Would you welcome unisex office toilets?

Unisex toilets are apparently the latest in "office cool", and are currently being tried out by city workers in London.

There are no urinals in these "loo emporiums", so men have to queue alongside their female colleagues. A new etiquette will be needed to combat rows about men leaving the seat up and women hogging the mirrors.

Some say spending a penny in a mixed environment will inject an air of camaraderie into the office, like in the US hit comedy Ally McBeal. But what do you make of it?

Does the idea of sharing your office toilets with the opposite sex fill you with dread, or do you think it would be good for office relations? Maybe your company has already installed a "loo emporium". Tell us what you think about communal conveniences.

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Your reaction

I would hope to think that in the future men and women will be able to accept the fact that toilets are the one thing that we can share.

Caoimhe, N.Ireland

I would not like to be seen by my male colleagues redoing my make-up, brushing my teeth, etc. in the office toilet. Yes, it may be vain but I'd rather keep it to myself and come out looking glamorous. Also, it would be slightly disturbing to know my male boss can 'hear' when I have my period should he be in the toilet at the same time. I think I'd resort to the toilets in the near-by café instead of being seen and heard.
Ann, UK

I don't think it's a bad idea if it is done right. If there is a single room per occupant and the wash area is shared that would be no problem.
Ron, Dallas, Texas, USA

I am still a pupil but I think unisex toilets are a good idea. It may not be as horrible as people think. When I was out in a club recently, I had to go to the men's toilets as the line for the ladies was too long. The men in the bathroom were quite civilised about it and they didn't seem to mind sharing the toilets. I would hope to think that in the future men and women will be able to accept the fact that toilets are the one thing that we can share.
Caoimhe, N.Ireland

All this in the name of equality? We already are equal. Men have toilets. Women have toilets. Where is the issue?
E

It works fine in our office. It's just like having a bathroom in a house.
Stefan, Sweden

A night-club I go to has a unisex sink area, a nicely carpeted clean open area which men and women get to use and it works fine. There are two doors at the end, one to the men's toilets and one to the women's, thus keeping privacy on the delicate issues. It has worked extremely well, there are never any queues for the toilets and the sink areas are kept clean and there is a really relaxed atmosphere. By merging the washing areas the club has much more space for sinks and mirrors.
Paul Charters, England

What's new? Mixed Toilets in Offices etc have been around for years with no problems.

Vicky Skyle, New Zealand

What's new? Mixed Toilets in Offices etc have been around for years with no problems. That it's being looked at in plush marbled offices all of a sudden makes it news or disgusting, I think not. Small firms have mixed toilets, trains, planes have mixed toilets. Just what is NEW about this idea?
Vicky Skyle, New Zealand

In a small office I can see no reason why the practice of sharing the toilet should cause any problems. The problems begin when you are working in a factory environment when there are about 300 employees wanting to use the toilet in their 30 minute meal relief.
Paul, England

I think we should adopt a Japanese style "stream" of running water that man, woman and child can squat over. Additionally closed-circuit cameras can be installed and televise activities in the working area. This to satisfy the voyeur in us all.
Andrew, US

It's not an issue of cleanliness because both sexes can be dirty, but rather an issue of safety. Sexual harassment is bad enough in the office without having to endure it in the restroom.

Tracey, US

It's not an issue of cleanliness because both sexes can be dirty, but rather an issue of safety. Sexual harassment is bad enough in the office without having to endure it in the restroom. Men should have their private place to handle their "business" and women should have a place where they can take care of their personal needs without feeling embarrassed or uneasy. Imagine being a woman who is one of the last people in the office for the day and needing to go to the washroom. Imagine some jerk that's been hitting on you follows you into the restroom. Would you feel safe? I believe company's that institute such crude restrooms should be legally liable for any sexual assaults or sexual harassment that results -- and trust me, there will be idiots who cannot control themselves. That's why we need laws.
Tracey, US

Come on now! Get real! Where is your sense of decency? Or reality? Men and women are different and bathroom privacy between the sexes should be maintained
Dan Garrison, USA

For all of those women who say we leave the toilet seats up - what do they do? They leave the toilet seats down! I think it would cause more arguments in the office than bonding!
Damon, UK

I strongly disagree with communal toilets, it's about the only private place left....

