Wow thats pretty amazing, not something I would have originally thought necessary, but reading the article it certainly seems to be.

Finally the esteemed Dr. has his own bathroom.

Very cool. Hopefully that will help in some small way.

Ok, now I'm really confused...

If I'm a guy and decide that really I'm a girl, shouldn't I be going in the girl's bathroom?

Likewise, if I'm a girl and decide that I'm actually a guy, shouldn't I be heading for the men's room?

Why the need for a special bathroom like it's some kind of third gender?

From the article:

I'm a girl, and if some girls with boy plumbing were allowed into my bathroom, I can imagine many boys with boy plumbing trying to use the girls bathroom for unwholesome reasons.

Well, I'd be less bothered with this now, but when I was a schoolgirl, this would definitely have bothered me.

okay call me crazy but if you are trying to keep kids from being teased you are going to need so many "special" places for them to be "comfortable" that you won't be able to keep them all straight. is the next step having a special classroom for the short kids because the tall kids are teasing them?

let them learn to deal with it...it will benefit them later in life when they realize the world doesn't always adjust to make them more comfortable.

Awesome Avatar!!

Thanks Crow! But it keeps disappearing on me. Maybe because I'm at work and it thinks I should be doing something productive...


Well, maybe not.

I'm confused now. Is a transexual a person with the plumbing of one gender and the brain of the other gender?


Whatever the case, let the "plumbing" decide.

Instead of designating restrooms male/female, perhaps the world would better if they were designated "Banana" vs. "Orchid". :)

Because it IS a third gender. Likewise, what restroom would you tell a Hermaphrodite to use?

I think you have two options, do what they did and make a third category, or make all restrooms gender free/not-specified. If you take away the label of "this room is for boys" and "this room is for girls" there is no issue of a shared space.

We can share toilets at home but nowhere else?

Well that's not what they think. Still, that's how they're treated. And, as Letter10 said above, they might just need to suck it up if they are really serious about the issue. And I agree with Fentwin, the plumbing should decide.

But either way. It is a safety issue. That's why we have separate Boys and Girls rooms. Teenagers are known to have immature rationalization skills. And, while the school is probably more worried about their checkbook than the students, it's probably a good move.

But I see no reason for teenagers NOT to act maturely. Are they perhaps reacting immaturely to their peers because of ignorance and lack of exposure?
Is it possible then that if we brought kids up in a system of tolerance and acceptance that differences (like 3rd, 4th, and 5th genders) aren't shunned or party to an "icky" factor because they're just part of the status quo?

(sorry, I'm in the middle of writing a paper on hermaphroditic discrimination for school... this article is just such a coincidence...)

I really think the extra bathroom is a step in the right direction, toward total equality.

Thats fine for situations such as in school. What does one do about the home environment. Bigotry is learned, and sadly, most people are "home schooled" in that subject.

I understand your point, but this just further segregates a particular population. Now those targeting these people have another "reason" to single them out.


It seems strange to ask for acceptance and segregation simultaneously. I understand the possible dangers (even mortal danger) involved but isolation may not be the answer.




But then,in lieu that it is the loo, what's there to lose.

I completely understand what you mean, and I agree with you. That is a very likely complication.

That's why I like the any-sex bathroom idea better.
(although, I should probably come up with a better name for it to eliminate potential innuendo...)

ha.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I don't understand the Transsexual thing. I'm not judging, I just don't get it.

Isn't Thailand kind of famous for it's transsexuals?

It's a physiological fact they are deficient in this area.

things need to be thought of as normal or okay for there not to be discrimination. We've certainly come a long way where that is concerned.

An any sex bathroom would be ideal but how often are we dealing in ideals! Change happens slow and we have to be patient and not scold the older generations for seeming narrow minded.

My kids have a transsexual grandfather. We've had to deal with this issue on a very intimate level. And I'm sincerely interested, can you tell me from your research if most/all/how many hermaphrodites generally "feel" they are one particular sex or another? Or do they consider themselves a "third gender" as you referred to? I know my father-in-law doesn't consider herself a third gender. SHe considers herself a woman and has the brand sparkling new plumbing to prove it. He had his surgery as a 72-year-old. I'd like to see him endure menses and childbirth. But I still think I'm pretty open minded and sensitive. I have to be.

I agree, and there is no way that everyone can be treated equal because we are not all the same. There will always be some type of discrimination if you look for it. All the world can feasibly do is the best for the most. I know it sucks for the minorities no matter how you cut it but you can't please all the people all the time and you never will...no matter how many bathrooms you have.

I agree. They are mature enough if they feel that is expected.
People often behave as expected, this goes for transgenders too. This is not necessarily good.

The following is from an interview of Lenny who had organized a group that was lobbying for equal rights for waria. (This is Indonesia, warias are transgenders often working as prostitutes.)
"We are in the national parliament asking to be taken seriously as a community, and I see that two of the girls are missing. I send someone off to look for them and guess what? They are screwing the security guards in the bathroom."
--Elizabeth Pisani: The wisdom of the whores

I'm going to have to correct you on two things: First off, transsexuals do NOT consider themselves a third gender. They ARE the opposite gender of their physical sex. Androgyns consider themselves the third gender, and Bi-genders are variable.
Second, you're using the wrong term for the group of people you are studying. A hermaphrodite is someone who has both sets of sex organs, which is a very rare situation. Intersexed, on the other hand, is likely what you're thinking of. An intersexed person is someone who has physical attributes of both sexes, and includes hermaphrodites.

Now my opinion:
I don't think it's going to help at all. Most transsexuals do not want to be seen as an MtF or FtM, but a female or male, respectively. Creating a third bathroom for transsexuals just segregates them and increases the feelings of alienation.
I'd more agree with a unisex bathroom, but I worry that'd cause resentment from everyone else.

Also, Rc1215, if you want information on it, feel free to message me. So long as you have an open mind, it's not hard to understand.