Toilet epistemology
Wait a second though.
If you look at the full photo of our hero you can see that he’s both huge and angry-looking. It’s nice that he’s confident in his own mind that everyone was safe, but what I want to know is, how in hell does he think he can know that everyone else could know that? In particular, how does he think he can know women could know that?
I asked him that question and then read replies and saw that so did everyone else.
By an amazing coincidence, I, a ~1.9m tall man, also feel safe virtually everywhere.
That’s downright spooky!
I am not a small woman at 5’10”, but I would still feel intimidated at the presence of a male, even a somewhat smaller male, in the women’s room. Size isn’t the only factor, either, because of the differences in muscle mass, upper body strength, and so on. I could not likely overcome a male of 5’5″ in spite of being five inches taller.
Yeah, everyone was safe. Everyone felt safe because dude with camera didn’t feel threatened.
I’m glad no one got hurt, but assuming that means no one will ever get hurt is ridiculous. There are many places in my life I go without being hurt. It only takes one time that someone comes in with an attitude to hurt people, and a formerly safe spot becomes unsafe. We have attempted to deal with that uncertainty by creating female-only spaces. Now men threaten that, and we can never know which ones we have to be frightened of. So it’s safer just to be careful of all of them.
I think I’ve said it here before, unisex toilets can be made to work well. Not just by putting up new signage though. Not even by getting proper doors on cubicles. You have to have the approach and entry to all cubicles completely exposed to public view. That makes any loitering outside or nefarious behaviour obvious at a casual glance. It also means every cubicle has to be self contained with washing and drying facilities, excellent ventilation and good sound proofing to achieve comfort/privacy.
Unisex toilets sharing a common private lobby or washroom are a safety issue.
And as for big angry guy saying he felt safe, well, duh.
Judging by he/him’s twitter bio, he/him looks like one of those believer-in-search-of-a-religion types. Just the kind of stooge the trans cult wants. I wonder how long he searched for the perfect toilet photo, I’m guessing at least half a day.
“Feeling safe” doesn’t just mean not being afraid of violence. Many men who wouldn’t think of hitting a woman will leer, peep, grope, glance, pinch, linger, chat up, brush against, eye, sneer, sniff, ogle, flirt, and otherwise make a disgusting, embarrassing nuisance of themselves to women in vulnerable situations. The young and/or timid will hold it till they get home in fear of the not unlikely possibility.
Why the hell should we put up with that?
@Rob: Yeah, the toilets he’s at seem like they fit your description–individual, lockable stalls with no peek-space, and the area out in front is a publicly viewable hallway that likely has sinks for washing up. It works very nicely for this purpose, and frankly, I’d argue these might be safer than more traditional public toilet designs. And, of course, it has fuck-all to do with the overall debate, unless we’re planning a MASSIVE overhaul of public buildings.
But individual and third spaces won’t validate males who impersonate females. They need to use women’s facilities, and be seen using them. Validation is essential to their very survival, just ask them. :P
Sexual dimorphism is, for better or worse, part of the human condition, but it can be addressed and even turned to advantage in a number of ways. One of these is to carry an outwardly innocuous and very justifiable but devastating weapon (details emailed on request via OB.) Good for dealing with any male would-be rapist dressed up as a woman and inclined to operate in womens’ dunnies.
Another is to get a dog. The breed I would recommend is a Queensland blue heeler. A woman friend of mine in Sydney once used this approach, and with devastating effect, on a neighborhood prowler who was bothering her. But my wife for some years had a small male Maltese-Shitsu cross, for whom fear was a totally empty concept. He went for an Alsatian once, which I understand is still refusing to come out of its cage down at the local pound.
Another is to enrol in a self-defence course at your closest gym or dojo. After 28 years of training in one particular martial art, I can say that I have met many women who transitioned from being green beginners to very formidable dan-graders capable of dealing with multiple attackers, simultaneously and/or seriatum.
As FDR famously said in another context: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
You’re right, certainly your last point about massive re-engineering. I’ve been involved with design teams doing refurbishments (really rebuilds) of earthquake damaged public buildings. Even then no consideration was given to making unisex toilets, let alone making them publicly viewable. And this was buildings that had been stripped back to bare structure and had to have every bit of pipe, cable and non-structural wall replaced.
I live in an area that historically has received massive tourism but has a low population. As a result public toilets abound. As new toilets have been built they have all been designed along the lines I describe. This is more for efficiency than safety it has to be said, although safety has been considered. Even as a big bloke, I have to say I find the new style of toilet much more pleasant to use.
Twiliter’s point is bang on though. Not to mention that if existing toilets are to be made unisex, the burden will fall on women as many men’s toilets include banks of urinals (for efficiency), meaning retrofitting as unisex is unlikely to happen, so women will loose toilet cubicles when they are already generally under provisioned already.
Omar, I am sure that you mean well, but not every woman has the time, money, health and/or fitness to be able to learn self-defence – and why should we? Why should women have to be highly trained in martial arts in order to be able to use public loos safely? As for dogs, they are a huge commitment in time and money, and are generally not allowed into shopping centres, where most public loos are located.
No, it should not be up to women to have responsibility for avoiding the bad behaviour of a minority of men. It’s just another, albeit oblique, form of victim-blaming.
tigger: I am sure I mean well too. But I have a bit of trouble with your question: “why should women have to be highly trained in martial arts in order to be able to use public loos safely?” Clearly, they should not have to. But I did not invent the reality women have to cope with. I am merely suggesting coping strategies; two of a number that come to mind.
The only philosophers who can convert an ‘ought’ to an ‘is’ are all in the police or the military forces. And there are places I have been to which I would not go back to today without an armed escort or at least a submachine gun under my coat.
So if women find their public dunnies too dangerous, there are a number of strategies open to them, but one of them is definitely highly useless, and that is to appeal to that minority of men inclined to rape women to mend their ways. (Good luck with that if you disagree.) Another is to wail and gnash their teeth over the injustice of it all, and proclaim to all and sundry that women SHOULD be able to come and go as they please. Agreed, but that does not get us very far. Another is to proclaim and lament that 1. we live in a ‘rape culture’ and that 2. ‘all men are rapists.’ But both propositions 1 and 2 IMHO have the philosophical problem that they are composed of the purest bullshit.
Another is to adopt one or two easily learnable techniques which can improve their chances profoundly in an encounter with a rapist. No guarantees, mind. There never are in the real world.
Oh do stop this. There is absolutely nothing in my post that says or hints “Please offer advice on how women should deal with violent men in public toilets.” The subject is the stupid trans ideology and the opportunities it gives bullies like this RJ Buddha fella to terrorize women. THAT IS THE SUBJECT. Nobody asked you for coping strategies. You’ve done this before and you know it pisses me off so what is the point of doing it again?! Just stop.