Maureen Carden, Scotland

I strongly disagree with communal toilets, it's about the only private place left....
Maureen Carden, Scotland

Surely there are better things to worry about. A unisex litter tray in the corner of the office would certainly cause more consternation
Ian Mehrer, United Kingdom

You can't be serious. Any pervert can stand on a toilet seat and look over the cubicle wall while a woman is sitting on the toilet. Give us some privacy please.
Susannah, Australia

Bad idea. Women will get smelly toilets and men will get stuck with long queues. Look in any night-club at midnight - there will be a queue in the women's and none at the gents. Hell, I'm selfish but I have no intention to queue 10 minutes for something that takes 20 seconds.
Neil, Singapore

I think it is a terrible idea, both in terms of hygiene, like most women I hate the fact that men make a mess, leave the loo seat up and also in general men toilets smell.
I also think it could be dangerous for women and I would find it embarrassing. As for the comment that we have to share at home, so what, I don't see why we should else where, and with strangers.
Claire Stuteley, England

I lived in a dorm in France with unisex restrooms and there was never a problem. It's more logical since sometimes, there' a very long line for the ladies' room and no one in the gents' room and vice versa.
It would be best if the stalls were French style - covered up from top to bottom.
Joe, USA

There are issues of personal safety for women, quite beside privacy.

Laura, UK

No way. Its not an issue of equality - its an issue of practicality. It's bad enough sharing loos with men at home (who never put the seats down!). Also I wonder what the dangers might be if the trend were to spread to things like pubs and clubs - there are issues of personal safety for women, quite beside privacy.
Laura, UK

I am all for unisex toilets, but I think that the designers have overlooked one key problem... How will the women be able to use the urinals?
Peter, UK

On occasions I have taken the brave step of stealing into a ladies loo because it was more "conveniently" located during an 'emergency'. Invariably I would come face to face with a lady(!!) as I stealthily re-emerged. Surprisingly they would always smile it off with a look of knowing compassion. One woman even passed me some toilet paper once. Women don't seem to worry as much and knowing men they ought to. But one thing: will women want to abandon ALL the old customs? How about "ladies first"?
Simon Cameron, UK

Most definitely not! I can't think of anything worse. The idea will no doubt go down the same route as the mixed hospital wards idea several years ago - a complete disaster with the result that they are all being segregated again. Keep toilets separate!!
Yvonne, UAE

There's a remarkable selfishness in those who say "Women have to queue so why shouldn't the men?" Men's toilets with urinals = little or no queues. Women's toilets without urinals = queues. The simple fact is urinals are clearly more efficient. Maybe some should be designed for women to use - yes. it can be done - so there'd be no queues in the Ladies either.
Gary Pollard, Hong Kong

No way!! My husband and I had had separate bathrooms before we moved here. Now we are thinking of constructing a new one at home in order to keep this practice. I don't like sharing toilets with the opposite sex, since it is one of the very few places that we can keep our own identities. Girls take up more space and time in the loo, due to our natural needs. It's the way God has created us. I don't think it's a good idea to have a man in the next cubicle, knowing my physical condition and what I'm doing from the sound I make. Just imagine!
Deborah Chan, UK

Great idea! It's the best way to keep it clean and full of toilet paper for us guys.
Peter, USA/UK

Go to any nightclub and you'll find women in the men's loos from opening time onwards. We do not have segregated toilets, we have unisex and just for women. They all smell bad. What we really want is to be able to control our bladders for long enough to get home to our own personal toilet that no one else is allowed to use!
Drystan, England

Share with woman, I think not. I feel sorry enough for the blokes I work with, having to use the same facility as me after a night out and a curry.
Billy, UK

I do not see what all the fuss is about, so what if males and females share the same facilities as long as privacy is respected. The UK can be very Victorian in its approach to attitudes sometimes
Colin, U.K.

It works in Ally McBeal, so why not...
Adam, UK

We're British for god's sake. We like a bit of privacy.

