Harsh words. Let's hope that unisex toilets might encourage all parties to up their game in this regard. Maybe in merging the genders, both men and women will be inclined to be more fastidious in their toileting habits. That would be nice.
2. Safety
Here's me thinking that unisex toilets are safer because no longer will some mothers (or fathers) be inspired to send vulnerable young boys (or girls) alone into the men's (or women's) toilets. But then there are other people who claim unisex toilets will attract rapists, paedophiles, perverts and predators.
I've always thought that public toilets were potential hunting grounds for deviants. That's why I routinely accompanied my daughter to the toilet when she was little. Then, once she was about nine or ten, the rule was (if she was with friends) that two of them must go together. The point was to never allow a child to be alone in such a situation. That would be my approach to any public toilet regardless of whether they're unisex or segregated.
But, if anything, unisex toilets would have to be a little safer than segregated ones simply because they will be busier. For example, the men's at Newmarket's 277 shopping centre is a virtual ghost-town during business hours. (I know this. I visited once. There were tumbleweeds.) Unisex toilets, on the other hand, would be buzzing hubs populated by all sorts of people - and therefore surely far less likely to attract undesirables.
3. Urinals
There are some people who thought that, by advocating unisex toilets, I was suggesting that urinals should be present in the communal area. In response to that assumption I have just one word: No. Make that three words: No. No. No!
To clarify, I think the communal foyer area leading into these unisex toilet rooms should contain just hand basins, dryers and mirrors - and maybe a nice potted palm or two. Urinals would kind of ruin the ambiance.
I confess I conveniently overlooked the urinal when reconfiguring the world's toilets. This was remiss of me. Men love urinals. They are efficient and, I suspect, they offer some sort of manly bonding experience that I really do not want to contemplate too profoundly. So, maybe (to ensure men don't start eying up those potted palms at busy times), a utilitarian row of urinals should be incorporated somewhere (preferably far far away from the main toilet block).
4. Special sensitivities
I gained the sense from some of the comments that there's a reticence from certain men to share such spaces with women. I genuinely feel that a lot of that sentiment has its origins in such ostensibly benevolent concepts as chivalry and a desire to give women privacy to go about their womanly business. (A less charitable interpretation would be to wonder if the men's room is one of the last places where men have the freedom to campaign for greater pay gaps, plot to keep women off boards and commission glass ceilings.)
It's not just old-school men who might feel uncomfortable with the idea of unisex toilets. Old-school women may share similar sentiments. Unisex toilets may also pose difficulties to people on the grounds of their culture or religious beliefs. On that basis, when there is a bank of, say, ten individual toilet rooms opening off a communal area, it could be a good idea to designate one for women and another one (maybe at the opposite end) for men. That way, the toilets are eighty per cent unisex yet still cater for those with particular sensitivities.
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