Shared, genderless restrooms

[bcla]

[GALLERY=]http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/754853acc...the-carnival-of-cultures-dgnf4k.jpg[/GALLERY]

hoping the photo works--if so, this style of open air urinal is totally common and German festivals--see them all the time, at very family freindly places. DH uses them. No one seems all that bothered. I think largely the issue is simply being used to something---give a few years of running into whomever by the sinks or in line and no one will even remember why gender inclusive restrooms were something to argue about.

More like this:

I've heard in the UK there are pop up urinals on the street. Just press a button and one rises up out of a hole in the sidewalk.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

hoping the photo works--if so, this style of open air urinal is totally common and German festivals--see them all the time, at very family freindly places. DH uses them. No one seems all that bothered. I think largely the issue is simply being used to something---give a few years of running into whomever by the sinks or in line and no one will even remember why gender inclusive restrooms were something to argue about.

Funny, because I think that people will stop talking about, but many people will still have a problem with it.

It will have just become so commonplace, that those that didn't like the idea, now, will simply be stuck with it. And like many other things, they will know better than to say anything, for fear of being called old fashioned or worse.

I really hope that I always care who is next to me when I am using the restroom.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Funny, because I think that people will stop talking about, but many people will still have a problem with it.

It will have just become so commonplace, that those that didn't like the idea, now, will simply be stuck with it. And like many other things, they will know better than to say anything, for fear of being called old fashioned or worse.

I really hope that I always care who is next to me when I am using the restroom.

can I ask why you want to care?
I can understand just caring--but specifically wanting to always care about who is in the next stall, I truly do not understand why anyone would specifically wish for that. Thanks in advance for elaborating.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

can I ask why you want to care?
I can understand just caring--but specifically wanting to always care about who is in the next stall, I truly do not understand why anyone would specifically wish for that. Thanks in advance for elaborating.

Because I believe that men and women are different. They aren't interchangeable. I believe that we should celebrate their differences. Not try to erase them.

 

[CarolAnn856]

hoping the photo works--if so, this style of open air urinal is totally common and German festivals--see them all the time, at very family freindly places. DH uses them. No one seems all that bothered. I think largely the issue is simply being used to something---give a few years of running into whomever by the sinks or in line and no one will even remember why gender inclusive restrooms were something to argue about.

We saw something similar in the Netherlands a few years ago and again on our trip to the UK last year. I have no problem with them, but then again, we're boaters, so I'm used to seeing guys going over the side of a boat.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Because I believe that men and women are different. They aren't interchangeable. I believe that we should celebrate their differences. Not try to erase them.

How is urinating next to a person of a different gender making them interchangeable or erasing the differences? I'm pretty sure that a guy who is peeing next to me is still a guy when he's done, lol.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Because I believe that men and women are different. They aren't interchangeable. I believe that we should celebrate their differences. Not try to erase them.

thanks for the answer.

I'm not sure how peeing in a seperate room celebrates or erases difference -- but OK.


I still think it won't bother many people at all 5-10 years after it is just the way it is and everyone gets used to it. Likewise I hope (and think) that most people in my grandmother's age bracket down in Texas, where she lives, have long since gotten used to running into people with different skin colors in public restrooms--even though my grandmother was an adult before Jim Crow laws which prohibited that, and made it seem scary/weird/wrong/different to many were abolished. There might be a few who still are bothered by it and just know they have to deal---but I doubt it is the majority. I hope not anyway.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

thanks for the answer.

I'm not sure how peeing in a seperate room celebrates or erases difference -- but OK.


I still think it won't bother many people at all 5-10 years after it is just the way it is and everyone gets used to it. Likewise I hope (and think) that most people in my grandmother's age bracket down in Texas, where she lives, have long since gotten used to running into people with different skin colors in public restrooms--even though my grandmother was an adult before Jim Crow laws which prohibited that, and made it seem scary/weird/wrong/different to many were abolished. There might be a few who still are bothered by it and just know they have to deal---but I doubt it is the majority. I hope not anyway.

I certainly hope that you aren't comparing people like me that want private ladies rooms to people that have problems with different races using the same facilities.

Although, statements like yours are why people will simply keep their mouths shut about it. They don't want to be called racist or the like. In other words, people will "accept" it, simply to not be called names.

 

[Erzengel]

If I had control over my body, I'd never use a public bathroom for anything but #1.

But if I had to, would rather have a stall that goes from floor to ceiling like something you'd see at a Nordstrom Department store or an empty bathroom. LOL

 

[NHdisneylover]

I certainly hope that you aren't comparing people like me that want private ladies rooms to people that have problems with different races using the same facilities.

Although, statements like yours are why people will simply keep their mouths shut about it. They don't want to be called racist or the like. In other words, people will "accept" it, simply to not be called names.