Andy, UK

We're British for god's sake. We like a bit of privacy. I certainly won't be able to go with a couple of women waiting outside the cubicle. How about other private things such as needing something from the machine or a quick brush up in front of the mirror. What perverts are getting paid for suggesting that we share our toilets?
Andy, UK

What's the big deal? Of course, there should only be one toilet for all. Get on Eurostar and go to Paris. There is no problem in the public unisex conveniences. They are quite nice, well maintained be a woman who "directs" traffic and allows for a casual, relaxed attitude to being human.
Gary, UK

Most definitely not! This equal rights thing has gone way too far, the thought of public toilet is bad enough... are there no areas sacred enough for men and women to be separate. There is nothing worse than trying to use a public toilet but to share with women ... no way!!
Carl, England

I would welcome unisex loos, if it meant the end to sex discrimination when it comes to decoration, maintenance and hygiene.

Andrew J. Chisholm, UK

Last year my local pub had the men's loos re-decorated. For one evening we all had to share the Ladies.
No one had any problem, the main issue was that us men were astonished how nicely they were decorated: carpet, nice paint, chair to wait in, framed mirrors, flowers etc. How nice.
How disappointing to find that when re-opened, the men's loos now had fresh linoleum on the floor and a few tiles replaced. Double standards indeed.
I would welcome unisex loos, if it meant the end to sex discrimination when it comes to decoration, maintenance and hygiene.
Andrew J. Chisholm, UK

As far as I am aware, separate toilets are a legislated bylaw requirement in the UK. Is this not just another example of how big business is "above the law" in their penny-pinching pursuit of profit?
David, Canada

The thought of using the same toilets as blokes is nauseating. My answer is NO!!!! (sorry guys)
Marina, Scotland

I can't think of anything worse. It's bad enough knowing that a man in the office has made that terrible smell in the loo but to then think that it may be a woman would be very disconcerting. Gentlemen view women as being clean and fresh. To change that view is taking equality to the extreme. We may share loos at home with our loved ones but that is a totally different affair.
Matt, UK

Have been sharing a loo with three colleagues for over four years. Not a problem, it's just like being at home, plus they are respectful in leaving the toilet seat down "most of the time" We also take turns in making sure it stays a clean environment.
Mrs. J. Hawkins, GB

The thought of bumping into one of the managers doing up his flies as he leaves a cubicle would reduce me to laughter!

Janice, UK

I often go into the loo to get away from male bravado and machismo. The thought of talk of football, girls and cars would haunt me all the working day. Mind you, the thought of bumping into one of the managers doing up his flies as he leaves a cubicle would reduce me to laughter!
Janice, UK

Our leisure centre here in Andover, Hampshire does have one of these unisex "Changing Villages" and everybody seems to get on with it just fine with no problems at all.
Shaun, UK

I, like no doubt many men, suffer from "service station fever", which for you women out there is the inability to pee when somebody is stood right next to you. I welcome cubicles as it may also encourage extra "flirtation" without office gossip!
Chris, UK

The only thing I'd worry about would be the smell. Men's toilets are notorious for it. Would women really want to be confronted by this on a daily basis?!
Bethan, UK

I can't say as I'd really mind using a uni-sex restroom but I would really miss the urinal. It's so easy and quick, couldn't they just put 3 or 4 against the far wall?
Osiris Johnson, Hawaii, USA

My wife thinks this is a disgusting idea, not fit for civilised discussion. I however, think it's grand and that unisex toilets should be mandatory and enforced by the equal rights commission. A great idea.
Richard, US

Last week my company moved to new offices with separate toilets for male and female staff. We'd had shared facilities for many years due to lack of space and money. By far the most relieved (no pun intended!) at this change to single sex toilets were the men in the office. Although, I have to be honest and admit that I didn't like being overheard by men whereas with women I don't mind. Have no qualms about sharing beyond that though.
Kali, UK

Why ruin the fantasy for all us men who aren't actually married yet?

