Councillor wants Mayor to make all toilets gender neutral

[Comingtoatownnearyou]

Local paper today:

www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/mayor-quizzed-gender-neutral-toilets-16437625

I am planning on writing to the Mayor to be vocal in my objections, but I may need some guidance as well please.

Traditionally toilets have been gender specific, divided into two categories: male and female.

First of all I will make it very clear that they have been divided by SEX.

make a start by designating all council building toilets as gender-neutral.

I guess this is where I need to start quoting the Equality Act? and that it is a legitimate aim to separate by sex. I am also going to quote the (2011) cenus figures about the diversity of the town and the significantly high Muslim population.

I understand, clearly, there will be some concerns from some councillors and members of the public but the risk does not increase once public toilets become gender neutral.

In fact, if anyone has any intention in committing a crime at present, they will do so.

This is about creating a much more safer environment for transgender and non binary people.

The first really is not true is it? and the last is just about getting women to suck it up

I am having lots of thoughts that I will keep to myself.

I do have a lot of respect for Ellie though, I don't necessarily agree with all of her viewpoints but she is always fairly respectful when voicing them.

WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?

Why is it so important?

"I understand, clearly, there will be some concerns from some councillors and members of the public but the risk does not increase once public toilets become gender neutral.

Where are the statistics to back this up?

It will never happen - resource thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3348290-It-will-never-happen-resource-thread

Here you are OP: Fair Play for Women - it's about changing rooms but I presume the same applies to toilets:

fairplayforwomen.com/changing_rooms/

And the appalling consequences for women of mixed sex facilities:

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/sexual-assault-unisex-changing-rooms-sunday-times-women-risk-a8519086.html

Comingtoatownnearyou
This is my hometown. Will be writting.

Thanks all and thank you for the links. I will suggest a solution - I don't think the disabled toilets are the answer but a separate self contained stand alone toilet may well be.

Daughterofmabel The more the better, AP seems willing to listen so we need to make sure that he hears lots of well thought out balanced objections to the idea.

Yep agreed. My dsil has just posted on fb. Brave women!

"The feeling of humiliation is an experience that most of us don't go through when visiting a public toilet and, in 2019, that is simply unacceptable."

I'm so fucking sick of hearing this. If transitioning people feel so fucking humiliated all the time, then transitioning is obviously a miserable failure of a treatment that doesn't work when the patients meet the real world.

This is not women's fault and women should not have their needs put a poor second to the utter failure of the medical profession to help these individuals.

And as for those who are lying about the humiliation, and actually are turned on by the humiliation they are causing others... well I have no words for them at all.

Fuck off Dave Smith. Fuck off with your man's selfish view of the world.

Apologies OP. As you were. Please keep fighting. Politely. I'll just be sitting here rolling my eyes and tearing my hair out at the sad fact that you are having to do this at all.

No, the disabled toilets are not the answer.

Its very simple; make the mens mixed sex. Leave the disabled toilets for disabled people - being trans is not a disability - and the womens toilets for women.

If transitioning people feel so fucking humiliated all the time, then transitioning is obviously a miserable failure of a treatment that doesn't work when the patients meet the real world.

AnyOldPrion, I can't understand this either. Why do people choose to make themselves objects of ridicule, then complain that they're not safe? How is it helping them?

Have emailed the mayor

Why? Why on Erth do they get so much attention?

Who reads that and thinks " Oh yes! We need to dismantle all we have because some fairy dust got sprinkled"

I am a tad annoyed.

I know we are grown up and commenting on people's appearances is wrong... But.... But

THAT MULLET

I’d have no issue with this if it was a self contained toilet with sink dryer etc.

Not just a row of stalls shared sinks etc.

KatvonHostileExtremist it's the eyes that get me

shudder

The biggest irony here is that the Transwoman is grappling with the conflicting needs of the binary and non binary trans people.

HELLLLOOO! Woman here.

Female erasure in action.

Thank you daughter. I am at work so will do mine later, though will start a draft at lunchtime.

Sadly eme the proposal sounds like he just wants the signs on the existing toilets changed rather than actually making any real changes.

It would be worth looking in to what happened at Cambridge. I'm sure there will be a thread about it here somewhere.

A councillor resigned over a similar issue. The policy had to be reviewed.

www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-transgender-toilets-ann-sinnott-14975106

Surely there is a very good reason why adult men and little girls should use the same toilets? There must be.

I can think of reasons (and have supporting evidence) as to why its a bad idea, but I haven't heard the arguments (and supporting evidence) for the mixed-sex changing room/toilet yet.

Will a proponent please explain?

Local people seem unimpressed.

twitter.com/TeessideLive/status/1140521962017419264

Comments are amusing.

"Surely there is a very good reason why adult men and little girls should use the same toilets? " - unless I am missing the point, the stalls/cubicles will still be one person use so why does it matter? I am not worried if I come out of the loo and there is a male cleaner standing there and I certainly don't care who is sitting in the cubicle next to me.

So where is the risk?

L

This is my town too, will email and write.

So where is the risk?

That wasn't the question. I want someone to convince me that there is a good reason why grown men and little girls use the same toilets.

It's a massive social and cultural change. You don't introduce social and cultural changes without very good reasons. What are they?

So where is the risk?

It’s up to you to give a damn good reason for changing the system, not for us to defend it year after fucking year.

So where is the risk?

This was in the news today.

7 year old girl sexually assaulted by a man in the women's toilets.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/predator-pushes-girl-7-toilet-16532052