# Why gender-separate single-occupancy public restrooms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125 "2011-04-04T07:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/21 "2011-04-04T17:10:51Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The women’s room may have a tampon/pad dispenser and the men’s would have a Ribbed Condom Of Pleasure dispenser. Get with the times, **Bob-O**. The ladies’ room has those too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/22 "2011-04-05T12:17:13Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Usually when I see a single-occupancy restroom it is labeled as unisex and can be used by either gender. But I was in a Starbucks today that had a men’s and women’s, both single-occupancy. > > Is there a reason for keeping them separate? It could be that there is a legal requirement in your jurisdiction mandating gender-segregated washroom facilities whenever there are two or more washrooms. (Of course, this just raises the further question of the purpose of the law.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/23 "2011-04-05T14:05:34Z")
What I don’t get is my old office. Four bathrooms, all of which are single-occupancy. There’s a men’s, a woman’s, and two gender neutral. Maybe it’s because the gender neutral ones are handicap-accessible. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/24 "2011-04-05T16:08:47Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Really? I thought the common wisdom from people who have cleaned both restrooms is that the women’s is typically filthier. All I can say is that of the employees restrooms at the restaurant I work at, the womens is cleaner. On an average day, there are more female workers than male, and the restrooms are cleaned by the 3rd shift dish washer, but not every day (but he does clean both at the same time). I am not sure of the public restrooms there. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/25 "2011-04-05T16:24:15Z")
Don’t forget about the couches, potpourri, and other luxuries often found in women’s bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/26 "2011-04-05T16:34:17Z")
No…keep the status quo. I, as a man, like having ready access to a bathroom unlike what women have to put up with. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/27 "2011-04-05T16:34:21Z")
I just remembered that when I worked at a fast food place in high school, we had single occupancy restrooms. In the time I worked there, the men’s room was the only one where we found someone had pooped in the sink and left it there. 🙂 However, to be fair, we don’t know if a man or woman left that gift for us. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/28 "2011-04-05T18:44:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > What I don’t get is my old office. Four bathrooms, all of which are single-occupancy. There’s a men’s, a woman’s, and two gender neutral. Maybe it’s because the gender neutral ones are handicap-accessible. Was it an older building in a region that once had separate “colored” and “white” facilities? That would explain the four restrooms. There’s a post somewhere around here in which a Doper describes walking past a women’s rest room and entering what he \*assumed \*to be the men’s room, only to realize that it was _also_ a women’s rest room. There were also two side-by-side men’s rooms. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/29 "2011-04-05T18:50:45Z")
There’s a bar here in town that has multiple occupancy restrooms (swinging door does not lock). One door has a sign that says “men” and the other door has a sign that says “women.” Upon closer inspection, you see the signs on the doors are actually in the shape of hands with the index fingers pointing toward the opposite door. Many people don’t figure it out until it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/30 "2011-04-05T19:02:18Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > Was it an older building in a region that once had separate “colored” and “white” facilities? That would explain the four restrooms. It’s an old building, but it’s in the north, and there has been a lot of renovation. And they’re not side by side like that. I can only guess that one of the unisex ones is made for patients, as it’s roomy and handicap accessible, and we get a lot of people in wheelchairs there. The other one is roomy and luxurious, and seems like an employees only thing. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/31 "2011-04-05T19:38:03Z")
Cooties. It’s all about cooties. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I don’t know for sure, but I suspect the real reasons for having them be gender-separate are psychological. People expect there to be a MEN’s room and a WOMEN’s room; that’s what they look for. And I suspect there are at least a few people who are nervous about walking in on, or being walked in on by, a member of the opposite sex if the occupant neglected to lock the door, or if the lock somehow failed. Psychological is just another way of saying cooties. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/32 "2011-04-05T19:45:08Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The women’s room may have a tampon/pad dispenser and the men’s would have a Ribbed Condom Of Pleasure dispenser. Bahhhh… Don’t buy the hype. Do you know how rough those ribbed things are on your hands? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/33 "2011-04-05T20:28:34Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Women “miss” the bowl because they’re squatting most of the time, especially when they’re drunk. Cite that most women hover instead of sitting on the seat? IME, \*most \*women sit normally; however, you only need \*one \*hovering retard to make a royal mess of the place. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/34 "2011-04-05T21:09:05Z")
