put an individual sink in each one too, just like having several small bathrooms instead of one big one with several stalls. everyone has their own private little room so nobody has to worry about any kind of people around them

also why do Americans call them restrooms? (granted it's also silly of us to call them bathrooms even if they don't have a bath in the room) it's not like any conventional use of them is particularly restful

[Endus]

It's called a urinal.

I doubt most people have urinals in their homes. Men are perfectly capable of peeing into a toilet.

[Gamdwelf]

simple solution, have all public bathrooms use individual stalls that can be used just as easily by either gender just like people have in their own houses. everyone has their own private stall so nobody has to worry about any kind of people around them

also why do Americans call them restrooms? (granted it's also silly of us to call them bathrooms even if they don't have a bath in the room) it's not like any conventional use of them is particularly restful

They used to be attached to actual sitting rooms where you could just rest with like couches chairs fans etc.

It's a relic of language.