Brighton to open gender-neutral toilets

[Fierce_LiNk]

• A new development will include toilets that can be used by any adult or child
  
• Brighton and Hove council want to promote the term "gender neutral"
  
• Toilets won't use the words "male" or "female" but will instead use universal symbols
  
• Opponents claim its unnecessary bureaucracy
  

 

For those of you that don't know, Brighton is a very liberal City, so in a sense it's not out of the ordinary that they're trying something different there.

 

The development itself will take place on Rottingdean Seafront and will include a cafe with 4 gender-neutral toilets. It's funded by the Rottingdean Parish Council and City Council, and will cost £140,000.

 

Source: Daily Mail (I know...:p)

 

Interesting. There are pros and cons to this. I'll let others discuss first before I say my view.

[Hamishmash]

I support gender neutral toilets but not the phasing out of male / female toilets. I feel everyone should have the option. I personally a few women who've told me how uncomfortable they would be going into a bathroom that could potentially have men in it late at night.

[Slaggis]

There's one of these at Sheffield University and I've used it myself, and on the majority of gay nights I go to the toilets are gender neutral so to me this is perfectly normal.

[Ashley]

Worked at Cage and Fish, and if there's ever been a city that has most embraced the Cage and Fish ethos it is Brighton.

[Retro_Link]

bow-chica-wow-wow

 

---

 

Had them at university before.

[Zell]

Got to love the Daily Mail comments section.

 

"They have them in the West Country and they work very well and are usually nice and clean."

 

NEGATIVE 170

[jayseven]

Is gender-neutral the same as unisex toilets, only without the word 'sex' in it? Rottingdean seafront is barely Brighton at all. It's dead as fuck, and likely this is being introduced not to be all groovy and liberal but just so that they don't have to fork out twice as much money to provide two sets of toilets for a part of the area where there are like 10 people a year visiting who don't want to pee in the sea.

 

Lots of silliness.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Got to love the Daily Mail comments section.

 

"They have them in the West Country and they work very well and are usually nice and clean."

 

NEGATIVE 170

 

Oh my God, yes.

 

"There's no reason why women can't use a urinal - men have to." - not sure if srs.

 

"I really don't see a problem here. Gender neutral toilets are common place in Sweden and no one seems too bothered about it there." Negative 150.

 

"Do you moaners have a separate loo for you & the missus at home then? Seems like a good use of resources & space to me." Minus 138.

 

Jeeesus.

 

Is gender-neutral the same as unisex toilets, only without the word 'sex' in it? Rottingdean seafront is barely Brighton at all. It's dead as fuck, and likely this is being introduced not to be all groovy and liberal but just so that they don't have to fork out twice as much money to provide two sets of toilets for a part of the area where there are like 10 people a year visiting who don't want to pee in the sea.

 

Lots of silliness.

 

There's a lovely set of tea-rooms there, if I remember right. I quite liked the area. But yeah, it's got a lot of potential money-saving purposes, like you said.

[EEVILMURRAY]

I find it uncomfortable enough pissing next to a dude at the urinal without having girls walking around behind me.

 

If it's cubicles then it's fine. Unless the ladies don't take the piss as they do when they go to the toilets.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Are we talking urinals/no urinals or two separate, but identical toilet facilities with different signs over the doors?

[Mr-Paul]

Surely it's just cubicles.

 

Fabric nightclub in London has gender neutral/unisex toilets. Thought it was pretty cool actually. I certainly wouldn't object to seeing more of these, but Hamishmash makes a good point about women perhaps feeling uncomfortable late at night if they're in there alone with creepy men/in a dodgy area. In a nightclub where there was plenty of people around and staff/security for any trouble, there were no problems.

 

Anyway, disabled toilets aren't gender specific! Maybe we should get used to sharing a bit more.

[MoogleViper]

Oh my God, yes.

 

"There's no reason why women can't use a urinal - men have to." - not sure if srs.

 

"I really don't see a problem here. Gender neutral toilets are common place in Sweden and no one seems too bothered about it there." Negative 150.

 

"Do you moaners have a separate loo for you & the missus at home then? Seems like a good use of resources & space to me." Minus 138.

 

Jeeesus.

 

"THIS IS THE MUSLIMS FAULT!!!" +5837

 

I support gender neutral toilets but not the phasing out of male / female toilets. I feel everyone should have the option. I personally a few women who've told me how uncomfortable they would be going into a bathroom that could potentially have men in it late at night.

 

Part of me hates this thought, as it kind of tars all men with the same brush. But if that sort of thing does happen a lot, then there's reason for it. Although I'd like to see some relevant statistics first, as many people make these claims without any evidence.

 

In fact, young men are the most likely to be assaulted, so if anything, young men should have their own toilet.

 

and on the majority of gay nights I go to the toilets are gender neutral so to me this is perfectly normal.

