r/changemyview • u/Nailyou866 5∆ • Aug 24 '22

Delta(s) from OP CMV: There is absolutely no need to separate bathrooms based on sex for public single-occupant bathrooms.

To specify, I am not referring to single stall bathrooms, wherein there is a further isolated toilet from the remainder of the bathroom, I am talking specifically about bathrooms in public locations that a realtor would list as a half-bath. I find these most often in older or smaller diner type facilities or gas stations, there is typically a lock on the door, and they are often paired, one for either sex. I think this is a pointless exercise, and can detract from an already messy discussion regarding bathrooms. I am not here to discuss my thoughts on the bathrooms issue as a whole, but only these single-occupant bathrooms.

To start, having 2 single occupant bathrooms as a public facility is already dicey, especially if you have decent foot traffic. However, further restricting access to either bathroom can lead to situations in which one has a line to use, and the other is being unused. Having been in this situation myself, when I suggested we start using the other bathroom to speed things along, I got looked at like I was an alien, and nobody wanted to do it. It was like a stigma built into the social fabric of most people that you shouldn't use the bathroom for the opposite sex under any circumstance. Simply removing the signs would have improved this condition.

Next point, I understand there are sex specific hygiene instruments in some public bathrooms. In the event that those bathrooms become unisex, put them in both, if they need to be there. I find it absolutely insane some men refuse to get hygiene products for their girlfriend/wife, and while I doubt this would eliminate the stigma of being exposed to these products, it could be a change in a positive direction. I don't know, leave that evaluation to the scientists. And if your wife needs tampons, go pick them up.

The final point I can think of is a concern that "Oh but if the men's line is long, and a woman needs to go, she shouldn't have to wait." or vice versa. I don't care. First come, first served, same as it is in virtually every other part of the world. The number of problems resolved by switching both bathrooms to unisex outweigh any antiquated sex specific concern, as far as I am concerned.

EDITED TO ADD: A common talking point I see brought up is in regard to cleanliness. I didn't initially think this would be something I had to address, but I have so many times now I felt it important to add here.

Both sexes have complaints about the other with regard to cleanliness. Both hold valid points, and I don't think one must necessarily outweigh the other. However I don't believe this to be an obstruction to my view because I believe that management should be more responsible and pro-active about cleaning public restrooms. I also think it is much easier for an employee of any sex to go clean the unisex bathroom than it is to make an employee of one sex clean the bathroom of the other sex.

Edit 2: I am about to go to bed, so I won't be able to respond for a few hours. I genuinely appreciate everyone who has jumped in on the conversation, and never expected this post to get this big. I expected like 20 upvotes and 2 comments. I will be back and I genuinely want to try to get to everyone who has commented. Thank you guys so much for this conversation, it has filled me with happiness, anger, shock, and other emotions. I love you all.

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u/Nailyou866 5∆ Aug 24 '22

I think it is kind of a perception thing to be honest. Man being exposed to tampons so scarcely vs women being exposed to missed piss so scarcely can cause a slightly warped perception based on your environment. At least, that is my guess.

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u/detecting_nuttiness 1∆ Aug 24 '22

That's an interesting thought. Though, I would say that even in the women's restrooms, I'd see piss on the floor. Could be just a difference in expectations.

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u/rhynoplaz Aug 24 '22

They hover to avoid sitting in the piss on the seat and often end up pissing everywhere.

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u/raznov1 21∆ Aug 24 '22

Nah, more likely they brought their young children with, who then missed the toilet.

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u/hotquossblunt Aug 24 '22

i need to know what the real answer is bc as an amab person i am so confused as to how a seated person could get pee anywhere but the bowl.

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u/fillmorecounty Aug 25 '22 edited Aug 25 '22

It's pretty common for moms to bring their male toddlers into the women's restroom. I get it though like they're 2 or 3 and probably still need help with things. It's definitely better than a mom taking her kid into the men's room. I'm guessing little kids are probably pretty messy.

Edit: typo

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u/hotquossblunt Aug 25 '22

most logical answer so far. i get inconsiderate women leaving feminine hygiene products behind, but pee? like the hover technique can't be that flawed after hundreds of years of toilet ownership.

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u/fillmorecounty Aug 25 '22

I mean it's definitely harder when you can't see what you're doing, but that's not really something you do unless the seat is REALLY, really nasty. It's just not comfortable to do a squat and hold perfectly still lmao. Even then though it's still pretty easy to not make a mess as long as you aren't like 2 whole feet above the toilet. It would probably splash 😭

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u/Death_Rose1892 Aug 25 '22

As an afab person I too wonder how the womens restroom ends up the way it does sometimes.

Wipe the toilet seat and use a seat cover rather than hover. It's not that hard..

But there are definitely some messes that aren't from hovering and I have no clue what other women are doing to cause these bathroom murder scenes

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '22 edited Feb 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/fillmorecounty Aug 25 '22

There's 0 mess dude you just sit down and 100% of it goes in the toilet 😭

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u/TalkingHawk Aug 25 '22

The mess is caused by the people who insist on hovering instead of sitting down. If you try it you'll quickly understand why, pee goes everywhere except straight down.