Guy Barrington, UK citizen in USA

On moving to New York, where unisex toilets in bars, restaurants and offices are common place, I would hesitate in promoting it in to the UK. For a man, happy to live in the in the fantasy that all woman secrete rose perfumed pellets and never ever break wind, the reality is a harsh reminder that the fairer sex is just as fallible as their male counterparts. Why ruin the fantasy for all us men who aren't actually married yet?
Guy Barrington, UK citizen in USA

If such restrooms will include both urinals and seating toilets, it will make virtually no difference. Each woman (as well as any man who wishes or needs to) will be in a separate cabin, while only men will have the opportunity to observe each other urinating at the urinals (unless a woman would like to stop on her way to a toilet cabin and observe the scenery herself). After all, do we go to restrooms to stare at each other or for particular business?
Andrej, Russia

I would love to know upon which tablet of stone is it written that the seat must be left down.

Mark Laurence Scott, Brit in USA

Someone mentioned the obsession chicks have about men leaving the seat up in the lavvy - they're never happy - it's either "oh you left the seat up" (well so what, you leave it down, what's the difference?) - or "you peed all over the seat" (well you told me to leave it down, woman!)
I would love to know upon which tablet of stone is it written that the seat must be left down. If it's down then a man has to lift it up. If it's up then a woman has to put it back down, that's only fair. But no. Females want the guys to lift the seat AND put it down, as if "down" is the default position.
So here's a tip, blokes - put the seat down and put the lid down too. Then they'll have to lift that up. So while they're at it, they might as well lift the seat, eh?
Mark Laurence Scott, Brit in California, USA

You get to socialise and most of the time the toilets are much cleaner.

Matt Hobbs, US

I moved over to New York almost two years ago and was amazed to find that almost all bar toilets are unisex. Once I got used to it though it's definitely the best way - the queues are even, you get to socialise and most of the time the toilets are much cleaner. Go for it - and while we're there do the whole 4am bar opening times thang it works a treat.
Matt Hobbs, US

Loos are temples of sanctity to our own sex.

James, UK

Loos are temples of sanctity to our own sex, which must not be defiled by allowing members of the opposite sex to use them.
Imagine a bloke's loo with the smell of perfume or air freshener - how improper! And by removing urinals you will eliminate the opportunity for men to exploit their wonderful gift of directable pee (consider the fine sport of "chase the fag end", as mentioned by Dan, UK). Shock horror!
James, UK

This is a very very bad idea, I live with boys and work in an all male office, I know what they smell like and I have the aftermath at home - please don't make me suffer it at work also........
Annie, England

I've encountered unisex toilets in my Halls of Residence at University. Although it was disconcerting to start with, I've found it quite liberating.
The main advantage I've found is that both the blokes and the girls make a big effort to make sure the loos are clean.
Gifton Noel, England

I couldn't bear the myth of the "fairer sex" being exploded, so to speak.

Sam Fuller, UK

Being a young red blooded male, working in a very tedious office I am obviously all for any new schemes to bring me into closer contact with the "fairer sex"; but therein lies the problem.
For a start, I couldn't bear the myth of the "fairer sex" being exploded, so to speak, and secondly, I certainly wouldn't wish the aftermath of eight pints and a Vindaloo on man or beast, let alone a lady.
Sam Fuller, UK

Personally I don't mind either way - but here will be trouble from the urinal industry. National urinal sports such as "chase the fag-end" and "how high can YOU pee" will be lost forever. Fifty percent of Britain's famous toilet jokes will be lost for all time.
Dan Moody, UK

Inevitably some men will wet the seat through failing to lift it before urinating. The only solution I can see to this is for seats to be spring loaded to keep them in the "up" position when not in use.
Bob, England

Fail to see what the problem is really. I can see that women would be less than keen mind. Although they complain about us men not having the decency to put toilet seats down when we've finished, will they have the decency to put them back up, when they're done???
Chris Basey, Spain

I find myself making up excuses to "pop out" for five minutes just so that I can nip to the public loo across the street.

