Unisex Restrooms
By Bob Branco
While I was growing up, it became quite clear to me that there are times when men and women need their privacy. Regarding public restrooms, there should always be those designated for men and those designated for women. The reasons for this are obvious. I know there are places where men and women share the same restroom. There are unisex bathrooms in people’s homes, of course, and unisex restrooms in certain government and private establishments. I used them at work, but only one person was allowed in the restroom at a time. These business owners who provided unisex restrooms did it by choice, not because of political correctness pressuring them to do so.
All of a sudden, there seems to be such a fascination with unisex restrooms. A local university wants to convert dozens of men’s and ladies’ restrooms into unisex restrooms, and legislation is underway to allow many more of these rooms throughout the country. In case you haven’t heard the news recently, let me tell you the reason why there’s such a desire for more unisex restrooms. It seems that there are people who have problems with gender identity. There are men who sometimes think like they are women, and there are women who sometimes think like they are men. On that basis, our government wants more unisex restrooms.
As I write about this topic, I will try my best to understand the gender identity crisis. I know that there is such a thing. I don’t doubt it at all. However, let’s put this all into perspective, please. If I woke up this morning questioning my gender, I don’t believe I would have the right to be in the same restroom with the ladies. Physically, I am still a man. I have all of my male organs, and I perform all of my bodily functions as any other man would. It doesn’t matter if I think like a woman, a duck, or a Cocker Spaniel. I am still a man. Therefore, I belong in the men’s room with other men. Before I go on, let me assure you that I am not talking about transgender people, nor am I against them. As far as I’m concerned, a transgender person can use the restroom of the gender he or she now is. Right now, we’re talking about the male population versus the female population.
Here is a much more serious problem that government isn’t thinking about while they knuckle under to political correctness. It’s one thing to allow a man to share the same restroom with a woman because he might be questioning his gender, but what if he’s lying about it? What if he wants to sexually assault this woman in the bathroom? All he has to do is pretend that he has a gender identity problem in order to have access. He doesn’t actually have to question his gender. The law would allow him in the room with ladies based on the assumption that he has such a problem. I don’t want any of you to think this isn’t possible. We hear stories all the time about women and little girls being attacked or assaulted. How are we going to prove that every man who spends time with women in the restroom questions his own gender? Yet, this is the group that we suddenly have to cater to, and I think this kind of nonsense invites trouble.
You can build your unisex restroom if you want. I have no problem with you doing it if it’s your own personal choice. I use them if I have to. However, don’t give men more legislative reasons to pretend to have some kind of gender crisis in order to do something wrong. Don’t tell me that there isn’t a single man in this country who has an ulterior motive for finding a woman in a restroom. If people can lie about everything else in life, they can certainly lie about having a gender identity crisis and use this excuse to take advantage of an opportunity. While the number of people with gender identity issues is rather small, is it worth the risk of inviting others to do harm, such as those who want to rape or assault someone in a rest room?
I’ve talked to several people who would never allow men in the same restroom with their little daughters. I know that most men won’t do harm, but it only takes one man to do such harm. Let’s leave the restrooms alone and work on more important problems that we have.
