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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Anyone know anything about Kew Gardens changing back to single sex toilets?

29 replies

loveyouradvice · 22/05/2025 12:49

I caught in passing on another thread that Kew Gardens toilets were now single ssex....

Does anyone know

  1. What they were before?
  2. What actual changes they have now made?

Huge thanks - really useful info if someone has it!

OP posts:
AlexandraLeaving · 22/05/2025 12:56

I mentioned it on another thread but only because theFoxKiller had referred to it in one of the footnotes in his Letter Before Action. I have not yet been to check on the ground.

OverpricedCupcake · 22/05/2025 12:57

The toilets for the summer sessions gigs there last year were single sex, no idea of they're run by an outside company though.

OhHellolittleone · 22/05/2025 12:59

I don’t remember there being mixed loos there. I go fairly regularly.

DontStopMe · 22/05/2025 13:16

They've always been single sex as far as I know, and I go there often.

YourAmplePlumPoster · 22/05/2025 13:22

Single sex as far as I know and I'm a frequent visitor.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 22/05/2025 13:23

OhHellolittleone · 22/05/2025 12:59

I don’t remember there being mixed loos there. I go fairly regularly.

Sorry that made me giggle. I read it that you go to the loo a lot 😜🤣

DontStopMe · 22/05/2025 13:26

Maybe he is referring to staff toilets?

Annascaul · 22/05/2025 13:27

DontStopMe · 22/05/2025 13:16

They've always been single sex as far as I know, and I go there often.

Same.

Arran2024 · 22/05/2025 13:39

I have Kew annual membership and go all the time and the toilets i use there are, and have always been, single sex.

SunnieShine · 22/05/2025 13:45

DontStopMe · 22/05/2025 13:16

They've always been single sex as far as I know, and I go there often.

Me, neither. Thank God.

JamieCannister · 22/05/2025 13:46

I have nothing to add to thread specifically, but is it worth making explicitly clear whether we are talking about -

Mixed sex toilets, perhaps marked gender neutral with a picture of a man AND a woman on the door.

Purportedly single sex toilets as indicated by a man OR a woman on the door, but which are actually single gender toilets.

Actual single sex toilets as indicated by a man OR a woman on the door, and backed up by staff who enforce the rules.

Toilets with a man OR a woman on the door where we have no idea what the rules are supposed to be or whether the rules are enforced.

tipsyraven · 22/05/2025 13:46

I go quite often and the loos have always been single sex.

loveyouradvice · 22/05/2025 15:06

Thanks all!! The fox killer is not the most reliable source....

OP posts:
ScarlettSunset · 22/05/2025 16:18

I went there towards the end of last year for afternoon tea. The toilets in the restaurant bit (can't remember what the building was called) were definitely mixed sex. It would be nice if this wasn't the case now.
All the other toilets I saw there were single sex.

Arran2024 · 22/05/2025 16:43

ScarlettSunset · 22/05/2025 16:18

I went there towards the end of last year for afternoon tea. The toilets in the restaurant bit (can't remember what the building was called) were definitely mixed sex. It would be nice if this wasn't the case now.
All the other toilets I saw there were single sex.

I think you mean The Botanical - this is a single toilet because it's in an old building and there isn't room for more. This is the only set up like this in Kew. It's only for people using the restaurant. It has always been like this.

YourAmplePlumPoster · 22/05/2025 16:52

The loos throughout the Gardens are single sex and always have been.

YourAmplePlumPoster · 22/05/2025 16:55

I am a member and Kew Gardens is a great welcoming space for everyone and a great place to relax. They also put on very interesting exhibitions.

NorthernLoon · 22/05/2025 17:00

JamieCannister · 22/05/2025 13:46

I have nothing to add to thread specifically, but is it worth making explicitly clear whether we are talking about -

Mixed sex toilets, perhaps marked gender neutral with a picture of a man AND a woman on the door.

Purportedly single sex toilets as indicated by a man OR a woman on the door, but which are actually single gender toilets.

Actual single sex toilets as indicated by a man OR a woman on the door, and backed up by staff who enforce the rules.

Toilets with a man OR a woman on the door where we have no idea what the rules are supposed to be or whether the rules are enforced.

I go to Kew every couple of months. All the toilets I've used have had a sign on the door indicating that they're for either men or women (i.e. single sex) and I've only ever encountered women in the women's.
I once encountered a man in the baby feeding room but he was heating up a jar of baby food in the warmer and looked a bit embarrassed to have stumbled in on me breastfeeding! I didn't care - it doesn't claim to be a single sex space, and he was feeding his child just like I was feeding mine 🤷🏼‍♀️

TheCatsTongue · 22/05/2025 17:22

Single sex as far as I'm aware, there may be a disabled toilet that is unisex.

They sell gingerbread people in the cafe though.

MelOfTheRoses · 22/05/2025 17:42

ScarlettSunset · 22/05/2025 16:18

I went there towards the end of last year for afternoon tea. The toilets in the restaurant bit (can't remember what the building was called) were definitely mixed sex. It would be nice if this wasn't the case now.
All the other toilets I saw there were single sex.

I have only been there once but there was definitely a restaurant where there was one disabled toilet, and a room with 3 cubicles with the usual gaps and shared washbasins that was marked as both ladies and gents.

DontStopMe · 22/05/2025 18:02

There are a few places to eat but I usually avoid them and take a picnic, so I've probably just been lucky enough to miss that one. But I am curious now, and I will investigate next time I'm there.

YourAmplePlumPoster · 22/05/2025 18:06

There is absolutely no reason for this thread implying that single sex spaces are not available in Kew Gardens.

AlexandraLeaving · 23/05/2025 05:53

I am REALLY sorry for setting hares running by relying on something in the foxkiller letter. It seemed plausible that there had been some of what @JamieCannister describes as “purportedly single sex toilets” after the article on queer botanicals in the Kew members magazine a few years ago but I should not have jumped to conclusions.

NextRinny · 23/05/2025 14:04

I think the title question is not clear.
Kew garden visitors will always perceive the toilets as single sex.

The question is: does Kew gardens operate it as a single gender identity space instead of a single sex space. I.e does it have policies allowing trans identified individualis into "the toilets that align with their gender identity" I.e. opposite sex toilets.

JamieCannister · 23/05/2025 14:24

YourAmplePlumPoster · 22/05/2025 18:06

There is absolutely no reason for this thread implying that single sex spaces are not available in Kew Gardens.

There is absolutely no reason to suppose that a women's space is single sex unless the organisation responsible for it says something like "To be explicitly clear, women's toilets are for all women and no men. Trans 'men' are, by definition, women, and are of course welcome in the toilets we provide for women. Trans 'women' are, by definition, men, and are of course welcome in the toilets we provide for men. Any individual found trying to enter, or inside, a toilet provided for the opposite sex will be reported to the police for voyeurism and banned for life from every single place we have control of".