Shanghai’s second unisex toilet achieves vital goal – cutting queuing time for women
While some residents are unfamiliar with gender-neutral bathrooms, young people have been more quick to accept the idea
The launch of Shanghai’s second gender-neutral restroom has significantly cut down bathroom queues for women, although public reactions to the new facility remain mixed.
The city’s second unisex bathroom, in Huangpu district opened, about two months ago. The first appeared in the city in November, news portal Thepaper.cn reported.
The new restroom contains nine toilet cubicles open to all genders, each door indicating “occupied” or “vacant” sign in LED lighting. The 33 square metre space is open daily from 5.30am to 9.30pm.
Officials say the restrooms are part of a pilot scheme to better meet the needs of the public, although they did not rule out converting them back to gender-specific restrooms if the project was unsuccessful.
A woman surnamed Wang who lives in the area said the new restroom meant there was “essentially no need to queue” any more, compared to when restrooms were segregated.
“But having men and women in the bathroom together can still feel very awkward,” she said, noting some elderly people have a habit of opening the bathroom doors before fully adjusting their pants.