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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

Girls protesting about loss of single-sex toilets in schools

103 replies

Ofcourseshecan · 04/03/2023 19:05

I've just seen this on another thread and thought it deserves one of its own. Sorry if it already has a thread -- I didn't see one.

There have been protests and riots in some schools the past few days, organised on Tiktok. And while some of the protests are about other issues, the loss of single-sex toilets seems to be a major concern.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11802555/TikTok-protests-rock-Britains-schools-Pupils-scale-gates-trash-classrooms-rules.html

In Southampton, two hundred pupils staged protests at Weston Secondary School yesterday after being left 'uncomfortable' by new unisex toilets.

As they chanted 'toilet rights', the youngsters pitched up at the lavatories to also take a stand against rules preventing them from leaving lessons for the loo.

The children reported worries about the same-sex toilets at the academy school after their introduction in September.

One female pupil said 'girl emergencies' mean they should be allowed to use the toilet without having to wait 'up to two hours' for a break or lunchtime.

Meanwhile, a parent said their daughter felt so uneasy about sharing a toilet with boys that she has stopped going to the toilet during school hours.

Pupil Chloe, 14, said: 'We don't think it's fair, girls in our school are not comfortable. People think it's funny to unlock the doors while you're in there.

'We're trying to tell the teachers that it's just not fair. We've tried to talk to them before we did a protest but they're just ignoring it.'

OP posts:
HairyPooter · 04/03/2023 19:15

Hopefully the powers that be (SLT, governors, academic trusts) will take notice and provide the girls with the female toilets that they need.

Teachers don't have any powers to make those types of decisions so directing their anger/frustration at teachers is pointless.

Lordofthebutterfloofs · 04/03/2023 19:18

Schools are like prisons these days. Infact worse. Even prisoners have access to toilet facilities whenever needed. It's disgusting that schools think they can do this to children.

girlinabox · 04/03/2023 19:21

Gosh when I read this all I could think of was the mortification of crinkling sanitary towels being removed from packaging when I was 12/13. If boys had been present I think I might have given up on school altogether.

IcakethereforeIam · 04/03/2023 19:57

I think the Guardian had an article about this yesterday. It was dismissed as a TikTok craze, just dismissed.

mach2 · 04/03/2023 21:51

Teachers don't have any powers to make those types of decisions so directing their anger/frustration at teachers is pointless.

But the pupils can't get to the higher ups, so attacking the teachers is a way to get the teachers to put pressure on the powers that be.

HairyPooter · 04/03/2023 22:06

mach2 · 04/03/2023 21:51

Teachers don't have any powers to make those types of decisions so directing their anger/frustration at teachers is pointless.

But the pupils can't get to the higher ups, so attacking the teachers is a way to get the teachers to put pressure on the powers that be.

Unfortunately, most management don't really care about their teachers. Not really. Teachers are demoralised and leaving in droves. And even if they agree with the students, many schools are fully captured at the top. That's why the toilets were changed in the first place.

MarshaMelrose · 04/03/2023 22:10

Lordofthebutterfloofs · 04/03/2023 19:18

Schools are like prisons these days. Infact worse. Even prisoners have access to toilet facilities whenever needed. It's disgusting that schools think they can do this to children.

Yes, exactly like prisons, apart from the fact you don't have to be there. 🙄

Wrongsideofpennines · 04/03/2023 22:15

School toilets were grim at the best of times but having to share them with boys that still had competitions on how high up the wall they could piss would have meant I wouldn't have used toilets at school.

And the thought of boys overhearing the wrappers of a sanitary pad would have meant I wouldn't have gone to school during my period.

Areyoureeeaaady · 04/03/2023 22:21

Or boys thinking it’s funny to stand on each others’ shoulders to look over the top of the stall. No doubt filming will come into it too.

I despair for teenage girls these days. I really do.

Beatrixy · 04/03/2023 22:34

How dare the schools turn loos into unisex! All children are entitled to single sex loos. Here’s a link to legislation around the issue and facts on school based sexual harassment.

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/singlesextoiletsfactsheet.pdf

RufustheSpeculatingreindeer · 04/03/2023 23:02

I heard it was a bit of a ‘riot’

the toilets shouldn’t have been changed to mixed sex in the first place

Toseland · 04/03/2023 23:09

Stonewall has caused this and Gillian Keegan MP is continuing to allow it. Has she said anything yet? Poor pupils having to protest.

mach2 · 04/03/2023 23:21

My friend's daughter told me that at her school they're not allowed to use the loos during lessons, before lessons or in between lessons.

Queues at break times mean she rarely gets to go except during lunch break. She just avoids drinking during the day.

qpmz · 04/03/2023 23:22

Awful, these young girls should not have to deal with this. I'm an adult and unisex toilets have opened in the new section of the office. I hate it and always try and sit in the area that still has single sex ones.

ArabellaScott · 04/03/2023 23:32

More power to these girls.

Fucking appalling the dereliction of responsibility from the people who are trained, paid, and trusted with their care.

Pieceofpurplesky · 04/03/2023 23:45

The use of toilets in lessons is a really difficult one. In an ideal world they should be able to just go, but there are not enough staff to supervise and sadly (as with all things in life) a small minority ruin it for the rest. I've been teaching a long old time and have seen everything you can think of in unsupervised toilets - drugs, drink, sex, fights, eating (🤢), bullying, tiktoking, having chats with mates from different classes, vandalism, shit being smeared up walls ...

Pieceofpurplesky · 04/03/2023 23:46

Pressed too soon sorry

I don't know what the answer is?

Timingiseverythingcoll · 04/03/2023 23:50

Awful!

notagain2020 · 04/03/2023 23:56

Going backwards in so many ways....at least when I was a teenager it felt like things were improving.

mach2 · 05/03/2023 00:15

I was at school in the 70s and eighties. There wasn't a blanket ban on using loos during lesson time - it was down to teacher discretion and wasn't unreasonably refused.

Peer ridicule meant that we didn't ask unless we were desperate.

KnottyKnitting · 05/03/2023 00:24

I had the misfortune to have to use a unisex loo at Gatwick airport the other day. There were bits of chipboard screwed to the bottom of the doors. Stank of piss. When I mentioned it to DH he said it was no different to any gents he had ever been in.

No shit Sherlock...

SammyScrounge · 05/03/2023 00:27

The teachers should have joined the protests.

ScrollingLeaves · 05/03/2023 02:38

Something that would help is clearing up confusion in the Equality Act about what ‘sex’ means and how it interacts with the GRC and Gender Reassignment. There are perceived legal conflicts between those elements. People are wary of using the single sex exceptions allowed in the Equality Act in case of being accused of discrimination against children who may be questioning their gender. Mixed sex toilets seem to solve the problem.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4722618-petition-to-update-the-equality-act-thread-2

Cheekymaw · 05/03/2023 04:01

Good on them! My daughter is at Sixth Form now but refused to use the toilets of her old school as boys used to come in. She used to come in bursting for the loo.
She used to try and stay off when she had her period because of this as there was no privacy whatsoever for girls!

JacobsCrackersCheeseFogg · 05/03/2023 05:45

In my DD's GIRLS SCHOOL they have to wait for breaks to use the loo. But if a student's period starts during a lesson, the teacher has to bleep an "advocate" to come and escort them. Quite often an advocate isn't available so the student has to wait until break.

I've written to the Headteacher about this but got a shitty email about students taking the piss with toilet breaks.

My DD doesn't use the loo at school. First thing she does when she gets in is go straight to the bathroom. If she's due, she'll wear a pad all day, just in case. It's a farce.