Sharron, UK

I work in a very "forward thinking" trendy Co in the city and, for the last year, have had to share the toilets with my male colleagues. Frankly - it's disgusting!! I find myself making up excuses to "pop out" for five minutes just so that I can nip to the public loo across the street.
Apart from the gross smell - there are usually wet splashes on the seats and surrounding floor of the toilets and a staggering selection of newspapers/magazines strewn on the floor. What is it with men and reading while on the loo?
I have already put in an official complaint to the bosses - who incidentally are hardly ever in the office themselves and therefore rarely have to actually use the toilets.
Sharing the office loo?...Big Mistake¿HUGE!!
Sharron, UK

It's about time men have to queue in the same way as women! - they might appreciate what we have to go through! As for hogging mirrors its questionable as to who would be doing the hogging. All in all I have no problem with the idea.
Kirsty, UK

Alley McBeal does not represent real life.

Viktor, Finland

Alley McBeal does not represent real life. So just because it looks like fun on TV doesn't mean it works in real life.
Viktor, Finland

My office is right next door to the ladies loo, but I have to do two flights of stairs to get to the men's! Inevitably I will nip next door if I need a quick pee, though some women can get quite upset to find me in there.
I think there is definitely a case for separate loos for the "smell" and "castle" issues mentioned below - I just wish people weren't so inflexible to take offence at finding a member of the opposite sex in your loo! It is after all a more natural way of doing things.
Jason, UK

My company is planning the interior design of our new building - all the toilets are unisex. Why? Simply, to save cost; Central London office space is extremely expensive, do we really need to double the space used for toilets?
There's also the disabled toilets to think about ... but aren't they usually mixed sex anyway? Where privacy really does matter (i.e. in the gym's showers) single sex rooms will remain.
Incidentally, the strangest toilet divisions I've seen were in the Middle East, where there were Western and Eastern toilets in office buildings: the first for western men and women, and the other for local men.
Stuart Fotheringham, UK

I have recently stayed in the Officers Mess at many Military bases around Australia, Army, Navy and Airforce. They all have unisex toilets and showers. They are completely private. If the traditionally conservative Military can do it, why can't the rest of us?
Dave, Australia

Disabled people have had to put up with communal loos for years!

Rebecca Drane, England

Disabled people have had to put up with communal loos for years! That's not to say I agree with the idea - I think males and females should always have the option of separate facilities - whether you are disabled or not.
Rebecca Drane, England

I for one hate urinals. My company does not have any, and I don't miss them. My pet hate is to see someone in the hand-wash area when I go out of the cubicle, and I don't care whether it's a man or woman. I don't mind the idea of loo emporiums, but please, real full size doors, not traps.
Pascal, UK

What's the fuss about? You share a bathroom at home. It can save space. We know men pee, they know we pee so it's not exactly destroying some great mystique!
Fiona Young, UK/USA

Not very environmentally friendly with all that extra flushing. At least men's urinals are more efficient in that respect. Perhaps the side effect is a stronger odour, but the tampon disposal unit is altogether much worse in my limited experience.
John, England

I can't help feeling that most men will feel inhibited by the presence of ladies while they are relieving themselves.

Randloph Coldicott, UK

To pee or not to pee, that is the question! I can't help feeling that most men will feel inhibited by the presence of ladies while they are relieving themselves, and having to listen to all that female powder room chit-chat while we're pointing Percy at the porcelain will make for nothing more than excruciating excretion!
Randloph Coldicott, UK

Very bad idea. Why take away the one last place where a guy can "adjust" himself without women looking on and tutting. Also spare a thought for the poor souls who would have their desks in the reclaimed space that used to be the Gents.
David Chambers, UK

What's the problem? Unisex toilets have been around for years.

