Why do we have segregated bathrooms in the first place?

Probably because people feel, well, exposed with their lady bits and manly bits uncovered. Even if they are in a private stall.

Sure we do. But we could get over that.

Urinals. It is neater, more efficient, and quicker for men to use urinals. It means that buildings can have fewer stalls with whole toilet fixtures if they put in urinals (or, at stadiums, troughs).

Really, almost all questions like this can be answered based on cost for building and maintenance.

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just combine the two?

With segregated bathrooms, the majority straight population gets to hide embarrassing noise and smells from potential mates, and they have a retreat to comb their hair and touch up their makeup.

And even gay people get to embarrass themselves only in front of half the population.

I’m not saying it’s necessary, I agree we could get over that. I’m just throwing out a reason it’s common.

Urinals mean that men are peeing in public, not in a stall. And no, it would not be cheaper because the building has to have enough facilities for everyone.

@Call_Me_Jay Good point Jay. I would really not like to end up pooping in a stall next to someone I had been flirting with a little while ago. Of course, like you said, that would only apply to heteros anyway.

@Dutchess_III You seem to be rather hung up on this urinals thing. I sincerely doubt unisex bathrooms will have urinals that are not divided from the stalls in some way.

@anniereborn. Not hung up. The recent events just have me pondering. If we had only unisex bathrooms, there wouldn’t be any issues facing transgendered folks, so then I started wondering why we even have separate bathrooms.

The urinals are already divided from the stalls in the men’s room because the stalls have doors on them.

I wouldn’t like some cute guy hearing my body functions either. But I don’t like anyone hearing them, although they normally aren’t loud enough to attract any particular attention.

@Dutchess_III I should have said that any urinals need to be made more private, period.

I think they should be too, but I don’t have to use them. I don’t understand why they don’t have some sort of divider. I asked about this in the past, and the answers were they would get torn down, pissed on, torn up…...

I don’t recall the last time I was in a men’s room with urinals where there was not a partition between the individual urinals.

I’ve been advocating for unisex restrooms since forever. Americans are extraordinarily Puritan about such things.

Why couldn’t we have a smaller urinal room and a couple of larger stall-only installations? You can cycle men through urinals 2–4x faster than using stalls.

http://allday.com/post/1687-the-sexist-history-of-the-public-restroom/

Thanks for the link @dammitjanetfromvegas! I’ve gotten this far and started laughing ”... women—who were basically encouraged to not have to go to the bathroom at all.” Now I have to go read the rest. Scuse me.

Back in my club days I used to love touching up my powder next to women.

But I grew up and knew this situation was untenable.

Pretty sure nobody in your generation used “powder,” as in “powder room.” @SecondHandStoke. That was in the 50’s and before.

One thing for sure, it saves men’s time. The number of women waiting in line for public restrooms are always longer compare to men’s restroom.

Do you think that’s why they separated men’s from women’s bathrooms @Unofficial_Member?

NY Times – April 12, 2009 – “New York City passed a law in 2005 requiring that all new or significantly renovated places of public assembly — concert halls, arenas, Broadway theaters, stadiums and the like — have two women’s toilet fixtures for every one devoted to men. About half of the states and many municipalities have similar laws, with varying ratios, designed to offset the extra time that women take in the restroom”

@Dutchess_III Yes, among other things, of course. I also don’t believe that privacy and sexual harassment issues are the main points for segragation as they’re not gender specific issues. I just feel bad that a man has to hold his pee just because a woman hasn’t finished fixing her makeup.

Our cocks allow us to squirt & go in under a minute or so, no fannying about waiting for a cubicle or pulling shit down past our ankles.
In a fast world it’s better to piss with the pace as well.

Women also take longer in the bathroom because we’re dealing with tampons, pads, changing, disposing of same, etc.

I don’t wear makeup.

@dammitjanetfromvegas The majority of women do, and it would be a problem for men if we have unisex bathroom since when a man really needs to do ‘it’ he needs to do it right away, waiting in line for a group of women to manage themselves while you have urgent need is… a problem.

Are you suggesting that we need separate restrooms because grown men aren’t toilet-trained?

But the line is for the toilets, right? Not the mirrors? ~

As long as there aren’t rearview mirrors in the toilet stalls, I think we’re good.

@Seek no, but but for time-saving and convenience reasons.

