On our way out of town, though, we stopped at the Cape Cod National Seashore center place thing (I said, so eloquently). And, it was kind of cool, with maps and such, and pretty much what you might expect from a little educational stop, nothing particularly fascinating.
But, I was totally fascinated by the bathrooms. Enough so, that shinobi and I proceeded to have a good fifteen or twenty minute conversation on the subject.
Now, they weren't fancy or futuristic, but what they had was one of these signs:
They were single rooms. They had a self-flushing toilet and a sensor-enabled sink. They had those hand blow driers. So, kind of modern, yes.
But, they also had a urinal. And a diaper changing station. And plenty of room to operate a wheelchair inside of it. With everything at an accessible height and bars to lift yourself up or down, as needed.
So, you put all of this together, and...
This bathroom did not require a declaration!
You didn't have to identify as male or female, with children or without, abled or disabled. You just went into the bathroom, did your stuff, and left. Without judgements, without anything. It was a simple experience - like it should be.
So, there's your bathroom update on Cape Cod. Aren't you glad to know?
Now that I think about it, it's funny that I had that moment of anxiety as I went into the bathroom, "wait, am I going into the right one?"
ReplyDeleteThe answer is yes, no matter who I am.
Fantastic bathrooms.
I love it!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were at the naturist campground they had bathrooms with separate stalls and no gender markings. The shower room was open for all.
And it was clean, safe, baby & disabled friendly.
I am not sure I'd feel so safe in the general public, however. A classmate who I didn't really know, was violently raped in a women's bathroom at the university. I do like having the illusion of safety.
Campgrounds in the USA and Canada sometimes have unisex, single shower stalls - and gender-segregated bathrooms. Oh well, they're halfway there.
ReplyDelete@prarienymph: I think if the bathrooms are self-contained (one bathroom per locked room - not sharing sinks, no stalls) it could work really well. But, I think you're right that if it was a stall and shared sink scenario, many women would feel unsafe/nervous.
ReplyDelete@chaplain: Half way is better than no way...righ