Sarah Blake, UK

What's the problem? Unisex toilets have been around for years. Certainly I've never seen a mixed students' hall of residence that's had separate male and female toilets. Nor have I ever seen one where people have had a problem with that.
If you rent a house with friends, you all end up using the same loo. Why is it that the idea of doing exactly the same thing with offices is such a problem? Everything will still be behind closed doors, after all.
Sarah Blake, UK

What a non-issue, I would have no problem sharing. As for keeping everyone separate what nonsense we all know what happens when we go to the toilet. I don't want to appear ageist but I would imagine older generations would find this more of a problem.
As for me I'm gay and I don't think I've ever been to a gay club or pub where the toilets aren't defacto mixed, no matter what it says on the door. Oh and good riddance to men with no sense of direction.
Ste Hick, UK

I can't say I like the idea of queuing to get a good seat - something that seems to be more prevalent with female toilets. Plus, women appear to favour sharing more than men - I really don't like the idea of sharing my throne with anyone.
Ali, UK

Let's be realistic here. A male office worker comes in on Monday morning after a typical over-indulgent weekend of three course meals, beer, fine wine and kebabs. Can you really envisage a situation where he emerges from a cubicle after "seeing a man about a dog" (I know a lot more euphemisms, but this is the BBC, so I'll be polite) and say to the departmental secretary powdering her nose "Phew, I'd leave that for a few minutes if I were you love"
Neil Summers, Wales, UK

More hygienic females will probably encourage the (often) less hygienic males to wash their hands!

Nick, UK

Makes a lot of sense really. Look how often there are long queues for the ladies, and none in the gents. But if possible, it would be worth keeping the urinals, as that is part of the timesaving advantage of being male!
Added to which, the peer pressure from (usually) more hygienic females will probably encourage the (often) less hygienic males to wash their hands!
Nick, UK

No!!! Definitely not. Why on earth would any woman want to share bogs with men, most of whose ideas about basic hygiene would be unacceptable even in mediaeval times!
Janet, UK

Bad idea - you get perverts in the office environment too.
Neil, England

I think that this would create tons more "Office Gossip" due to all of the extra flirting that would take place, GREAT!!

Karl Hall, UK

I think that this would create tons more "Office Gossip" due to all of the extra flirting that would take place, GREAT!!
Although, I have also been in a few women's toilets myself and I am usually disgusted at the state that they leave them in. I don't mind sharing the sinks but definitely not the mess!
Karl Hall, UK

City workers behave like animals in a zoo in the toilets.

C Thorpe, England

I used to work in the Square Mile in London - never again. The city workers behave like animals in a zoo in the toilets; toilet rolls strewn over the floors, toilets blocked and flooded, pornographic magazines and tabloids lying around.
And as for the sounds and smells, I'll leave that to your imagination. I can't imagine any women in their right mind wanting to have to endure that!
C Thorpe, England

Probably very embarrassing for the ladies when they need to use the vending machines for essential items. I can imagine the comments spreading round the office by the immature males.
Carol, UK

What's the big deal? I'm sure the cubicles all have doors and nobody will see anything that they shouldn't.
Peter, England

I believe that many will suffer discomfort as they attempt to save their "natural breaks" until after office hours. People will dread the going to the toilet knowing that the opposite sex can hear.
Stuart Appleby, UK

Ladies loos serve the additional purpose of providing a private area for a private cry or gossip and to escape from male-dominated workforces.

Jenni, UK

Personally I think it's a terrible idea! Many men don't aim straight and I don't fancy sharing a loo with anyone who spends every lunchtime in the curry house/pub. Ladies loos serve the additional purpose of providing a private area for a private cry or gossip and to escape from male-dominated workforces. Where else can this female-bonding take place?
Jenni, UK

The sexes share the toilets at home so why not in the office. As for team building? No, it sounds more like cost cutting with only one toilet to maintain and clean rather than two.
Gerry, Scotland

I'm sorry to say the toilet habits of many men leave a lot to be desired. We have had some very unpleasant behaviour to deal with in the male toilets in my workplace and I wouldn't want those to be inflicted on women as well!
Mark Day, England

I don't like having to share the toilet with some of my male co-workers! I can't imagine women would want to. The Ally McBeal scenario is ridiculous and totally unrealistic. Except in a small shop, of course, where there is only one toilet, but that's a completely different environment from an office.
Tom Pedersen, USA

I worked in Norway for most of last year, and all the loos in the office building, and a good many in the night clubs were communal/ unisex. Personally I have no problem with it, and in the UK have been known to - along with female friends - use the gents, as the queues at the ladies were ridiculous.
SG, UK

Certain bodily functions should be kept private and single sex.

