Sadiq Khan calls for more gender neutral public toilets

[BadenBadenBadenBaden]

www.standard.co.uk/news/london/mayor-unveils-plans-for-gender-neutral-public-toilets-in-london-a3703726.html

I think he is thinking of the individual unisex cubicle type.

Great quote from a UKIP member (never thought I'd hear myself say that!!) -

David Kurten, London Assembly member for UKIP added: “The common sense solution is to have one or two unisex cubicles, which many public places already have, for everybody.

“Alongside that we also need to have separate women and men’s toilets and changing facilities. Particularly for women’s safety, we shouldn’t be opening up access to their toilets to those who are biologically male, however they identify.”

No women are calling for gender neutral toilets, because we know what its like to actually use a bathroom in public, as a woman.
Its irrelevant how the cubicles are designed. You have to walk through the space to get to the cubicle. Most men use the toilet as a toilet but they are a magnet for men that dont.

It is amazing how many men are quite happy to trample all over our rights.

AFAICT it's just a request to consider, they aren't actually mandating anything specific.

Gender neutral toilets are only ok when they are single cubicles with doors to the outside and when the cubicle has a sink and sanitary bin inside it.

Khan is mayor of a city in which groping and upskirting is endemic on the transport system. Can he not join a single bloody dot?

Oh my fucking god, it's down to UKIP to speak up against this?!

Wow. Labour really really love this particular fucking bandwagon don't they.

He just keeps coming out with idiotic suggestions doesn't he?

The radio said ' We need more toilets for non binary people- those who don't identify as male or female' and both my children (8 and 11) burst out laughing though I've never discussed it with them. Felt good.

Fuck. I agree about something with someone from UKIP

Tbh, I’d prefer if unisex cubicles had a urinal as well. Not really a fan of pissy seats (yes, I know women aren’t necessarily perfect in this respect) or the splashback zone.

My old university have gone to gender neutral toilets. I had to go in the other day and I opened the door to what was still marked as womens toilets.

There was a man at the sinks (clearly biologically a man and presenting as a man).
I was in my own world and when I saw him I assumed I had done something daft and walked into men's by mistake. I must have looked ridiculous looking at him then back at the door sign repeatedly!

In the end he said 'are you coming in?'

I was still in a daze and, obviously didn't want to be 'rude' so I did.

This is a pretty unremarkable story really, because he did nothing at all and all was well.

Except, one of those two cubicles is where three years ago, I ran, after excruciating pain to find I was miscarrying. The women that were in that toilet helped me, whilst I was crying and bleeding and in a real mess.

I can't actually believe that anyone cant see the problem with forcing women to allow men into these very private, female spaces.

So sorry about your miscarriage, Opal.

Your story illustrates perfectly why this shared space idea is bullshit, and how the reality of being a woman isn’t properly considered by those making the decisions.

Opal

That is what all of those promoting gender neutral everything just don't get.

Sadiq Khan needs to be pointed in the direction of this thread. He has three daughters I believe ( which shouldn't but does actually make it worse).

Sorry Opal. Your story is an important reminder of why we need women's spaces.

I'm so disappointed in Sadiq. Has he really not thought this through?

Yeah come on Sadiq. I want you for pm one day. You need to get up to speed on this one.

I was in the local high school recently, which is new, and has unisex toilets. A row of cubicles with floor to ceiling doors and partitions, facing a bank of sinks. Only, some of the doors are blue. And some are pink. They alternate. The blue ones do not have sanitary bins. It was busy and I had to use a blue cubicle.

I can't imagine teenage girls having to wait for boys to vacate the pink cubicles because they are on their period and can't use the blue cubicles. Everyone would know why she needed the pink cubicle! Awful.

opal your post made me tear up and reminds everyone why these women only places are so important.

As long as they are like the ones in the V&A, large, self contained with a sink and bin ( cant remember if there are mirrors) that is the only workable solution, but what about paid public loos like by St Pauls or at Stations, are they going to spend millions transforming them?
I cant imagine Harrods / Fortnum’s or 5* hotels risking offence to their Arab customers by not having segregated loos.

@motmot those poor girls at that school. What were the school leadership thinking when they approved that decision? So stupid. Just put sanitary bins in all the toilets, fgs. And the blue/pink coding is just the icing on the stupidity cake.

I know, assassinatedbeauty it was a real face palm moment. I will be getting in touch with the school!

What will happen in reality is that existing female and male facilities will simply be re-labelled unisex, meaning unisex cubicles and unisex urinals. Please add the Mayor of London to the list of people to lobby.

Does anyone know if the Barbican has reversed its decision to have gender-neutral cubicles and gender-neutral urinals? It said that it was going to review its decision.

Plenty of men don't like the idea of weeing in front of women. I'm not in the UK, but I'm old and a mother of boys, so I'd be fine with asserting my right to go in the 'gender-neutral with urinals' that I've heard about (holding my nose.. with disinfectant wipes so I didn't have to touch too much). If enough of us did that, perhaps in groups, and waited for each other to come out of the cubicles, perhaps the men would complain, and then something would be done.

Except of course, we all know they'd just put those back to being mens and leave the women's gender neutral.

FizzyWaterAndElderflower - we could take a leaf out of the TRA book and make sure we complain in our droves about every single loo with urinals that doesn't also have tampon dispensers and sanitary bins, or smells, or is unsanitary in any way (ie all of them). Swamp them in admin.

Thank you.

Just really illustrated to me that feelings are being put before awkward womens biological realities.

FizzyWaterAndElderflower LangCleg I completely agree. Plus I think its up to us older women to protest the loudest.

At some point a Deaf women, a woman with learning difficulties or a woman with dementia is going to see there's a man in the womens bathroom.
If people take it on themselves to try to explain why, they might just make them more distressed.