Pride, Periods, and Public Toilets
Why Access Continues to Matter
Written by Avery Pope, TE Board Member
June is Pride Month—a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and reflect on how we can create more inclusive spaces. At Toilet Equity, we believe everyone deserves access to safe, dignified restrooms. Our toilets are designed for everyone, regardless of gender or identity. The topic of bathroom segregation is not new to any of us and although the focus has shifted in recent decades, the first debate about separate toileting facilities can be traced back over a century.
While Paris introduced gendered toilets in the 1700s, formal regulations mandating separate restrooms by gender didn’t appear until the 1800s. One may think these rules were created simply based on the physical biological differences between men and women and how they have different ways to utilize a toilet but that’s not entirely true. In fact, Terry Kogan, a law professor at the University of Utah dedicated extensive research to this topic to learn that the majority of the push for gendered bathrooms had to do with social norms at the time. In this era it was the popular consensus that a woman's place was in the home. They were caretakers and homemakers and rarely left those confines. As women started to integrate more into the public, the idea of gendered toilets was conceived to ‘protect women from the harsh realities of the public sphere.’ This segregation didn’t just stop at toilets though. Along with gendered bathrooms, society created separate spaces for women in libraries- allowing them private reading rooms - and in trains - allowing them their own cars near the back to protect them in case of a crash. Toilets designated for women were also more cozy and home-like with chaise lounges and curtains and this is where the term “ladies room” was coined.
As society's perception of women has shifted, this toilet structure remained the same and plumbing codes have further dictated bathroom separation. These codes also determine how many facilities should be available for men and women including urinals and toilets which can contribute to why the line for a women's restroom is almost always longer. Say two toilets minimum are required for both restrooms, but two urinals are also required for male facilities. This creates an overall imbalance in toilet accessibility for women.
Today’s bathroom discussions have shifted with gender expression being the primary focus. Before we get into examining these topics, it’s important to understand the difference between sex and gender.
Sex is an identifier you are given at birth based on components of biology. These components include chromosomal makeup, XX for females and XY for males, reproductive organs, and hormone levels. Gender is a social, psychological and cultural construct. It’s a reflection of society’s expectations, standards, and characteristics on how men and women are supposed to act. Gender is not always in alignment with sex. It is deeply personal and is how each individual identifies and expresses themselves in society.
When gendered toilet access is discussed, it’s impossible to be in black and white as people fall on a large spectrum of gender. Recently, lots of state legislatures have passed laws that fall under the umbrella term “bathroom bills” which essentially state that individuals are required to use bathrooms in alignment with their biological sex. Akin to the discussions about bathroom separation in the 1800’s, the narrative of these bathroom bills today is largely focused around women's safety in public spaces.
In a brief published in February of this year by UCLA Williams Institute, Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms and Other Gendered Spaces, Herman et al. (2025) examine whether women’s restrooms and other gendered facilities pose added risk to occupants when transgender people are allowed to use those facilities according to their gender identity. The brief also reviews research on the experiences that transgender people report when using restrooms and the impact on transgender people’s lives when they cannot safely access restrooms.
A study included in this brief was one done in Massachusetts and then replicated in additional states and counties around the United States. The study assessed evidence of safety and privacy in public restrooms as a result of nondiscrimination laws put into place allowing transgender individuals to utilize restrooms that best align with their gender identity and not their biological sex. Data was collected from incident reports before and after this law was established in relation to safety and privacy concerns such as assault, sex crimes, and voyeurism in public restrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms. The results of the study found that in general, incidents of safety and privacy violations in these spaces were rare. There was also no significant change in incidents from before the enactment of nondiscrimination laws to after and no evidence that privacy and safety were jeopardized in these spaces as a result of transgender people having access by law to utilize the restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
After this study, Williams Institute scholars examined data from the National Crime Victimization Survey across various states and counties in the United States to compare states who had implemented nondiscrimination laws for public restrooms and gendered spaces with those who had not. The purpose was to determine if violent victimization perpetrated by strangers had increased when transgender individuals were allowed by law to use restrooms in accordance with their gender identity. The results of these statewide and countywide comparisons were that nondiscrimination laws did not increase incidents of violent victimization by strangers.