Duncan, UK

Why don't we go the whole hog and do away with cubicles all together. You'd be able to squeeze more seats into the available space and be able to have face to face conversations while you are doing your business.
The whole idea is ludicrous - certain bodily functions should be kept private and single sex.
Duncan, UK

I have worked for about 6 London-based companies over the last twelve years. Only one of them had different loos for the two sexes. There just isn't enough space! Can't say it really made a difference either... no-one ever regarded unisex bogs as an "issue".
R. Harris, UK

What a load of horse manure! This idea comes from people who have nothing else to do, and who have obviously not realised that men and women are different. We need to pity them and the idiotic managers who "manage-by-trends". What a crazy country we live in!
Gavin Skilton, UK

I wouldn't have a problem sharing loos with women, we'd get all the benefits, flowers etc.

Ed Cook, England

I wouldn't have a problem sharing loos with women, we'd get all the benefits, flowers etc. I imagine that women would soon get fed up with wet floors and seats. One downside would be queuing when trying to relieve yourself at the Theatre, Night Club and also having to overhear all the gossip which occurs whilst make-up is being applied.
Ed Cook, England

What do people gain from sharing a toilet? If the only advantage is that it's somewhere to bump into each other, surely the company would be better off having coffee breaks to get people to mix, or encouraging people to chat to each other. Is the toilet really the best place for this?
Andrew Ducker, UK

Well, it will at last provide an opportunity to answer that oldest of male conundrums: Do women actually flatulate?
Mark M. Newdick, USA/UK

Totally ridiculous. One of the few benefits of being a man these days is not having to queue for the loo especially after Friday's liquid lunch. All in all an extremely bad American idea.
Roger Jackson, England

A man's urinal is his castle!

Al, England

I'm sure there are people out there who would pay good money to use a communal convenience - but it's not for me. A man's urinal is his castle!
Al, England

I don't think we should get too overexcited at this, comparatively speaking single sex toilets are a new idea, where does a Mongolian nomad have a pee? Do Eskimos have a boy's igloo and a girl's igloo? I think not, rather than this being a new concept we're really reverting to type, the only thing that worries me is the whiff that I get whenever I pass the gents and is absent in the ladies! This worries me more than whether the seat is up or down.
Suzanne Andrews, Britain

Big deal! We all have unisex toilets in our homes so why should there be any problems with them elsewhere??
Caroline, UK

I don't think I would feel safe either - I sometimes feel uncomfortable when there is a male cleaner in the ladies'.

Suzey, UK

No way - in every place I have ever worked, the men's toilets were so smelly you could often smell them from outside even when the door was shut! I don't think I would feel safe either - I sometimes feel uncomfortable when there is a male cleaner in the ladies'. And let's face it, most men can't aim straight to save their lives (see my first point).
Suzey, UK

If they do not have the decency to lift the toilet seat, it will become a wet disaster for the ladies.

Han de Min, Netherlands

A very bad idea, and surely not having a major impact on capital costs. We all know man and woman have quite different toilet behaviours and toilets have been designed with this in mind.
Men are notorious for bad targeting and if they also do not have the decency to lift the toilet seat, it will become a wet disaster for the ladies. I cannot imagine ladies sharing a man's urinal, again in view of construction reasons.
Furthermore, I have never seen any queues at the men's toilet but always with the ladies. It is quite normal that the ladies also "powder their noses" which appears to take most time. So, one entrance fine, as long as we keep clearly signposted doors for men and women with the usual services and tools.
Han de Min, Netherlands (now UK)

May I ask a simple question? Such as Why? What is wrong with what we have now? The toilet is probably the last place left that both sexes can have a politically incorrect conversation and not be reported or harassed by the office Do-Gooders !!. Leave well alone, Unless it means we to can have soft toilet paper and good soap.
Simon Adrians, England

I've encountered unisex toilets in various places, but yes, some men urinate on toilet seats. On most occasions it doesn't bother me, but it's disgusting for the lasses.
Colin, Netherlands