Shared, genderless restrooms

[Westcoastwild]

Squat toilets are supposed to be somewhat common in Japan. However, it's also the land of the electronic bidet toilet.

I didn't quite get what the deal was with Chinese tourists though. I've been to China several times on vacation, and every hotel I've stayed at had Western style toilets. I've been a guest at personal residences, and the kind of toilets we're used to are pretty common. I would have thought that most people in China would have had enough experience with them that they'd know how to use them. Or perhaps there are those who stand on porcelain toilets even in China:

Yeah, but I'm going to guess you stayed with people who were upper class and hotels that were oriented towards foreign visitors? People use what they're comfortable with and I would guess a lot of private homes, especially older ones, have squat toilets.

Electronic bidet toilets ARE a thing in Japan but mostly in fancier hotels and train stations. And a lot of times, public restrooms have squat toilets. So I'm willing to bet that some older houses or hotels have those too, but Western tourists are fairly unlikely to see them because we generally stay in places that speak some English.

Most people probably do know better. But I would assume most people know better than to flush trash down a toilet and yet that happens all the time in the US. Signs are insurance against idiots, usually.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, but I'm going to guess you stayed with people who were upper class and hotels that were oriented towards foreign visitors? People use what they're comfortable with and I would guess a lot of private homes, especially older ones, have squat toilets.

Electronic bidet toilets ARE a thing in Japan but mostly in fancier hotels and train stations. And a lot of times, public restrooms have squat toilets. So I'm willing to bet that some older houses or hotels have those too, but Western tourists are fairly unlikely to see them because we generally stay in places that speak some English.

Most people probably do know better. But I would assume most people know better than to flush trash down a toilet and yet that happens all the time in the US. Signs are insurance against idiots, usually.

You'd think that the visitors with enough money to travel internationally would know how to use a toilet though. Every famous tourist spot that serves foreign and domestic tourists in China has them these days. Most shopping malls do. It's taking over, but they still have peop,e who haven't figured it out.

 

[Erzengel]

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.

Separate Mixed-Gender restrooms as in a restroom for anyone? I think most people would be okay with it. Mixed-gender restrooms where it's male and female restrooms and you whichever gender you identify with you use is the issue I think most people have issues with. And maybe that's what they were referring to by being labeled ignorant, anti-lgbt, etc.

 

[disneychrista]

My guess is as this becomes more and more common, urinals will go away or be behind stall doors.

 

[KBoopaloo]

That's because guy don't wash their hands

It is the smell that gets me. In a gender neutral restroom there was no urinal and it never smelled, like the gender specific one with a urinal.

This made me LOL. Once upon a time I was responsible for ordering and replacing bathroom supplies for the public restrooms in my place of employment. We did not have wall mounted soap dispensers - we just used regular plastic bottles of hand soap and had to refill or replace them when empty. I had to replace the soap bottles in the ladies' room about 5-6x as often as the bottles in the mens' room despite having a fairly equal mix of visitors using the restrooms. It was remarkable. And gross. LOL

I will admit that the ladies' room was always a much bigger mess than the mens' though. How hard is it to throw the toilet paper INTO the toilet or the paper towels INTO the trash? These were the questions I was always muttering to myself as I tidied up.

 

[Dznypal]

Gee if this is the start of things changing I'm going to plan to strength my bladder so I won't have to use any type of restroom till I get home. What else will we have to change

 

[bcla]

Separate Mixed-Gender restrooms as in a restroom for anyone? I think most people would be okay with it. Mixed-gender restrooms where it's male and female restrooms and you whichever gender you identify with you use is the issue I think most people have issues with. And maybe that's what they were referring to by being labeled ignorant, anti-lgbt, etc.

My original discussion was about two multi-user restrooms that were formerly marked as men's or women's. They were both reassigned as open to any visitor. That meant men, women, trans, etc sharing the room simultaneously. That meant men in the same room where women were using the stalls and women where men were using the urinals. It was less of a gender identity issue and more of a "we don't care" message.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Does this bar have more male vs female bartenders? I often wonder if this makes a difference. We tend to have more female employees (only female right now) and while neither restroom is ever too horrible. The men's room is the only one that stinks.

They always had WAY more female employees. Only the doorman and the washroom attendant in the men's room were guys. All the bartenders & wait staff were female.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

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.

I know at the UMR St Pat's celebration, it was just 100+ guys at a time at the edge of the city park lake LOL

 

[penn19]

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

Agreed. There is no longer a choice.

 

[bcla]

Agreed. There is no longer a choice.

Of course there's a choice. Most of these places still have single-occupancy/family rooms where one person can enter and lock the door.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Of course there's a choice. Most of these places still have single-occupancy/family rooms where one person can enter and lock the door.

You misunderstood.

Of course there is a choice whether or not to use an all inclusive bathroom.

But people will lose the choice to be against it.

 

[bcla]

You misunderstood.

Of course there is a choice whether or not to use an all inclusive bathroom.

But people will lose the choice to be against it.

If you don't like it I certainly understand. However, this is the way the use of public restrooms is evolving. You can be against it all you want. You can say whatever you want on a message board where the moderators allow it. Nobody is stopping you from saying it, but by same the token there's nothing stopping anyone from responding to you. If someone disagrees with you and voices why, that doesn't mean that you've somehow lost your right to make some choice to be against something.

