Today I was absolutely over the moon about the washrooms at a store. I was initially overjoyed by the accessible washroom which seemed like they had actually considered the people using it, not just the bare minimum code requirements. But then when I went to find my family, I discovered that the other washroom had two stalls but was not marked for a specific gender or sex! For the first time since I was a small child, I was in the same public washroom as my father! (I don't really love gender labels right now, but pass as "female" and so just use those washrooms).
Mo wrote: As a fun note: a restaurant fairly close to me has two unisex restrooms: one has a unicorn on the door, the other has a unicycle.
I love this^
I also love when establishments do the common sense thing and make single stalled washrooms unisex. I can't think of a single argument for doing otherwise. Except perhaps "well, building code requires it". (If so, then do away with the silly building code!) I am always puzzled when single-stalled washrooms have the words "Women" or "Men" on the door rather than just "Washroom" or "Toilet".
There's a supermarket near me which did a rather smart thing, and just has a row of single bathrooms, no sex/gender signage, and they're all accessible. All "three" bathrooms fitted into the space that would usually be occupied by one.
There is a bookstore close by that does the same thing. They only have the word "restroom", and the inside is very neutral even on coloring, with multiple stalls attached.
I had a really weird experience of going to a family meal at a fancy gastro-pub yesterday and despite all the rustic 'country' earthy decor in the rest of the place... I went to the loo and the gents literally had a bunch photos of naked women above the urinals. It was black and white so apparently 'tasteful'. But it just felt really weird... a men-only space with only women on the walls. It gave me the absolute creeps. I checked with my mum and aparently there was no such titilation in the women's toilet.
In that situation it just seemed like the segregation was just a way of creating a mens club with female objectification as a back drop. If women were using that toilet they would call it out.
"In between two tall mountains there's a place they call lonesome.
Don't see why they call it lonesome.
I'm never lonesome when I go there." Connie Converse - Talkin' Like You
I have had a similar experience in several women's bathrooms at restaurants: Artistic but very sexualized photos of men hanging in the stalls. It creeps me out because I don't like people staring at me when I pee. I don't even go to the toilet in front of my partner. Have no idea why people think this is a good idea.