 

That makes no sense to me. The only logic behind this that I can think of, is that men/women can't be in toilets with each other, as they won't be able to resist their urge and will just rape each other. Whereas gay men don't want to rape women, so the toilets can be neutral.

 

But by that same logic, gay men shouldn't be allowed in the men's toilets, as they won't be able to control themselves, and raping will ensue.

[Ashley]

That makes no sense to me. The only logic behind this that I can think of, is that men/women can't be in toilets with each other, as they won't be able to resist their urge and will just rape each other. Whereas gay men don't want to rape women, so the toilets can be neutral.

 

But by that same logic, gay men shouldn't be allowed in the men's toilets, as they won't be able to control themselves, and raping will ensue.

 

I assume that the logic is gay clubs are usually inhabited largely by gay males, so having a separate female toilet would be a waste of space.

 

If you go to MANBAR there is a sentinel on guard and a sign warning against having sex in the toilets. Bard and I discovered this.

[Agent Gibbs]

unisex toilets are in most night clubs these days aren't they? or at the very least a shared wash area....

 

whats the difference with gender neutral? nothing and its just media scare mongering?

[MoogleViper]

I thought it meant toilets for transgender people, or not aimed specifically at men/women, to incorporate transgender.

[Josh64]

I can only imagine this means cubicles only, which for me is a good thing. I hate using urinals, it just feels so dirty whipping it out and pissing up a wall. I also think the same about women who sit in cubicles next to one another and have long conversations, it's like c'mon guys, you're pissing right now.

 

Or does that just happen in American tv shows?

[Slaggis]

That makes no sense to me. The only logic behind this that I can think of, is that men/women can't be in toilets with each other, as they won't be able to resist their urge and will just rape each other. Whereas gay men don't want to rape women, so the toilets can be neutral.

 

But by that same logic, gay men shouldn't be allowed in the men's toilets, as they won't be able to control themselves, and raping will ensue.

 

I'm so confused. The logic is purely that women don't care if gay guys come into the loo and in many occasions invite them in (including in regular clubs as I can attest to many a time) and vice versa. Even so, I see nothing wrong with gender neutral toilets. We all do the same thing in them, so as long as it's purely cubicle based I see no issue whatsoever.

[MoogleViper]

I can only imagine this means cubicles only, which for me is a good thing. I hate using urinals, it just feels so dirty whipping it out and pissing up a wall. I also think the same about women who sit in cubicles next to one another and have long conversations, it's like c'mon guys, you're pissing right now.

 

Next to each other? Some women go in the same cubicle to have a chat.

[Iun]

Next to each other? Some women go in the same cubicle to have a chat.

 

They're clearly lezzing it up.

[jayseven]

Josh64 hit closest to what my lady said - that she'd be sad that when her and her friend goes to the loos to talk about some guys the guys might walk in. It's their sacred chat spot! She also said taht most women's loos tend to have queues (in pubs/clubs/bars/etc), which is another aspect to be considered.

[Coolness Bears]

Gender Neutral means the toilets themselves are androgynous.

[Ramar]

Imagine you got caught short and needed a dump. It's bad enough in the blokes without birds in there and god forbid they're talking.

[jayseven]

Y'know, I can handle being on max-capacity buses, I can live with restaurants having tables that little bit too close to each other, but I don't think i could live in a world where we efficientify (new word) motherfucking toilets. Most of my university life was spend discovering the quietest shitters on campus for those days when you knew that solid shit you had after you woke up was going to quickly be answered by a liquid/scattershot shit shortly after.

 

The world NEEDS an excess of toilets. Ramar's vision has freaked me out. I may need to go quiver in corner somewhere.

 

(... I want to say this is all true but it's not)

[Iun]

I'd be worried about (a) men hanging around for a glimpse of minge and (b) Women hanging around inside the cubicles for hours.

 

But this is irrelevant, seeing as I never poop in public places.

 

Except that one time Oliver Cromwell's Grave.

 

Bastard cancelled Christmas.

[Rummy]

Part of me hates this thought, as it kind of tars all men with the same brush. But if that sort of thing does happen a lot, then there's reason for it. Although I'd like to see some relevant statistics first, as many people make these claims without any evidence.

 

In fact, young men are the most likely to be assaulted, so if anything, young men should have their own toilet.

 

Cmon, let's leave ReZ out of this for once.

 

The world NEEDS an excess of toilets. Ramar's vision has freaked me out. I may need to go quiver in corner somewhere.

 

(... I want to say this is all true but it's not)

 

Quiver...or take care of business? Or both!

 

 

At first I was all like 'yeah, this is cool' but then I do kinda agree with the points of the betterness to having seperate toilets. I'm not much of a public poo-er, so I'm not fussed, but I can see others being. Not to mention the always forever queue at the ladies compared to the swift through-traffic(no puns) at the gents. I don't mind it in quieter places maybe, but if it's gonna take over the world then maybe it might get annoying.