Separate vs. Unisex Bathrooms: The Pros and Cons

Gender-neutral bathrooms are usually only in places that are too small to have two separate bathrooms. I find it rare to find one in larger stores and especially in schools. Gender-neutral bathrooms can come in all shapes and sizes, from one person bathrooms, to bathrooms that anybody can go into and feel comfortable regardless of gender.

At all of the schools i have been to, the only unisex bathrooms were in the school's health room. I have had experiences where I had to go into the bathroom that did not conform to my gender, and making me uncomfortable and adding to the self hate I had for myself. Using my past experiences, I have made a list of the pros and cons of unisex bathrooms:

Let's start with the pros of this situation.

• Comfort: this can make many students who either are non gender conforming, or are just questioning their gender, much more comfortable when going to the bathroom.
• Space: unisex bathrooms can add more bathroom space, especially during passing periods.
• Time: if a student is uncomfortable going to the bathroom that matches their sex, most of the time they have to go to the health room for the bathroom, and if their class is far away from there, it can take away valuable class time for students.

Now let's move on to the cons.

• Safety: students might actually feel unsafe going in these bathrooms for fear of bullying from their fellow classmates and even their teachers.
• Space (again): adding these in might take away valuable classroom space, or might take money away from the school funds.

Although these cons are real and true, we also need to look at the pros! And even though there are many more pros and cons, these were the ones I felt were most important.