We're getting 'Gender Neutral' toilets at work

Maybe in unisex toilets, men tend to be a bit more careful. If you have ever mistakenly walked into the gents, they do smell of pee. I wonder if it's the urinals? Although I believe they also flush, don't they?

Are men really that disgusting? I've never experienced a man pissing everywhere etc

I just can't picture sharing a hand drier with the head of ICT

Do you think anything is actually going to change, OP?
You will still have the old ladies'/men's toilets, which will now be called "the gender neutral toilets". Everybody will continue to use their loo and nothing changes, except for somebody in HR happily ticking the "we are an inclusive workplace" box.

I loathe them.

Men's piss really does smell awful and they piss all over the seat and floor. So I find the concept actually disgusting.

They'll have to introduce seat covers and spray as all the women will have to clean the loos before using them.
Maybe this is a cunning way to get the women to clean up after the men? Cut down on cleaning expense.

Good point about working late.

One of the blokes in my office is a bit creepy. I always feel a bit uncomfortable if we're working late at the same time and I would hate to have him come into the loos when I was having a pee, knowing that there is no one else around on that floor.

But obviously, I'm only a woman, so my feelings don't count. What was I thinking.

We had this at work but it was scrapped, presumably because the state of the loos deteriorated (for the women) and women complained.

They had to put up signs to tell the men NOT to use the sanitary towel disposers but they were overflowing, what with I really didn't want to know

I think this insistence that women's feelings should be overlooked and aren't legitimate is disgraceful. And "I don't mind so you should just get over yourself and be like me" argument is ridiculous.

Women have reasons to want space and privacy. It's really disrespectful to tell them to get over themselves.

Disappointed that this was revived just with random comments - I was hoping the OP might have some update on how things were progressing at her work.

Yes, I'm with the 'men's loos stink and are horrible brigade. I refuse to use unisex toilets unless the only alternative is weeing myself.

I wouldn't like it either...

But only because men's toilets bloody stink! Also they leave the toilet pans splattered in shit. And if they have no urinals, there's a lot of men that will piss on the seats 😡

Do you have disabled/accessible toilets? Are they gendered?

Most people have said they would be OK with unisex loos if they were self contained like accessible ones are. The issue is suddenly designating as unisex all the ordinary loos which consist of a row of stalls with gaps top, bottom and sides, and a row of basins where women may do their hair and make up as well as wash their hands.

Do you have disabled/accessible toilets? Are they gendered?

I would mind this. The hand washing thing as mentioned by previous poster. Men touch their willies and use door handle of cubicle which is a yikes for me. They also piss all over the place. Everyone who has ever been to a toilet on a plane knows this. I would also not like to share the toilets with a man I don't know when working late.

The hand washing thing annoys me (slight derail) - women are much more likely to wash their hands, despite not actually having to touch any of the parts of themselves that do the peeing. Men are much less likely to wash their hands, and if doing a standing wee, will have been holding their penis to do so.

Sitting down to wee is cleaner for the toilet, and cleaner for the hands they're probably not going to bother to wash. I think we need a 'sit down to pee' campaign!

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, and can't be bothered to read through the whole thread, but this change could be against the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Regulation 20, paragraph 2c, which states. "sanitary conveniences shall not be suitable unless
separate rooms containing conveniences are provided for men and women except where and so far as each convenience is in a separate room the door of which is capable of being secured from inside." (i.e. not 'cubicles').

www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/toilets.htm

I think people would self segregate anyway to avoid embarrassment.

Well, yes, the women and the lovely and well mannered men will.

The entitled male assholes will happily walk into the inofficial women's loo and insist that it is officially unisex.
And their assholery won't be witnessed or opposed by the lovely men, because those will be elsewhere.

So IF indeed, people do self-segregate, the results will be as disastrous as those of allowing trans into the women's facilities. Well, perhaps not as bad, if the cubicles are ceiling to floor. But still bad.

Datun has a point, but I'd rather not have to do the unisex experiment - it is a very expensive way to prove that the transwacktivists don't "just want to pee".

At my previous work place I'd have had no concerns whatsoever for my safety, my male colleagues were all lovely and well mannered. If we'd gone unisex use of the multi cubicle toilets in that building I would still have stopped using the toilets. Or gone to Tesco in my lunch hour. Worked from home more.

On this thread, women who have been raised all their lives in a country of sex segregated toilets, changing facilities and so on, are being told any feelings of discomfort, embarrassment and anxiety are something they should be ashamed of having and must get over. Many won't. Many will just no longer feel able to use the toilets, but will be shamed into keeping quiet about it and hiding their problem.

Yay for inclusivity.

Tonight over dinner in a restaurant , my girls wanted to go to the bathroom. They normally go together but this time I went with them. A single toilet each for men and women, and shared washing facilities. While one DD and I were waiting, the door to the men's was thrown open and a very drunk man lurched out staring at us. No hand washing but some comments said that we didn't catch..

I think this move to unisex toilets is a disaster for children and young women, in particular. But I would also hate it at work and would voice my objections loudly.

I wouldn't really mind strangers but meeting close male colleagues in the toilet would take a bit of getting used to.

I think people would self segregate anyway to avoid embarrassment.

Is there a union in your workplace?

Have they drunk the kool aid or might they be up for defending a few female worker's rights?

Or is that a very silly question, unions have never been particularly up for that if they conflicted with male workers rights, have they.

I think if they are going to introduce unisex loos, then they need to introduce a rule that men ahve to sit down to pee.

Oh god the smell of a man's shit. I know, I know, mine doesn't smell of roses. But with the exception of a woman who had some kind of bowel problem, the shit of men has always smelled so much more vile.

I suppose women this is being inflicted on, could try leaving used tampons and sanitary pads in the loo and not flush.

The men will complain. And their complaints will be taken seriously. You'll soon get single sex loos back if men decide they don't want to share loo space with women.

rufus

I was originally against single unisex loos because I am very happy with ladies' toilets. I'm not a 'must go to the loo with my friend' type, but there have been occasions when this has been useful. The presence of a man, in my opinion, change the dynamic. Instantly.

However, it is the transactivists own stance that they want toilets to be segregated and they want to use the ladies, not unisex, that made me change my mind.

I don't care whether it is for validation or fetish purposes. The very fact that they aren't happy with unisex gives a complete lie to the 'just a place to pee' argument.

So yes, let's go with unisex. They won't like that at all and the motivation will become clear.

Because I sure as shit am not interested in supporting a fetish, neither am I interested in a whole bunch of legislation that affects half the population just to validate a tiny, tiny minority of men.

At at the skygardens in london which is a tourist attraction

Though its amazing how many men try and walk to the head of the queue

datun

We have those loos at a local shopping centre...they are awesome

Cubicles should go from ceiling to floor

Friend of mine was in a cubicle at the swimming pool and some man stuck his head under while she was naked