Toilet Signage

[Cormac]

Yes. But if she has the same issue with using a single sex shared facility I suspect the response would be to try and help her to manage her anxiety rather than to suggest that the toilets need to be reconfigured.

But the toilets are being reconfigured from what they were.
Seperate toilets have been the norm for a long time.
It provides a known and somewhat safe entity for a young person to deal with.
Now unisex toilets are being forced upon them and whether you accept it or not, going to the toilet in the company of the opposite sex can be an uncomfortable experience for many people especially teenagers.
So suddenly it's a new scenario they have to account for and why?
What's the purpose of it?
What's the benefit of unisex toilets?
Why change from the norm?

 

[White Van Man]

There is a big difference however between a place where you are just passing through and a place where you are spending a 1/3 of your day.

I (and many others) have unisex toilets at work...where I spend 1/3 of my day. I also have unisex toilets at home where I spend almost 2/3 of my day.

What's your point about the amount of time you spend in a place?

 

[White Van Man]

No, the point is that school cubicles aren’t fully private spaces like airplane cubicles.

Refer to my previous post where you can see the doors go all the way to the floor:

It took 30 seconds to find the photos of individual toilets with locks on the doors. Nobody’s going to witness anybody taking a shit. They’ve a shared handwashing space…that’s about it.View attachment 50075
View attachment 50076

 

[Clairecarebear]

The time you spend in a particular place is one thing, how that place makes you feel is another. That is a major factor in any environment .The safer you feel in any environment, the easier it is to spend time there. Underlying anxieties, experiences etc will come into play. A person of any age not feeling safe in any environment must be validated.

I'm not coming down in a for or against argument, I am looking at the wellbeing of any person who feels unsafe or anxious, particularly in settings into which they have no input.

There may be other factors at play. I know many neurodiverse people, for example, struggle with feeling safe in particular environments.

 

[Cormac]

I (and many others) have unisex toilets at work...where I spend 1/3 of my day. I also have unisex toilets at home where I spend almost 2/3 of my day.

What's your point about the amount of time you spend in a place?

I'd like to think there would be a correlation between how much time you spend somewhere and the level of comfort you feel while there.
It's one thing to feel uncomfortable using a jacks in a restaurant that you might step inside once a year and another to feel uncomfortable using one that you might need to visit a couple of times a day, 5 days a week for the majority of the year.

It's not necessarily about unisex toilets for me, it's about teenagers feeling comfortable and secure in their environment.
Teenagers are at an age where they could and probably should be consulted on such matters yet this is being thrust upon them without any consultation from what I can gather.
If a vote was taken amongst the students and they voted overwhelmingly in favour of such a layout then I'd feel a lot better about it.

When I was in the school a lot of the girls wouldn't even eat in front of the fellas nevermind be expected to use the same toilets as them!
Maybe times have changed and teenagers don't suffer from the same level of insecurity and awkwardness that my generation did but let them decide that, not politicians trying to drive an agenda.

 

[Dr. Aaoouh]

Takes me back. In Japan, many if not most public bathrooms in train stations etc are unisex. With door to the floor toilet cubicals AND rows of urinal years. Not only are women walking in and out while you’re taking a leak, but the bathroom attendants are frequently middle aged with men. I still remember the first time I had a woman mopping between my feet while I was urinating.

Having said that, however, I was at a university that tried having unisex bathrooms in their graduate dorms. Didn’t work very well. Of course people eventually got used to it, but why go through the bother?

 

[Clubber_Langer]

Who thinks self conscious teens want to be taking a shit or weeing in earshot of those of the opposite gender, ffs. diahorrea, vomiting, or even going into the toilets for a cry. theres a right to dignity and privacy. theres a multitude of reasons for not doing this from embarrassment to potential bullying. children are cruel and you can be damn sure this will cause a lot of problems. Its not a normal position to put children in. its sad to see this intruding in schools.

 

[Matlock]

Who thinks self conscious teens want to be taking a shit or weeing in earshot of those of the opposite gender, ffs. diahorrea, vomiting, or even going into the toilets for a cry. theres a right to dignity and privacy. theres a multitude of reasons for not doing this from embarrassment to potential bullying. children are cruel and you can be damn sure this will cause a lot of problems. Its not a normal position to put children in. its sad to see this intruding in schools.

If you think you could do any of those things in a girl's bathroom without the potential for bullying, then you have never met a teenage girl...

 

[Matlock]

Takes me back. In Japan, many if not most public bathrooms in train stations etc are unisex. With door to the floor toilet cubicals AND rows of urinal years. Not only are women walking in and out while you’re taking a leak, but the bathroom attendants are frequently middle aged with men. I still remember the first time I had a woman mopping between my feet while I was urinating.

Having said that, however, I was at a university that tried having unisex bathrooms in their graduate dorms. Didn’t work very well. Of course people eventually got used to it, but why go through the bother?

At a guess, I assume it is to take away the issue of trans or non binary people having to pick a bathroom to use.

 

[Clubber_Langer]

I'd like to think there would be a correlation between how much time you spend somewhere and the level of comfort you feel while there.
It's one thing to feel uncomfortable using a jacks in a restaurant that you might step inside once a year and another to feel uncomfortable using one that you might need to visit a couple of times a day, 5 days a week for the majority of the year.

It's not necessarily about unisex toilets for me, it's about teenagers feeling comfortable and secure in their environment.
Teenagers are at an age where they could and probably should be consulted on such matters yet this is being thrust upon them without any consultation from what I can gather.
If a vote was taken amongst the students and they voted overwhelmingly in favour of such a layout then I'd feel a lot better about it.

When I was in the school a lot of the girls wouldn't even eat in front of the fellas nevermind be expected to use the same toilets as them!
Maybe times have changed and teenagers don't suffer from the same level of insecurity and awkwardness that my generation did but let them decide that, not politicians trying to drive an agenda.

If it aint broke dont fix it.