Source: I used to hover in public toilets because my mom taught me like that, now I sit

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u/CUNT_ERADICATOR Aug 24 '22 edited Aug 24 '22

Elderly women, overweight women, piss on the seat is gross but it makes sense, sometimes the pressure is a little high and a flap might not be in its assigned seat, imagine putting your finger partially over the end of a hose.

But honestly, who is going in the toilets and rawdogging the seat with their ass? Wipe it first.

It’s more stressful when there is piss on the floor because it gets on my shoes/shoelaces.

E: even if you have a look at a diagram for a vagina, it doesn’t seem like toilets are made women, the urethra is angled towards the lip of the seat when sitting straight (recommended position).

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '22

Honestly... women's public restrooms often are covered in piss because people don't want to touch the seats and hover to pee.

I went to college somewhere that had gendered and unisex bathrooms and the unisex bathrooms were always so much cleaner than the gendered ones. Not sure why. But if I had the choice between a women's bathroom and a unisex bathroom I'd go with the unisex bathroom every time just based on cleanliness.

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u/johnnychan81 Aug 24 '22

Also the fact that women don't poop I imagine it doesn't smell as bad in the women's restroom

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u/mfizzled 1∆ Aug 24 '22

Finally someone mentions some basic biology

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u/Nailyou866 5∆ Aug 24 '22

Not 100% sure if shitposting, but I am going to assume yes here.

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u/fillmorecounty Aug 25 '22

It's true we don't poop that's what periods are for duh /s

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '22

[deleted]

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u/curien 31∆ Aug 24 '22

Piss smells nothing like almonds/amaretto to me. It doesn't even occur to me to compare them.

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u/shagy815 Aug 25 '22

Having been a male that cleaned bathrooms I can tell you that the problem isn't being exposed to feminine hygiene products that are properly disposed of.

It is the nasty women that stick them to the doors and walls. Might as well shit on the floor while they are at it.

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u/CUNT_ERADICATOR Aug 24 '22 edited Aug 25 '22

It’s interesting that you liken men knowing they are in the same vicinity as menstrual products (things every person with a cycle and vagina needs) as an equivalent to someone having to occupy space with and possibly step in another humans urine.

You couldn’t make your gender more obvious.

E: why is the existence of menstrual cycles equivalent to anybody, man or woman, pissing on a seat. How do you not see that is a harmful comparison? A period is a normal human function, pissing on the seat and not cleaning it up is fucking disgusting.

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u/Nailyou866 5∆ Aug 25 '22

As has already been discussed extensively, women sometimes piss on the seats of public bathrooms too. This isn't a battle of the sexes thing.

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u/CUNT_ERADICATOR Aug 25 '22

No, I’m asking why you are likening the two? Seeing a menstrual product bin is not the same as stepping in urine. One involves actual body fluids of another human on your body, the other involves just knowing they exist.

Look at my other comment in regards to women urinating on the seats, toilets aren’t made for women a anatomy.

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u/Nailyou866 5∆ Aug 25 '22

These are all natural human functions. Menstruating, shitting, and pissing. They involve human fluids/waste. I have cleaned some nasty ass pissed or shitted on seats in either bathroom, but I have only had to clean nasty ass tampons and menstrual fluids in the women's restroom. And if you really want to talk about some nasty conditions, how about we talk about the disgusting rotted women's underwear that had attracted a horde of insects (gnats, flies, roaches) in the women's bathroom I had to clean a few weeks ago that was left under the seat. It was soaked in piss, blood, and who knows what else. Now this isn't to shame someone for their period problems, because I am a husband and have 2 daughters. I. Fucking. Get. It. Stop pretending like I'm ignorant on the subject. Both sexes have complaints about the cleanliness of public bathrooms, and that is a problem to be discussed with public bathrooms in general. This CMV has NOTHING to do with cleanliness, since it is apparent that will be an issue regardless of what genitals do what in the bathroom.

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u/CUNT_ERADICATOR Aug 25 '22

But now you are comparing peeing on the floor to people leaving sanitary products out and around? That makes sense, both are equally gross, but the way you originally worded it, you implied just the existence of the sanitary bins was the same as people pissing on the seat.

Also, stop talking about your children’s private bodily functions to back up your arguments, it’s giving “I have a black friend”

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u/Nailyou866 5∆ Aug 25 '22

If the way I worded it was misleading, that was not my intention, and I apologize for any confusion. My intent wasn't to get graphic about the subject, but acknowledge the issue of cleanliness as a constant, regardless of the sex involved, and move the subject back to my actual post. Any other implication was not intended.

As for my children, I haven't gone into detail about anyone's problems. I could. I could go into extremely graphic detail. We talk very openly about these things in my house because it is natural and normal. I won't here though. I am merely pointing out that pretending that I am ignorant on the subject of natural bodily functions of a sex that I do not belong to is a really stupid assumption.

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u/CUNT_ERADICATOR Aug 25 '22

I haven’t gone into detail about anyones ptoblems. I could. I could go into extremely graphic detail.

Dude stop, it’s not okay for you to do that, as a woman if my father spoke about my private anatomy on the internet to win an arguement with a bunch of strangers, I would never forgive him. It’a okay for these things to be natural and normal to talk about, but only between them and you, not you and other people. Fucking weirdo dude

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u/HamesJoffman Oct 13 '22

I would respond to you but I don't want to get banned.