I think there are some parallels: insofar as it is a situation many have not enoucntered and that means many feel uncomfortable with it, but those same people are likely to become accustomed to it fairly quickly once it starts happening nd no longer feel uncomfortable.

 

[bcla]

Funny, because I think that people will stop talking about, but many people will still have a problem with it.

It will have just become so commonplace, that those that didn't like the idea, now, will simply be stuck with it. And like many other things, they will know better than to say anything, for fear of being called old fashioned or worse.

I really hope that I always care who is next to me when I am using the restroom.

At this point it's really just a cultural hangup really, at least for me. I've been told for so long that men and women are supposed to use separate facilities. I'll find it disconcerting for a short period of time and I'll adapt. Heck - there was a time when there were "no colored allowed" signs. Anyone who feels uncomfortable with it typically still has the "single-user/family" facilities.

There are a lot of cultural hangups regarding the display of body parts. For a while it was considered improper for a woman to be on the beach in the United States without wearing a full length suit. For many of the Islamic faith, it's women covering their hair, most of their hair, or even their entire face. Then there's public breastfeeding.

I'm pretty sure there are those who grew up in majority Muslim countries that come to the West and still feel uncomfortable that women are uncovered. There are the stories of Orthodox Jews who were insistent that their daughters not be seated next to male stranger. One learns to adapt to a different cultural expectation, or shifting cultural expectations.

 

[bcla]

I certainly hope that you aren't comparing people like me that want private ladies rooms to people that have problems with different races using the same facilities.

Although, statements like yours are why people will simply keep their mouths shut about it. They don't want to be called racist or the like. In other words, people will "accept" it, simply to not be called names.

It's still a societal hangup though. There are a lot of things that are societal hangups, and different places or individuals have different ways of thinking. Nude beaches and communal bathhouses when men and women bathe together unclothed are common in some countries, like Japan. Such communal facilities weren't sexualized, although I heard that certain activities changed that. Right now those outdoor public urinals are used all over Europe . I might find it uncomfortable for a while (who's looking at me?) but I'd adapt. I still find gay men (and I live in the Bay Area) kissing in public a little bit disconcerting, but that's my hangup.

 

[mamacatnv]

hoping the photo works--if so, this style of open air urinal is totally common and German festivals--see them all the time, at very family freindly places. DH uses them. No one seems all that bothered. I think largely the issue is simply being used to something---give a few years of running into whomever by the sinks or in line and no one will even remember why gender inclusive restrooms were something to argue about.

This is great for the guys, and while I admit it would cause a double take if I were to see one, I assume they are tucked off the main path like most portable facilities. (?)
My question is, what do the girls get to use? Do they have typical Port-O-Pottys? I can see how this would lessen the P-O-P lines if the guys all used the carousels.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

As I said, people will "accept" it, simply not to be called racist or worse.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

More like this:

I've heard in the UK there are pop up urinals on the street. Just press a button and one rises up out of a hole in the sidewalk.

That's one of the few times I wish I was a man vrs woman us woman have to hold it till we find a public restroom

 

[bcla]

That's one of the few times I wish I was a man vrs woman us woman have to hold it till we find a public restroom

The problem those things were supposed to solve were that men wouldn't hold it and just went on the street. We still have that in San Francisco, where we deal with urine soaked escalators and elevators in public transit stations.

 

[Marchand63]

I think there are some parallels: insofar as it is a situation many have not enoucntered and that means many feel uncomfortable with it, but those same people are likely to become accustomed to it fairly quickly once it starts happening nd no longer feel uncomfortable.

First I have used men's rooms for years - and been admonished for it. But implying if someone is uncomfortable about it means they are parallel to a being racist - WOW!! Just WOW!!! Talk about a leap. and I agreethis is why some people feel the need to not join a free discussion. Very ANTIFA

 

[bcla]

As I said, people will "accept" it, simply not to be called racist or worse.

How does resistance of mixed-gender restrooms become equated to being labeled racist? It was only brought up as an example of how people adapted or possibly still harbored feelings of discomfort. Perhaps an individual wasn't necessarily "racist" given the times, but there could still be a feeling of unease because it wasn't how someone was raised or that one was used to experiencing.

 

[RedAngie]

Those portable outdoor urinals used in Europe aren't needed in the USA. At open-air festivals, many guys just find the nearest tree or shrub. And sometimes they don't even bother doing that.

 

[bcla]

Those portable outdoor urinals used in Europe aren't needed in the USA. At open-air festivals, many guys just find the nearest tree or shrub. And sometimes they don't even bother doing that.

Women are free to do the same. Women go backpacking, so there's got to be a way to pee in the woods, unless you're talking incredible bladder control. I don't exactly know what the procedure is, but there is a way. I have heard of a device that collects urine and directs it into a stream.