# Two small public restrooms with only one seat: Let both genders use either, or not?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-small-public-restrooms-with-only-one-seat-let-both-genders-use-either-or-not/548743>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 31, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-small-public-restrooms-with-only-one-seat-let-both-genders-use-either-or-not/548743 "2010-07-31T23:47:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trapezoidal_jellyfish)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-small-public-restrooms-with-only-one-seat-let-both-genders-use-either-or-not/548743/21 "2010-08-03T01:16:28Z")

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Ever been one of 100 women coming off a 2 hour bus ride after a 4 hour hike? At a teeny gas station with two single-occupant bathrooms, labeled Men and Women? That men’s room didn’t stand a chance…

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**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-small-public-restrooms-with-only-one-seat-let-both-genders-use-either-or-not/548743/22 "2010-08-03T02:08:00Z")

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I also fail to see why each bathroom has to be designated for one or the other. Assuming you remember to lock the door, nobody of the opposite sex is going to see your private parts or watch the poop sliding out from between your buttocks.

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**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-small-public-restrooms-with-only-one-seat-let-both-genders-use-either-or-not/548743/23 "2010-08-03T23:16:05Z")

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Designating single occupant restrooms as either “Men” or “Women” seems to be to the height of stupidity. In this day of age has anyone ever traveled in an airplane for a significant amount of time? Non-gendered rest rooms seems to be no problem, right? Yet, people will get freaky about not having a gender distinction on the door of a restroom that is on land.

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\
**Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-small-public-restrooms-with-only-one-seat-let-both-genders-use-either-or-not/548743/24 "2010-08-03T23:27:15Z")

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> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#):
>
> This is actually a topic that has occupied me in the past. I’ve never understood why a bathroom that will have only one person at a time needs to be male or female.

Same here. I can’t imagine any of the arguments for gendered bathrooms with stalls (e.g. safety) even being relevant. I guess it’s just so they can come up with cute names for men and women based on the them of the joint, a la buoys and gulls.

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