Now, both studies resulted in a lack of evidence that allowing transgender people to use restrooms according to their gender identity increased harm to people who are not transgender. However, it was a consistent finding across studies and over spans of time that transgender people repeatedly report being denied access to gendered spaces and experience verbal harassment or physical assault. Not only are they reporting these incidents with frequency, but it is more likely to occur when transgender people who are living their day-to-day lives according to their gender identity use the restroom of their sex assigned at birth.
In order to avoid these negative incidents, over 50% of transgender individuals included in a study reported that they would avoid going to the bathroom even if they needed to go.
Some of them would go as far as not eating or drinking so they could avoid being in a situation where they would have to utilize public restrooms. These avoidances can greatly affect an individual's mental health and physical health, putting them at risk for dehydration, UTIs, or kidney related health issues. This avoidance of using public restrooms can negatively impact their education or employment as well. Many transgender individuals report they experience problems using restrooms in these locations and as a result had excessive absences or tardiness or needed to find new jobs or schools to feel safe.
These studies are important in combating the narrative that safety and privacy is at risk when transgender individuals use restrooms that align with their gender identity when there is no evidence to support these claims. The evidence that does exist suggests that transgender people are put at higher risk for experiencing harassment and violence if required by law to use restrooms that are in accordance with their sex assigned at birth.
Another demographic that is put at health and safety risk due to lack of toilet access are people who menstruate. Women and adolescent girls make up the majority of menstruating individuals around the globe and menstrual health and hygiene is crucial to their well-being. According to World Bank Group, it is estimated that over 500 million women lack access to products and/or facilities to effectively manage their menstruation.
While menstruation is a normal part of life, lack of access and knowledge on how to manage menstruation has led to generations of cultural taboo and social and economic inequalities that has negatively impacted women and girls education, health, safety, and human development.
In many low income countries, many schools lack proper water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities for students and teachers to manage their menstruation. As a result many students miss classes due to being unable to manage their menstruation resulting in excessive absences and falling behind the curriculum which leads many to drop out. This limits many young people’s opportunities for a career or means of obtaining income in the future as well.
Additionally, people who menstruate often face shame and bullying, and in extreme cases gender-based violence, due to a lack of education on menstruation. Some schools have started to incorporate information about menstruation into the curriculum for boys and girls in an effort to reduce the stigma and provide better education and health outcomes.
People’s' health is at risk when they are unable to properly manage their menstruation due to lack of wash facilities and hygiene products.
They are put at a higher risk of developing urinary tract infections and reproductive infections such as bacterial vaginosis which can impact their future fertility. Not having access to water and soap to properly wash their hands after changing menstrual products can also spread infections such as Hepatitis B or Thrush. In places where people have access to hygiene products such as tampons and pads but don’t have access to toilets and water, issues like Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) may occur as a result of increased staph bacteria because they didn’t have the opportunity or facilities to change their sanitary products as frequently as needed. TSS is a serious and life threatening disease if left untreated and can cause organ failure, shock, and even death.
Toilet Equity combats these bathroom inequality issues by allowing an accessible single stall locking toilet for anyone regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Making toilets safer and accessible for everyone is what we should be striving for. PHLUSH recommends toilet designs to be single-entry and unisex with full length doors as the most efficient design to keep bathrooms safe, accessible, and easy to maintain. At Toilet Equity, we’re doing just that. Our toilets are equipped with both urinals and sit down toilets, and we have a few ADA accessible versions as well. Because we compost our waste, menstrual products can be disposed of with toilet paper and dropped in the toilet itself. Once our “waste” is composted, we sift through it and dispose of any remnants. We also provide sharps containers for individuals to safely dispose of needles to keep themselves and others safe and make sure needles don’t end up on the streets or in our compost.
At Toilet Equity, we take pride in offering a solution that respects everyone’s dignity.
Just flush with sawdust, wash your hands, and know that this space belongs to you.