[ql06] Re: PUBLIC: Potty Discrimination in Manhattan
- From: Steve Kennedy <2srk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ql06@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 15:02:52 -0500
Kenneth Campbell [QL06] wrote:
>HEY!!
>
>I know what EVERYONE wants right now, more public law discussions!!
>
>So, I'm posting the story below, to slake that thirst, Public Policy
>Warriors.
>
>I think this is a stunning case on so many levels, but, mostly, for the
>s.15(1) Law Test...
>
>Way down there, at the bottom of this email, is a story from
>NYC-Manhattan.
>
>Potty Wars are being waged. City council has introduced legislation
>creating more toilets, per capita, for women than for men.
>
>Needing a break from criminal law studies and the cheerful subject of
>when exactly to give someone 25 years for a disgusting, brutal murder
>and when to give someone 10-15 years for a disgusting, brutal murder.
>
>I think it would be fun to take a 30 min. break here and analyze the
>social ramifications of this pressing discriminatory issue of
>male-to-female toilet rights in government institutions -- and whether
>more potties for girls is unconstitutional, goddamn it.
>
>I think I will use this caffeine buzz to rattle off my rendition of the
>Law Test for discriminatory toilet allocation. Watch for an exciting
>follow-up analysis.
>
>
>Ken.
>
>--
>Behind every great fortune, there is a crime.
> -- Honore de Balzac
>
>
>
>
Seems to me there's an easy solution to this one: unisex washrooms. It
occured to me as I listened to Corbett go on about how "we simply don't
have separate areas of the bus for blacks and whites, or separate doors
for men and women anymore..." B.S., I thought... every single building
has separate doors for men and women - to the toilet facilities.
Yet, in many countries toilets are shared. In China, they don't even
bother with doors on the cubicles, except in some of the Western-style
buildings and hotels. North Americans may not be ready for that one yet,
but I know of at least one trendy nightclub in Toronto that has unisex
facilities, as do numerous public campgrounds. Unisex washrooms
eliminate differential treatment for men and women, and reduce problems
for parents needing to take opposite-sex children to the washroom. In
addition, unisex washrooms are easier to clean, since users have no
expectation of not seeing the opposite sex cleaning crews can enter at
will.
It's really not that difficult to get used to, once this type of
facility becomes the norm. A few lawsuits, and a little "judicial
activism," may be just the thing we need to push things along. Or better
yet, let's save ourselves the money and just change the building codes.
Steve
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