@ibstubro We know that women can easily stand/sit in a toilet stall to simply fix their makeup. Mirrors section will always be full of impatient people behind you waiting just to wash their hands so they can be on their way. Not to mention how uneasy it would feel like for women if men can judge them while they uncover their makeup.

“Why do we have segregated restrooms?”
Because the vast majority of men go in for one thing – eliminate, rinse, and leave.
The list of things that women go in there for just gets longer and longer.

Most multi-stall womens’ lavatories have a mirror separate from the sinks for just this purpose. It’s really not the big deal you’re making it out to be.

Most? I find it hard to believe. I have never seen such things, or at least not in the part of the world where I’m from. It’s an inefficiency use of space which is why not every public restrooms have mirror-only space.

Wow. @Unofficial_Member “We know that women can easily stand/sit in a toilet stall to simply fix their makeup.” I did not know that. Did you know that @Seek? @dammitjanetfromvegas, @jca? I didn’t. And most certainly nowt whilst sitting on the toilet! There are no mirrors in the stalls, duh. I think you’ve been watching too many 1950’s movies.

I think @jca‘s point about menstruation is the most accurate, so excuuuuse us. However, probably the biggest factor is WOMEN ARE THE ONES WHO ARE EXPECTED TO TEND TO THE BABIES AND CHILDREN IN THE BATHOOM. My son complains because around here the men’s bathrooms don’t have changing stations. So are you whining that you might have to hold your pee a minute while a woman takes care of your kid?

One other thing~ and I may be wrong on this, don’t men have the same number of stalls in their bathrooms as the women, plus urinals? If so, then you guys are forgetting that you have twice as many options as the women in one room.

And I back @ibstubro. The lines are for the toilets, not the mirrors. However, the list of things women do does NOT get longer and longer. It’s getting shorter and shorter as more and more women are opting out of wearing make up and complicated hair styles.

Plus I would bet fewer men wash their hands than women. Refer to all the comments about how filthy men can leave a bathroom. Why would a man like that bother to wash his hands?

If and when I wear makeup, I put it on at home. My war paint box doesn’t fit in my purse.

Same here, @Seek. IF I wear make up I put it on at home and don’t check it through out the day. The men’s fixation with our supposed primping is a stereotype as seen on TV.

@Dutchess_III: @zenvelo provided a link on one of these bathroom questions about NYC having a law that there must be twice as many stalls in the ladies’ rooms as in the men’s rooms. That’s in NYC, not sure about other places. Last few times I was in NYC there were either single use bathrooms or multi-gender bathroom with communal sink area but the bathrooms that are not like that are apparently needing more ladies’ stalls then men’s.

Good point, too, about ladies usually being the ones tending to the kiddies with diapers and plus we all know kiddies are slow when they use the toilet. My daughter will go to the bathroom (whether in public or private) and sit there for ten minutes. I’ll never do that, especially in public.

I saw that. But I got the impression it only referred to venues where there will be a hundred people or more in attendance ”...places of public assembly — concert halls, arenas, Broadway theaters, stadiums and the like ” So does the average men’s bathrooms, say at a restaurant, have the same number of stalls as well as urinals in addition to that?

Why does your daughter just sit? Do you think some men just sit, for that same reason, whatever it is? I don’t do that either. I’m in and out as fast as possible. In fact, if Rick and I happen to go to the bathroom at the same time, I’m always out before him.

@Dutchess_III: When she goes poo, she sits. I think the problem is she is not entirely ready to go – she feels like she has to go but it’s not ready to come out (hate to be graphic but you asked haha). Me, as an adult, would never do that in a public place unless I was sick. When I’m home and have to go, I don’t sit down until I’m really ready to go.

Oh, I see. Well, I would imagine some men are that way too.

I rarely see women fix their makeup in a bathroom. That leaves a stall open anyway so I don’t get the point @unofficial is making.

I think some men are under the impression that we go there to play games and gossip and tease our hair and do cocaine or whatever else they saw in a movie once.

Exactly my thoughts, ladies. The reasons it can take women longer are varied, but 99% of those reasons have nothing to do with gossip or vanity.

@Dutchess_III Don’t forget that most women carry a portable hand mirror. Most powder case will also be equipped with mirror. Yes, it’s small mirror but you can do it inside a stall where you won’t be bothered by anyone. Or at least you won’t feel guilty at all if you use it too long.