In short, you have the right to protest, and others have a right to counter-protest. If you inferred that anyone was name calling, that's on you because I didn't see any of it.

 

[Westcoastwild]

You misunderstood.

Of course there is a choice whether or not to use an all inclusive bathroom.

But people will lose the choice to be against it.

Um, you don't really have the choice to be against it right now, though. If you're in a place that has mixed gender restrooms, you can either use the bathroom or not go until you find a "woman's only" bathroom. Complaining to that establishment is going to get you absolutely nothing, because it's a nonissue on a lot of places.

What are you actually concerned about? That some guy might see you or you might see some guy? Because your vehemence is strange for an adult. You probably have more of a chance of seeing more skin at Disney than in a restroom.

 

[bcla]

Um, you don't really have the choice to be against it right now, though. If you're in a place that has mixed gender restrooms, you can either use the bathroom or not go until you find a "woman's only" bathroom. Complaining to that establishment is going to get you absolutely nothing, because it's a nonissue on a lot of places.

What are you actually concerned about? That some guy might see you or you might see some guy? Because your vehemence is strange for an adult. You probably have more of a chance of seeing more skin at Disney than in a restroom.

I get that some people don't like it. However, it sounds like the claim is that people are "shutting her down" by calling her names or implying she was racist. I certainly don't get where anyone said she was racist. I know there was a discussion about "whites only" bathrooms, but I think it was an apt discussion because many felt personal discomfort sharing a bathroom with someone of another race.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I get that some people don't like it. However, it sounds like the claim is that people are "shutting her down" by calling her names or implying she was racist. I certainly don't get where anyone said she was racist. I know there was a discussion about "whites only" bathrooms, but I think it was an apt discussion because many felt personal discomfort sharing a bathroom with someone of another race.

Yeah, that was ridiculous too. There is no logic to it. I understand discomfort, but there are people who are uncomfortable with using public restrooms period. Discomfort is not a reason to stop doing something and not a reason to complain to an establishment either. You can complain about a specific creepy individual- male or female- but complaining to a establishment that they need separate sex restrooms because someone of the opposite gender MIGHT be creepy seems kind of ridiculous to me.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Yeah, that was ridiculous too. There is no logic to it. I understand discomfort, but there are people who are uncomfortable with using public restrooms period. Discomfort is not a reason to stop doing something and not a reason to complain to an establishment either. You can complain about a specific creepy individual- male or female- but complaining to a establishment that they need separate sex restrooms because someone of the opposite gender MIGHT be creepy seems kind of ridiculous to me.

At this point if it becomes an issue, I can simply not patronize their establishment.

I simply believe that some things are done in private. I don't see the benefit of urinating or defalcating next to some guy. Heck, when I am home, I close the door.

I also believe that this will lead to other things. Like "all inclusive" changing rooms. Those are already coming. Thanks, no. I would prefer not to change clothes standing to next to some dude that isn't my husband.

So at this point, I have been told that I am ridiculous. And I have been compared to a racist.

 

[Westcoastwild]

At this point if it becomes an issue, I can simply not patronize their establishment.

I simply believe that some things are done in private. I don't see the benefit of urinating or defalcating next to some guy. Heck, when I am home, I close the door.

I also believe that this will lead to other things. Like "all inclusive" changing rooms. Those are already coming. Thanks, no. I would prefer not to change clothes standing to next to some dude that isn't my husband.

So at this point, I have been told that I am ridiculous. And I have been compared to a racist.

So, wait, you're simply worried about someone hearing you do your business? You really think people are deliberately listening for that? Why would it matter if they were male or female in that case? Strangers either way!

 

[bcla]

At this point if it becomes an issue, I can simply not patronize their establishment.

I simply believe that some things are done in private. I don't see the benefit of urinating or defalcating next to some guy. Heck, when I am home, I close the door.

I also believe that this will lead to other things. Like "all inclusive" changing rooms. Those are already coming. Thanks, no. I would prefer not to change clothes standing to next to some dude that isn't my husband.

So at this point, I have been told that I am ridiculous. And I have been compared to a racist.

Again, where? A few of us brought up when "whites only" was a standard for bathrooms or other public facilities in some parts of the country. It wasn't a personal dig at you or anyone else, but an object lesson in what was or wasn't historically acceptable in the United States. This is changing - no doubt about it.

We get why you find it uncomfortable. In part my purpose to starting this topic was that it was an eye opener for me. Maybe I wasn't uncomfortable, but in the back of my mind I was thinking "Is it the right time to be doing this?" Of course I'm not going to a bathroom to leer at anyone and I'd hope that nobody would be doing that. I still don't get whether your intention is to avoid such places because you feel you or people you know will be forced to use them (which wouldn't be the case if they have single-occupancy rooms) or on the general principle that you don't approve of unrelated men and women who you don't know sharing the same restrooms.

I get that some people find public breastfeeding to be distasteful, but as a matter of law many states have laws that women are allowed to do so anywhere without being covered up. Some find the display of a woman's hair in public to be offensive. Or a woman sitting next to a male stranger on a plane. There isn't really anything where this is inherently an human issue. These are learned through societal norms. Each society has traditionally done certain things one way, including separating men and women in the use of restrooms. However, these norms are changing.

 

[Planogirl]

The question is whether people have a right to privacy and also where that line should be drawn. I think that it's a shame that everyone can't somehow be accommodated no matter how anyone feels about the topic. THAT would be fair