Quick question - theatres which seem to offer mixed sex loos (mainly flagged up as female and transgender etc) - is this lawful now?

[loveyouradvice]

Because these are for customers rather than employees, and not in a protected setting like healthcare, can they continue with advertising their "combined single sex and trans" provided they don't object to anyone entering them?

ie basically mixed sex but with regular 2/3s doors and shared basins

presumably this gets round the need for single sex spaces???

If that's all they offer and they are a tiny venue, it may be ok. If they offer mens, they must offer womens and these are divided by sex. If they are a sizeable venue they need to offering single sex.

To comply with building regulations (if it’s a new build or big re-furb):
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67167c02d100972c0f4c9b38/ADT_2024.pdf

Single sex + trans = mixed sex.

In reality, I should imagine most theatres will be keen to make all of them mixed sex as the creative industries will be pushing for inclusion and trying to defy the ruling.

Initially, most will likely do what many have already done where they have confusing signs saying that these loos have urinals and these have cubicles.

Realistically, the men won’t bother queuing for the ladies when there’s no queue for the urinals, and not many ladies will want to go where the urinals are.

@Nevertrustacop - Is there a ruling or something which means larger theatres have to provide single sex? DO you know what it it?

A friend said the national had single sex so that might explain why, while my local has what is trans-friendly mixed gender-ish.....

Your local should have single sex then if there’s enough room, a universal one.

However, it hasn’t been ‘tested’ yet. As far as I can make out, if you have any sort of refurb then it conforms to doc T that I posted. I don’t think it applies retrospectively.

I think the game is up for theatres that mark the loos as gender neutral leaving the men's urinals untouched and effectively reducing female provision and increasing male provision. If they claim the loos are unisex then no woman should have to experience indecent exposure just to use the toilet. They will have to remove the urinals or risk an indirect sex discrimination claim. That will cost money to convert them and be very unpopular with men used to the convenience of a urinal.

Much simpler to mark them as men and women's toilets and have an accessible/ disabled provision. Just a case of how stupid they are before this sinks in.

Just a case of how stupid they are before this sinks in.

I think pretty stupid, probably.

My prediction is that most theatres and other arts venues will continue to be aggressively pro trans inclusion at the expense of women’s rights for as long as they can possibly get away with it.

Do you work in a theatre @loveyouradvice? If so ask the management what changes, if any, will happen to toilet provision following the Supreme Court ruling.

If you are a theatre goer, call your local theatre and ask them what's happening there.

My understanding is that mixed sex facilities such as toilets are still allowed (nothing to stop customers campaigning for single sex toilets; venues might change their minds if they think its what the majority of customers want) but that anything which is advertised as single sex (such as a toilet with a female sign on the door) must now be truly single sex and mustn't allow people of the opposite sex to say that they are allowed to enter ie men in dresses and bad wigs who claim to be women can't use women's toilets.

I think they will change but agree they'll be amongst the last...and meanwhile will fudge while they can creating a mixed sex with a focus...... the ones Ive seen seem to have women/transgender and men/transgender with appropriate images so not prioritising one type of trans over the other

if they try and segregate as women and any one who identifies as a woman and another as men and anyone who identifies as a man with non binary going wherever they feel most comfortable then they are operating mixed sex and would be on a sticky wicket trying to justify why a man (as opposed to TW) could also use the women’s facilties. Even if they use the symbols 🚺🚹 rather than words then they are claiming to be operating single sex spaces so it now unequivocally means biological sex and is not open to interpretation

In larger venues where they do have a bit more flexibility, they’ll probably do what the Barbican did and have single-sex and separate unisex sex loos.

It’s very telling that there’s always a long queue for the ladies right next to a virtually empty unisex loo.

I think we'll see a lot more unisex loos until the men get fed up of queuing, and then there'll be urinals added, so men don't have to queue and women have to share with men. Malicious compliance and all that.

Of course, the bigger issue is that there aren't enough loos full stop. Trans people can moan about provision or lack of it, but it's not just them, it's all of us.

Any theatre I’ve been to either has mixed all loos.

single sex or single sex and mixed.

what theatre is it that has mixed sex loos and then just men’s?

Actually theatres are one of the few places that I don't mind mixed sex loos as long as everyone doesn't have to walk past the urinals. I'm so fed up of a massive queue for the ladies and the men just walk straight in.

Royal Court does I think - in practice at least because although it says they're both mixed "gender", one set has urinals in and I have never seen a woman go into them.

Does the theatre have separate staff facilities? If not then the toilets would come under the working regs, which require separate male and female facilities.

That is indirect sex discrimination as they are providing more facilities to males than females.

The problem is that for things to change there needs to be court cases and judgements.

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/interim-update-practical-implications-uk-supreme-court-judgment

The interim guidance is out. Womens/mens toilets are on the basis of biological sex. It's that simple.

I believe The Old Vic in London has urinals & mixed sex.

Kings Head Theatre has "Everyone - cubicles" on the former women's toilets.
Lyric Hammersmith has mixed sex. Southwark Playhouse has signs on the original toilets saying how many cubicles/urinals are in there. For some reason they keep the door to the former men's open so you can see the urinals from the foyer. It's gross.
I often complain on X when I see mixed sex toilets.

I think if people wrote into their theatres with the safety reasons, it would give theatres a solid reason to change back. I expect theatres are under pressure from so many different quarters but their main customers are older people that prefer single sex toilets. They must get so many complaints and this leads to lost revenue.

‘We have altered our toilet facilities to reflect safety changes that are required for our audience and staff. The designs we have chosen take into regard health and safety legislation, and are out of respect for those medically more vulnerable people with heart conditions, epilepsy, diabetes, asthma etc.’

ie single sex toilets with door gaps.