Public toilets: Difference between revisions
→Restroom signs
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These kinds of signs have disadvantages: | These kinds of signs have disadvantages: | ||
* '''"Family restroom" signs''' can be seen as excluding people who are not being a caretaker of babies, children, or other dependents at that moment. Sometimes people who are by themselves get told they are not allowed to use them. | * '''"Family restroom" signs''' can be seen as excluding people who are not being a caretaker of babies, children, or other dependents at that moment. Sometimes people who are by themselves get told they are not allowed to use them. | ||
* ''' | * '''Urinal signs''' that are only on restroom doors that have urinals can still be used to single out people who are expected to be able to pee standing up. In practice, people end up treating these as if they were still labeled as a men's room. | ||
* '''A transgender symbol''' is not | * '''A transgender symbol''' is not a familiar symbol to everyone, and is not an international pictogram for a restroom. Restrooms need to be marked with an international pictogram, so that people who do not read the local language can recognize them without having to ask for help. | ||
* ''' | * '''Heart or moon symbols''' are traditional for outhouse doors in the Western world, but they are not common on public restroom signs. Maybe they should be, but at this point, they would be less recognizable as a restroom sign than human figure pictograms. | ||
* '''Joke restroom signs''' can poke fun at cultural assumptions about gender. However, some such signs have jokes on them that are transphobic or are about sexual assault. Those make public restrooms feel less safe, and they reflect badly on the opinions of the management, and whether you could go to the management for help. Joke restroom signs can act as a conversation-starter that can be a set-up for harassment. Even a tasteful joke on a restroom sign can make it harder for people who do not read the local language to recognize that this is the door to the restroom. | |||
These are some examples of | These kinds of signs have advantages: | ||
* '''Pictograms of human figures''' are the most internationally recognized symbols for restrooms. It's familiar and effective to see unisex bathrooms marked with just two figures, the standard male and female pictograms. Three figures-- male, female, and a figure that is a mixture of both-- help clarify that these are not the only two genders, and that people who are gender nonconforming are welcome. Some unisex restrooms are marked with a single figure that is a mixture of both male and female pictograms. | |||
* '''A pictogram of a baby or a baby changing table''' can be helpful to mark on a restroom door, where applicable. | |||
* '''"Unisex"''' is okay and common, so it is more recognizable to more people. | |||
* '''"Gender neutral"''' is okay. | |||
* '''"Gender inclusive restroom"''' is okay, but the wording is relatively less recognizable to people who are less proficient in reading this language. | |||
* '''"All gender restroom"''' is the best caption, because it helps challenge the popular misconception that there are only two genders, and it's in wording that is recognizable even to people who are less proficient in reading this language. | |||
These are some examples of what various kinds of gender-inclusive restroom signs look like, showing their advantages and disadvantages. | |||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
File:Gender neutral bathroom sign.png|Trans symbol | File:Gender neutral bathroom sign.png|Trans symbol | ||
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File:Gender inclusive restroom sign Dartmouth College Hanover NH August 2016.jpg|"This is a gender inclusive restroom" | File:Gender inclusive restroom sign Dartmouth College Hanover NH August 2016.jpg|"This is a gender inclusive restroom" | ||
File:Gender Inclusive Restroom.JPG|"Gender inclusive restroom," with lengthy explanation | File:Gender Inclusive Restroom.JPG|"Gender inclusive restroom," with lengthy explanation | ||
File:Carson Kitchen - Dec 2019 - Stierch 02.jpg|"Whatever, just please wash your hands" | File:Carson Kitchen - Dec 2019 - Stierch 02.jpg|"Whatever, just please wash your hands." A joke restroom sign that is in okay taste. | ||
File:25hours Vienna Restroom Sign.jpg| | File:25hours Vienna Restroom Sign.jpg|A joke restroom sign in bad taste, because it suggests unisex bathrooms are for peeping toms. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||