I would like to enact the following policy immediately:
All public locations with single-use restrooms will hereby remove their male and female signs immediately, thus making both restrooms unisex.
There is absolutely no reason for single-use restrooms to differentiate between male and female occupants. Not only will this make restroom availability more equitable amongst men and women, but for transgender people, this will make life a hell of a lot easier in many places.
This does not solve all of the problems related to the struggles that transgender individuals face with larger, multi-use public restrooms, but it’s a start. And frankly, it should have been done long ago.
In fact, in some places, patrons have taken a stand and instituted this policy on their own. It is not uncommon for the female patrons at The Bitter End – a bar in New York where I frequently tell stories for The Moth – to simply use the single-use men’s room when the women’s line is exceedingly long and the men’s line is nonexistent.
So do me a favor:
Go forth and help me enact this policy. Forward this blog post to restaurant owners, museums, Turkish baths, municipalities, and any other public venue that has single-use restrooms. Tell the owners and managers of these locations about this new policy when you frequent their establishments.
This is one of those no-brainer, simple-to-accomplish acts that will improve the world in a small but significant way. Let’s make it happen.
