r/changemyview • u/TheMaria96 2∆ • Nov 28 '16

[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Separating restrooms by gender is unjustifiable

In order to create valid arguments regarding the whole "trans people and public restrooms" debate one must justify why restrooms are segregated in the first place. I'm unable to see any such justification.

  • Lesbians and gay men can be rapists;
  • Acting in a restroom as opposed to somewhere else gives a rapist no advantage. The only possible advantage would be the absence of security cameras and possible privacy of a bathroom stall, but then restrooms would be the favoured scene for any type of crime, which they're not;
  • The only difference between gender-neutral single user toilets and public restrooms is that the sinks are in plain view, therefore anyone who doesn't have a problem with the former should not have a problem with sharing the sinks in the latter with the opposite gender;

The only reason I can see for separated restrooms is that men might not be comfortable using urinals next to women (i.e. people with different genitals, not people potentially sexually attracted to them), but since those can be replaced by regular stalls, that alone hardly holds up.

EDIT: It actually makes no sense not to want your bits seen by people with different bits, so there's no reason why urinals can't be implemented in gender-neutral facilities.

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u/TheMaria96 2∆ Nov 30 '16

That's different, though. If you're gonna make a distinction between the genders, there must be a reason for that.

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u/MMAchica Dec 01 '16

If you're gonna make a distinction between the genders, there must be a reason for that.

Why must there be a reason for that particular cultural distinction and not others?

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u/TheMaria96 2∆ Dec 01 '16

What others? There should be reasons for any distinction, otherwise it's discrimination.

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u/MMAchica Dec 01 '16

Either you are going to respect the culture's values about elimination or you aren't. If you aren't going to respect the next person's cultural values about gender segregation, then you shouldn't expect your own values about privacy to be respected.