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Original poster

Dirty protest over Somerville College, Oxford’s gender‑neutral loos

64 replies

WeAreGerbil · 06/05/2018 12:28

I don't know how to do a share token (can anyone tell me?) but here is the link and text.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/dirty-protest-over-somerville-college-oxfords-genderneutral-loos-bf2jk50lc

A term after an Oxford college introduced gender-neutral lavatories, male students have carried out a “dirty protest” over losing their urinals.

Last week they urinated on the floor of the “gender-neutral” cubicles in the bar at Somerville College, Oxford, and wrote on the wall: “We want our f urinals back”, according to an email sent by the president of the junior common room, Niall Macklin. In a message entitled “I can’t believe I am writing this”, Macklin said: “[Last night] someone took it upon themselves to urinate on the floor of one of the cubicles and inscribe ‘We want our f urinals back’. If you have a problem with the changes please use the democratic process and not dirty protests.

“Otherwise if you could refrain from being a barbaric idiot that would be great.”

Somerville students voted in January to replace “male” and “female” signs with the words “gender-neutral toilets with cubicles”. The lavatories in question no longer feature urinals but have cubicles with male and female symbols.

Somerville, which opened in 1879, was one of Oxford’s first women’s colleges and is Margaret Thatcher’s alma mater. It declares on its website that it was “founded to include the excluded”.

OP posts:
Igneococcus · 06/05/2018 14:50

With share token:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dirty-protest-over-somerville-college-oxfords-genderneutral-loos-bf2jk50lc?shareToken=3ff7b494d333954e73e9d4d0488122f1

wearegerbil
I click on the envelop symbol below the article and that opens an email in my Gmail that has the link with a share token in the body. I copy and paste that link. This does work on my PC with Firefox and on my android tablet with the app. It does not work on my android phone with the app, there the link doesn't contain the share token.

NotCisImaWoman · 06/05/2018 14:48

Grim and horrid BUT part of me is pleased this is happening.

UpstartCrow · 06/05/2018 14:43

''The lavatories in question no longer feature urinals but have cubicles with male and female symbols.''

I cant even.

MaryPoppinsImperfectSister · 06/05/2018 14:41

Reminds me of when they put tampons & pads in the men's room at a university.

Someone took a shit in the receptacle and threw the items away.
bowdoinorient.com/2017/03/31/feces-found-in-mens-room-used-tampon-box/

Apparently men don't worry about hurting peoples feelings or even common decency (they could have thrown the tampons and pads into the women's toilet).

Bowlofbabelfish · 06/05/2018 13:36

Good.

I’ve said many times that since no one is listening to women, it’s time to make sure that men are inconvenienced by all this. Et voila! Men inconvenienced =people listen.

Give them their urinals back, have separate Male and female lavs and a third, single space. Make that space fully disabled accessible- as per ‘changing places’ guidelines and look! Everyone is served and safe.

SardineReturns · 06/05/2018 13:31

Men pissing all over the floor is nothing new surely.

Why cant; they say fucking?

Original poster
WeAreGerbil · 06/05/2018 13:19

Yeah one of my first thoughts was I wonder if it's a woman who has to clean it up, but interesting (some) men don't like it, though I guess they could have questionable reasons....

OP posts:
R0wantrees · 06/05/2018 13:18

Gender neutral toilet recently caused issues at NUStrans 18 conference when women's toilets were designated gender neutral whilst men's toilets remained:

segment below from OP of thread describing the twitter narrative:
"Currently in occupation of the bathroom lobby #bathroomcaucus #nustrans18"

"Be careful of slippery floors in the gender neutral bathroom - we have some cis tears 💦 #BathroomCaucus #Toiletgate #NUSTrans18"

cis tears or man piss?

"#NUStrans18 white people can we PLEASE listen to POC about engaging with the border force"

"#nustrans18 so update on what happened in the bathroom caucus: We were guarding the gender neutral sign, but weren’t in the way of the doors or anything
And a cis woman came in (not even to pee), saw the sign and went off 2/??
She started saying ‘what about our toilets’ to which we informed her that the gender neutral toilets are for everyone, and if she was uncomfortable she could use the women’s upstairs
She starts shouting ‘one at a time! Respect my authority! We’re here for longer than you!’"

"whoever occupied the bathrooms, you gonna apologise to your POC delegates? #nustrans18"

"great lil update from Finn on #BathroomCaucus these people are attempting to deny our right to pee and we were simply defending that, we were just minding our own business, she’s the one that got angry and aggressive and in our faces #NUSTrans18"

"#nustrans18 I sincerely apologise if mine or any other delegates actions escalated conflict/racism towards QTPOC. The thing is, I honestly don’t know what else I could have done? I didn’t provoke her, I didn’t get in her face."

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3237230-NUS-Conference-breaks-down-after-the-UK-Border-Force-Arrive

AncientLights · 06/05/2018 13:15

I remember spending illicit weekends about 40 years ago with my then boyfriend at Magdalen College Oxford, all male then. The only female loo for visitors was way away somewhere, too dangerous to go there at night in case I got caught by the authorities, so I backed out of the window onto the ledge and peed. Not sure of the moral of this tale now I come to think of it.

R0wantrees · 06/05/2018 12:53

Claire Fox in interview with Julia H-B talked about how there was
"there is a culture wars on campus because some students don't like the censorious atmosphere'

There's a link to the interview in this thread about government intervention to ensure free speech in universities.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3238951-some-good-news

ijustwannadance · 06/05/2018 12:41

Gender neutral toilets impacting women? No one gives a shit.
Gender neutral toilets impacting men?
The world takes notice.

I think most places so far seem to keep the mens and just make the women's unisex.
Urinals serve a purpose. Men pissing all over loo seats isn't a new problem.

TrumpTrump · 06/05/2018 12:40

There's a lot going on in that article!

Dirty protests are vulgar and have no place in civilized debate. A minimum wage cleaner probably had to clean that piss up, not cool.

Original poster
WeAreGerbil · 06/05/2018 12:32

Sorry there's a bit more!

Three years ago, the then principal Alice Prochaska encouraged students to speak out against “laddish” behaviour such as “groping at social events, loud jokes in public places about rape and . . . homophobic remarks in student meetings”.

Other Oxford colleges including Wadham, Balliol, St Hugh’s and St John’s have brought in gender-neutral lavatories to make transgender students feel comfortable.
Somerville said it had told students that “vandalism” would not be tolerated, adding: “We expect all college members to treat each other with respect.”

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