In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about bathrooms. Maybe there have always been these conversations but I was probably too young to understand or pay attention. 

The discussions about bathrooms that interest me the most, though, began in 2015 with the Supreme Court case Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board. Gavin Grimm, a transgender highschool student was prohibited to use the bathrooms in the school that aligned with his gender identity, prompting him to sue. This case is one of many surrounding the somewhat controversial issue of bathroom use based on gender identity rather than sex assigned at birth. 

This is an issue that is incredibly complicated and varies from person to person and case by case and is one that I do not have time to unpack today. One part of the great bathroom discussion that I can confidently talk about is gender neutral bathrooms. 

In a general sense, I do not understand why any room that has a toilet and a sink needs to be labeled ‘men’ or ‘women,’ ‘boys’ or ‘girls,’ ‘male’ or ‘female.’ In our society, it is common to have separate bathrooms for the two “traditional” genders, as we all know which makes sense if there are multiple toilets or stalls per bathroom, however if each is individual use, why label them? 

Over the summer at my job, I watched women line up to wait for the women’s bathroom, when there was another unoccupied restroom labeled ‘men.’ Some, including myself, would step away from using our designated bathroom and use the men’s, but most would not. 

The restrooms at my job were almost identical, each with a toilet, sink, paper towel dispenser and garbage can. So why stop half of the population from using it just because they do not identify with the gender listed outside? In my mind, any single bathroom that has a toilet can be used by anyone, especially if there is a wait for any other restroom.

One of my friends likes to tell a story from when she worked as a cashier about an older man who claimed he was too “traditional” to use the bathroom labeled ‘female’ even though it was the same as the one he was waiting to use labeled ‘male.’ He would rather stand by just because of the gender listed on the door, which does not make sense to me. Why not just have both restrooms say just what they are and not one of two genders that do not even apply to all people. 

The categorization of a bathroom as gender neutral is even controversial, though it is just describing what most restrooms are. Again, a room with a toilet and a sink can cater to anyone’s needs, therefore making it gender neutral. 

One type of restroom that is again just a toilet and a sink, is a family bathroom. No one has ever had an issue with this idea, but they have problems when the name is changed to gender neutral. 

Overall, a single use bathroom should be called exactly what it is: a bathroom, restroom, water closet, lavatory, powder room, washroom, etcetera. Adding ‘women’ or ‘men’ to the outside just limits who can use it, and everyone deserves the right to relieve themselves.