And about tending the child… I have seen that there are growing number of one-room toilet reserved for women to tend their children (mostly for babies, but it’s unguarded), just like a special stall for disabled people.

I have no problem with unisex restroom. From one point, It would make a good place to make out and ‘quicky’ without much suspicion but there might be too many disadvantages to make it widely applicable in all society.

Where do you get these ideas, @Unofficial_Member? I don’t carry a hand mirror. I never have. I have never used powder. I don’t know of any women who do. If we wear makeup at all, we use a liquid base, not powder. Again, it’s that 1950s, “Excuse me while I powder my nose” (euphemism for taking a leak) stereotype.

And do you really think you could just walk into a women’s restroom and get lucky by flapping your penis about? That’s just hilarious!

@Dutchess_III Myself and many makeup-using women I know have small mirrors in our bag (smartphone camera will do the trick but they’re not the same). Even to put on a liquid-based makeup you still need a mirror, don’t forget about mascara and eye liners which would be a disaster to re-apply without a mirror (if you happen to smudge your face, cry, etc and they’re not waterproof). Also, blush-on is mostly powder-based.

What I meant was for unisex restroom. You have more alibi thus more ‘lucky’, but don’t forget that being lucky is relative.

As others have said, we put our make up on at home, not in public bathrooms and certainly not sitting on a toilet in a stall, with no place to set our make up down as we go, trying to use a tiny mirror that shows about 1/10th of our face at a time. That’s just ridiculous.

You completely lost me. If you’re a female you certainly don’t need a unisex bathroom in order to get “lucky.” You can just walk into a bar and walk up to random men and ask for sex. You’ll get a hit within 60 seconds, if not instantly.

I know that, that’s why I said “re-apply” and believe it or not we have many reasons to do so. Office cubicle would my preferred place but I can imagine myself sit on a toilet (lid down and layered with tissue) with makeup bag on my lap and fixing my make up with a not too mini, decent size mirror.

That’s why I added “alibi” in my statement. You can say you just want to pee in a shared restroom so your reputation will come out ‘clean’ but for a bar you’ll ended with bad reputation since people who come are well-known for ‘that’ purpose. You know, some people don’t mind being hypocrites so long as they appear to have innocent reputation.

Gosh. Something just hit me: ” ...if you happen to smudge your face, cry, etc” Of course. Mustn’t forget those random crying jags woman are prone to for no reason. And, also…our faces don’t “smudge.” Really, they don’t, unless someone attacks us with a towel.

You are so clueless. It’s really funny.

Wait! Office cubicles? All women work in office cubicles? Don’t any of them have their own actual office, like, because they’re in management? Or maybe they’re a lawyer? Or, maybe…even a doctor!

Also, you silly girl, don’t you know that have a “bad reputation” just means that many more chances to “get lucky?” Hell. You could actually make some MONEY with it!

I have my own office. Yes it has multiple mirrors in it.

@Dutchess_III I rarely wear make-up. It’s usually for a special occasion or fun outing. But, I always keep a powder compact in my purse. Because I hate having shiny face. And guess what, I have many times powdered my nose in a bathroom stall. Also, yes, make-up can smudge. Especially eye make-up. It scares me that you are calling Unofficial Member the “clueless” one.

Nothing to be scared of, @anniereborn. I have just never, in my life, heard a woman say something like ”It would make a good place to make out and ‘quicky’ without much suspicion”
How many women do you know who carry around all of their make up, spread it on their laps, using a tiny mirror to reapply makeup, all while sitting on a toilet in a stall? Maybe in their younger years, while at a bar or something, but in general? No.

It’s also a really good way to end up looking like Bozo the Clown. Bathroom stalls aren’t exactly renowned for their abundant natural lighting.

I remember being on a school trip as an 8yr old, we visited a local farm & the teacher asked for the girls to use the toilets in the farmhouse while the boys should piss up against the wall.
I was quite taken aback, she just said that it was “different” for boys, yeah right, not my fault i’m carrying a swinging dick.

Every time I see this question on my feed, I’m reminded that restrooms really were segregated in half of American a half century ago – by race.
And you have to ask why they’re still separated by sex?

I don’t see how one is tied to the other, @ibstubro.

And yes. I am asking why they’re separated by sex. If you answered the question that would help clarify the question I have in my mind. Why should we separated it by sex?