I attended a blues festival in Cincinnati once upon a time and noted that the line for the ladies room was much longer than the line for the men’s room. Now the men’s room had the old trough type urinals which were lined shoulder to shoulder by urinating men while the stalls were mostly unused. I happened to be standing at the trough when the door opened and a woman called out, “Close your eyes, guys; we’re coming in.” And in they came, and into the stalls they went and when they left, another woman would enter and take the vacated stall. No one protested and all in all, it seemed to me to be a logical solution. Although I doubt I could have stuck my head into a women’s room and said, “Close your eyes, ladies, I’m coming in.” ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/35 "2011-04-05T22:44:32Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Cite that most women hover instead of sitting on the seat? IME, \*most \*women sit normally; however, you only need \*one \*hovering retard to make a royal mess of the place. Good point. But in a public restroom, it’s impossible to know whether the joint was clean before that lone hovering retard let loose, or whether every previous user was a hoverer. If one’s only option is to use a toilet defaced by a hoverer, the next horror on the menu is to either somehow clean/disinfect the disgusting seat or, God help us all, become a hoverer too. Sad story either way. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/36 "2011-04-05T22:56:55Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > There’s a post somewhere around here in which a Doper describes walking past a women’s rest room and entering what he \*assumed \*to be the men’s room, only to realize that it was _also_ a women’s rest room. There were also two side-by-side men’s rooms. I’ve been in some sports and music venues that had concourses with _many_ consecutive facilities for each gender. You would emerge from the seating area looking for a restroom and if you started walking the wrong way you might have to go a quarter or even halfway around the whole arena before coming to an appropriately-designated one. Who the :mad: thought that was a good idea? ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/37 "2011-04-05T22:59:43Z")
Also, in malls, restaurants, etc - women are more likely to have small children with them who, while potty trained, still need supervision in the restroom. Said small children, if male, are more likely than adult men to sprinkle all over, not having as much hose control. This is of course the parent’s job to clean up - but, especially if she has more than one child to supervise, it’s easy to miss/forget to do. Moral of the story: Never use the handicapped stall at the mall - it’s the first choice of parents with small children. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/38 "2011-04-05T23:52:21Z")
Just remembered another one… There’s a restaurant/bar here in town and the area where you wash hands in the sink is actually a tinted window into the other bathroom instead of mirrors. Yes, guys and gals get to watch each other at the sink. You can’t see the rest of the bathroom from the sink area. It’s pretty freaky when you see your reflection thinking it’s an odd mirror and then someone on the other side suddenly appears. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/39 "2011-04-06T01:46:19Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > What countries? I’m always puzzled reading the references to squatting women from the USians, because I’ve never encountered that here. Maybe our women are generally less squeamish and more practical. And while I don’t clean, and therefore can’t compare, toilets here, the women toilets do look clean enough most of the times, unless it’s public or a run-down place with not enough cleaning. Maybe it’s something to do with the design of the toilets? I don’t know, but I don’t think many women in the UK, at least, hover above the seat unless it’s already covered in poo. I know this via many conversations with friends and utter strangers in adjoining cubicles. I will always know if the toilet is too dirty to dirty to sit on, or if there’s no loo roll, because it will be loudly announced. FWIW I’ve worked at many pubs in the UK where I had to clean up both the ladies’ and the gents’ and the actual toilets (as opposed to urinals) were equally bad. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/40 "2011-04-06T15:01:31Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Maybe it’s something to do with the design of the toilets? Speaking as a woman who has peed in the U.S., Japan, Ireland (Republic of), Northern Ireland, and Scotland, it has nothing to do with the toilet designs. It’s purely cultural. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125.md?page=3)