# Any Ally McBeal-Style (Unisex) Bathrooms in the US? The World? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849 "2004-06-17T13:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/1 "2004-06-17T13:08:34Z")
On Ally McBeal, the employees of a law firm all used the same bathroom. This wasn’t a one-toilet-in-one-room type set-up; there were several toilets, in stalls, and they were used by both sexes, presumably at the same time. Are there bathrooms like this anywhere in the US? I’ve heard rumors that there are some in certain buildings at a couple of ultra-liberal universities (Staford, Berkely), but I don’t know this for a fact. As for having one of these in a private sector employment setting-- I think we, as a culture, are still a little squeamish about our bodily functions. How about elsewhere in the world? I’ve heard that the Parisiennes are open and tolerant about this sort of things, and that there are many unisex bathrooms throughout Paris. What’s the scoop? [sub]FTR, I’m not asking because I intend to go to one of these places. I’m just curious.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/2 "2004-06-17T13:17:28Z")
Back in my college days there was bar in town (long since gone) that had three unisex bathrooms labeled with somewhat ambiguous seafood names (shrimp, lobsters and oysters, I think). I remember taking a girlfriend there once, it was her first time there, and at one point during the evening she asked where the bathroom was, so I pointed down the hallway. A minute later she was back at the table, both confused and laughing, and said, “Which one am I???” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/3 "2004-06-17T13:27:14Z")
Sorry, forgot to mention that this was in Lawrence KS in the mid 1980s. :smack: (Which made the whole bathrooms-named-after-seafood thing even more bizarre.) And if I remember correctly, each bathroom had a urinal and a stall. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/4 "2004-06-17T13:28:57Z")
I could not, in good conscience, use the doorway labelled “Shrimp.” I guess that makes me a LOBSTER. (Hoists pants in manly fashion.) I have nothing to contribute. I just felt like sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/5 "2004-06-17T13:29:19Z")
I think the law in Greece says that if you are catering food in your premises you must have separate toilets for each sex. If not, you can have a unisex one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/6 "2004-06-17T13:30:51Z")
I don’t know if it’s still that way, but at MIT’s Walker Memorial in the late 1970s the restroom on the top floor (which used to be male) was switched to unisex by the simple expedient of enclosing the urinals in stalls with doors on them. At the same time, the bathrooms in my dorm suite were unisex, at least for the co-ed suites. I’ve never had a problem with this, but it freaked out my parents when they came to visit. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/7 "2004-06-17T13:42:29Z")
Like, **CalMeacham** ’s dorm, our co-ed dorm had unisex bathrooms. Two or three showers and about four or five stalls (no urinals, stalls only for privacy.) I never even thought about that until now. Never once struck me as odd. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/8 "2004-06-17T13:53:48Z")
Personally I can’t imagine sitting on a toilet taking a big dump with 3 chatty girls running about the bathroom at the same time. Men and women are polar opposites in the bathroom, like mixing water and oil. Just the seat up/down argument alone should be enough to kill this idea off entirely. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/9 "2004-06-17T14:16:31Z")
There are dorms at Berkeley which have unisex bathrooms. The people who live there say it’s strange and uncomfortable for about a week and then everyone settles in and gets used to it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/10 "2004-06-17T14:45:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Personally I can’t imagine sitting on a toilet taking a big dump with 3 chatty girls running about the bathroom at the same time. Men and women are polar opposites in the bathroom, like mixing water and oil. Just the seat up/down argument alone should be enough to kill this idea off entirely. It’s like suddenly having a whole bunch of sisters, all of whom want to use the sink when you do. ---
**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/11 "2004-06-17T14:49:17Z")
I don’t see what the big deal is, really. Most of us grew up sharing bathrooms with parents and siblings of the opposite sex, and quite a few of us still share bathrooms with opposite sex partners and children. Very few people seem fazed by this, so what’s the difference, other than you don’t have to clean it yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Daftbugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Daftbugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daftbugger)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/12 "2004-06-17T14:51:37Z")
There’s a bar on Deansgate, Manchester (Baa Bar, for those that know it) have a large unisex toilet with ambious figures on the doors. It’s all stalls. I don’t see the problem with it really. Everyone shares a bathroom at home, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/13 "2004-06-17T14:54:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t know if it’s still that way, but at MIT’s Walker Memorial in the late 1970s the restroom on the top floor (which used to be male) was switched to unisex by the simple expedient of enclosing the urinals in stalls with doors on them. > > At the same time, the bathrooms in my dorm suite were unisex, at least for the co-ed suites. I’ve never had a problem with this, but it freaked out my parents when they came to visit. By the time I got there, Walker didn’t have unisex restrooms anymore - but most of the dorms did still have co-ed bathrooms. My parents were also suitably freaked out. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/14 "2004-06-17T15:23:04Z")
When I was in Paris there were several unisex bathrooms. There would be one sink area and then a two or three stalls with floor to ceiling doors. I think it just saves a lot of space. ---
**Author:** ![SilentButDeftly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@SilentButDeftly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentButDeftly)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/15 "2004-06-17T15:54:49Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > By the time I got there, Walker didn’t have unisex restrooms anymore - but most of the dorms did still have co-ed bathrooms. My parents were also suitably freaked out. I’ll drop in a “me too” here on this one – Walker didn’t have unisex bathrooms, but my dorm did. Some floors would designate a particular bathroom as male-only or female-only, but in general it was a free-for-all. I still don’t see what the big deal is – it’s just as awkward to poop sitting next to a male as a female. The shower stalls were co-ed as well… We never had a single problem in 4+ years there – everyone respected everyone else’s privacy. (This was at East Campus, about 5 years ago…) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/16 "2004-06-17T16:07:48Z")
[Belgo’s](http://www.belgo-restaurants.com/) in London has these. As did my dorm in Oxford. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/17 "2004-06-17T16:30:29Z")
My dorm at University College London had co-ed WCs. It was a bit odd to make out with the hot chick down the hall, then say goodnight, then 5 minutes later be brushing your teeth next to her. Otherwise, the shower stalls had dressing vestibules for each one, and there was just an initial “Hey, what’s this?” reaction, but after a few days got normal. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/18 "2004-06-17T17:38:06Z")
The bathroom in the detective squad of the 15th Precinct on _NYPD Blue_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/19 "2004-06-17T17:57:55Z")
> [@SilentButDeftly](#): > > (This was at East Campus, about 5 years ago…) Which floor? (I was on 41W, a bit longer than that ago) ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849/20 "2004-06-17T18:07:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Are there bathrooms like this anywhere in the US? I’ve heard rumors that there are some in certain buildings at a couple of ultra-liberal universities (Staford, Berkely), but I don’t know this for a fact. As for having one of these in a private sector employment setting-- I think we, as a culture, are still a little squeamish about our bodily functions. (Berkeley and Stanford) When I went to school at Berkeley, the dorms had one bathroom per floor. I think this had less to with ultra liberalness and more to do with the expectation at the time the dorms were built you would not have guys and girls in the same dorm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-ally-mcbeal-style-unisex-bathrooms-in-the-us-the-world/250849.md?page=2)