Maugham: the sheer hypocrisy

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I see JM is all over social media pointing out the clear-as-mud toilet signage at Membury services. Yes it's pretty terrible. But where was he when clear language was being mangled in women's health documentation? Suddenly clear communication matters, huh?

The implications of gender-inclusive language for several categories of marginalised women in healthcare is really one of the key things that peaked me. All the "people with cervixes" nonsense that really does endanger disadvantaged women who are speakers of other languages, have low literacy or cognitive disabilities, who are already less likely to access healthcare such as smear tests. It is so against the direction of travel in health communication guidelines, which point to the need for clarity for all users. The average reading age in this country is pre-teen. Clear communication is vital for health literacy.

I can look at the Membury Services photo and say yep, that's terrible communication. But not once have I ever heard a TRA engage meaningfully with the plain language issue from the GC viewpoint.

What a hypocrite.

I've just tracked that down & the signage seems clear to me. Isn't it:

To the left - men-only toilets, men-only showers, accessible toilet, mixed sex toilet (possibly mixed gender as there are 3 bits to that circle - I don't know what that means but I assume anyone who's bothered about gender will understand it), mixed sex baby change facility

To the right - women-only toilets, women-only shower, women-only baby change facility

Where's the problem? Well done to the services for providing all the options.

If it's what you're saying, it sounds perfect!

The signage

Women have to wear a dress in the shower!

I can see it is fairly cluttered and would probably be unclear to people with cognitive differences such as dementia or Down syndrome. Just as people with a cervix would be.

Those pictograms are mostly correct. However, the circular one with the arrows is not a recognised unisex symbol.

Signs have to conform to British Standards.

britishsafetysigns.co.uk/shop/category/health-safety-general-information-toilet-signs-130/page/2

I would not have put lines between them. If you put the pictograms in boxes it is easier to visualise.

Also the unisex symbol is often a man and a women with a line between them which wouldn’t work here.

I prefer the unisex symbol that looks like a person wearing a dress only on one side, like those performers who make it look like they are dancing with themselves.

It is quite busy, but I can't see any way around that if you are offering so many options.

And if a man changes a baby he has to have a woman there to help!

No disabled facilities on the women's side?

Does Maugham raise all the money for his ridiculous and usually unsuccessful court cases from crowdfunding, or does he have a misanthropic billionaire hiding in the undergrowth who supports him?

Simple, uncluttered signage is best, and this does look a bit like an Egyptian temple.

But there's provision for everyone. What on earth is his problem?

the dream…

Nothing wrong with that?

‘Luxury’ swishy woman in gold:

edit to say: I don’t think this is compliant and is misleading without a word unisex or universal underneath it

What would be an alternative way of indicating that they also have showers and baby changing facilities?

I assume that people will already have passed signs outside indicating that this is where the toilets are?

I assume his problem is the implication that men who identify as transgender shouldn’t be using the ladies.

I assume that his problem is that he is Jolyon Maugham.

Well, yes

He's pointing at signs saying there's a wide range of toilet provision and saying "this is really confusing".

While promising to go to court so that toilets with the "woman" sign on the door actually mean "women, transvestites, flashers, voyeurs and anyone else who fancies using the facility".

There's a thing about lawyers (and academics, scientists etc) who are good at a narrow specialism, that they can often be really dumb when they step outside their specialism, and their confidence actually makes them dumber.

Loos in a mountain restaurant in Tignes
😀

I think the signs are reasonably clear, as ifIwerenotanandroid said. I suppose it could be a little less busy, but if you're going to have all those different options, then it's not at all a bad way of doing it.

Maugham's main objection, from what I can see, is that there's a baby changing facility open to both sexes, and one that's open to women only, but not one that's open to men only. I don't know why this bothers him so much.

Argh. The usual wail.

"We want absolutely everything all the time! NOT LIKE THAT!"

Whatever anyone ever does for this bunch, they will never make them happy. It will never be enough or right. The need they want met isn't for solutions, the need is for shouting, wailing, blaming and victimhood while people run around trying fruitlessly to please them.

To me that looks like a man with a trouser tent situation going on