Monday, May 21, 2012

What, Exactly

is the point of making single-occupancy restrooms gender-specific?

It always seems to me like mindless adherence to unnecessary gender marking.

I mean, really.

I walk into a gas station and, oftentimes, there are two separate restrooms, each having exactly one toilet, fully-enclosed by a locked door, and each marked, respectively, "men" and "women." So, you know, the whole set-up can't even be explained by Trans* BaThRoOm PaNiC!!!11

Why the need for the distinction with these restrooms?

Does man-piss require separate disposal than woman-piss?

Why can't anyone use either toilet in either room?

What, exactly, do people think is going to happen if a woman uses the "men's" toilet, or if a man uses the "women's" toilet?

I see it as just another small way we're taught to artificially create, mark, and distinguish gender. Just another small way we're told that Men And Women Are So Different We Are Incapable of Pissing And Shitting In The Same Hole.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree. In fact, I think this is rather a big deal. Women argue against unisex restrooms because men are messy. (They really are, from some of the times when I've used a single-occupancy restroom.). I don't know if men have any argument against unisex restrooms. In any case, seriously, it should be a rule: when there are single-use restrooms, at least one should be unisex. It should be a rule to have unisex restrooms around everywhere, but this suggestions is a bare minimum toward achieving that.