Plans for unisex toilets at Old Trafford

[WrongSideOfHistory]

Not overjoyed about the plans, but some of the replies have given me faith in common sense at least
https://twitter.com/mennewsdesk/status/1047743180773445633

I love Andy's response
They should take more interest in their player's taking the piss on the field.

Yup, the respondents (mostly male) get it.

As one says: way to further discourage women and girls from attending football matches.

Welcoming and inclusive to all football supporters.... Unless they're women of course 🙄

Drunk male footy fans, women and kids all in the same enclosed space. What could possibly go wrong!

It’s difficult to tell with so many of the respondents being on the fence here, but I don’t think their fans we’re in favour? Maybe they should run a poll?

These in particular, really difficult to tell which side of the fence they’re on.

I would not be okay with this! The women's toilets at the football ground I go to have big signs on the door saying that any male supporter found using the female toilets will have their season ticket taken from them. I hope it stays that way.

A bunch of pissed up blokes in a place where women are a minority already. What could possibly go wrong there.

Will they be instead of single sex toilets toilets or as well as? That article doesn’t make it clear.

I go to Old Trafford quite often. I need to go to the toilet quite a lot - often 3 or 4 times during my visit. The queues for the women's toilets in our section are horrendous - I often spend the whole of half-time waiting to use the toilet, so I'd be amused at the reaction of most men to having to queue with the women. Especially as they wouldn't be able to use urinals any longer, making the queues even bloody longer.

Of course, one bad experience and I'd never go again, which I think would be the case for a fair few women.

Will they be instead of single sex toilets toilets or as well as? That article doesn’t make it clear.

Many sections at OT only have one of each sex toilet (with about 12 cubicles in the women's, I can't speak for the men's but there are urinals in theirs) - so they'd have to unisex both.

Who advised the United management this would be a good idea? Was it Stonewall or did they come up with this ridiculous proposal themselves?

A friend of mine was at The Bridge Theatre last week where they have gender neutral or rather mixed toilets and a man was peeing with the door open. She’s in her 60s and is not shy, she’s seen it all but was horrified, why should she go to the loo with men who won’t even close the door?

One way it would be good... the horrific queues would peak so many men.

Women and girls however, don't forget your cleaning kits, you really don't want to be sitting on the seats where pissed blokes have been.

A friend of mine was at The Bridge Theatre last week where they have gender neutral or rather mixed toilets and a man was peeing with the door open. She’s in her 60s and is not shy, she’s seen it all but was horrified, why should she go to the loo with men who won’t even close the door?

In their hurry to get back out and on the beer again (which you can freely buy at OT), they're going to piss all over the seats as well, aren't they?

Who advised the United management this would be a good idea? Was it Stonewall or did they come up with this ridiculous proposal themselves?

The article has the club mentioning working with Stonewall...

Or they could be talking about building a totally separate gender neutral block. As long as it didn’t reduce the number of single sex facilities I can’t say say I would have a problem with that.

Or they could be talking about building a totally separate gender neutral block. As long as it didn’t reduce the number of single sex facilities I can’t say say I would have a problem with that.

Not possible at OT - the design of the stadium means that each section is separated from the others and most are upstairs - we climb about 8 flights to get to our section and there's no room at the bottom for any sort of "block" (which in any case would have to serve all the other levels accessed from our staircase.) On our landing/section, as I said earlier, there are 2 toilets, one of each sex.

In any case, you couldn't have people going downstairs to the toilet and then back up again, it would be a health and safety nightmare.

I’m usually all for unisex loos but sharing with drunk, rowdy male football fans doesn’t sound appealing to me

I’ve been to a take that gig at ot and they wouldn’t let the 90% female audience use any of the male toilets. How times have fucking changed.

Yeah I know how it’s designed and as I remember, on the landings I’ve been on there seemed to be quite a bit of unused space - enough for say one or two unisex cubicles in addition to the other blocks. I’d be surprised to see them convert all the blocks but would definitely complain if they did.

I've been at a hockey match and walked into the ladies to see a man pissing with the door wide open. Don't think the blokes at a football match will be any better behaved

Plus if you’re a mum who takes a son or a dad who takes a daughter to a game then you might welcome the choice of a gender neutral cubicle too. The issue is whether there will be a choice but I know a couple of work places that have installed additional unisex toilet blocks and each time I thought, they’re never going to find the extra space, but each time they did. So I’m reserving judgement for now although I agree the Stonewall involvement isn’t promising.

It depends how it's done, agree with Flosime - the inability of Dads to go to the loo with their daughters / Mums with their sons when out alone is a problem. The ideal would be single sex and unisex. And to be honest, if they're going to be unisex anyway (by allowing people who self-ID as women but who are biologically male in the womens) then I'd rather they were upfront about it - at least then you have a choice.

I think it reads like they are going to be additional toilets, no suggestion they will replace the female ones.

I think this is a pick your battles thing, I'm completely against the removal of female only toilets but that doesn't mean I automatically object to gender neutral ones. To start complaining without an indication that female spaces are affected doesn't help our cause.