No more offensive school urinals and boy/girl signs

Do you remember when NZ First and Winston Peters suggested that toilets should get back to basics of male and female because women simply didn’t want biological men in their toilets – no matter who they thought they were. And he was told that nobody is thinking about toilets. Don’t be so weird, You know what? He was right. The Ministry of Education are obsessed with them – and with urinals – and with signage.

During the election campaign last year, this was a key story

But chris hipkins wasn’t having any of it

And Christopher Luxon wasn’t having any of it – it’s on another planet

And Labour MP shanan Halbert who once asked a submitter to Parliament whether he had engaged with a male female biological religious gender said how do we police this stuff.

Actually we do have a register, it’s called a birth certificate – because remember politicians make a mockery of birth certificates by basing it on identity.

But here’s the interesting thing. The Ministry of Education are obsessed with it. And the latest edict which was released in March of this year – 4 months after the new government was sworn in – shows just how public servants and the Ministry of education don’t give a toss about what the government says.

Toilet & Changing Space Design for Schools Design Standards, Guidance  & Reference Designs – March 2024

We asked a range of akonga about their experiences of toilets at schools to inform the standards and reference designs in this document.
“If all toilets were accessible and gender-neutral it wouldn’t be a ‘thing’ for people who need those facilities.

“If bathrooms are visible from in a classroom they shouldn’t be gendered, as not to expose trans/gender-queer students who may want to use the toilet that affirms their gender but not want to out themselves to everybody.”

“They’re not just a toilet, they’re a safe space – physically and mentally.”

here’s the 2015 one

Toilets should be evenly distributed around the school… Schools should be free to allocate the use of toilet groupings acknowledging student age and cultural considerations as appropriate. Toilets need to be configured so that they can be easily passively supervised…

I did a search of the word “gender”

Here’s a search of the word “gender” in the latest one

14 times. O – 14 in less than 10 years.

…design principles … Schools must be: › functional, › responsive, and › sustainable. School property must be designed in a way that provides an inclusive and barrier-free environment. For toilet design, schools that are responsive are:

They enable ākonga, whānau and community to authentically engage and participate in local tikanga, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori.

We’re talking about school toilets eh

For sanitary spaces this means:
• align with local tikanga and te ao Māori values,
• Design supports te ao Māori values and celebrates cultural activities and spaces within the school.

Celebrates cultural activities within the school toilet

It is expected that all schools provide at least one universal bathroom or have provision of a universal bathroom within their long-term plan.

These are considered both toilets for disabled, and also unisex. So the Ministry wants these as well.

Oh – remember the furore when NZ First introduced a bill saying that there should be clearly demarcated boys, girls and other toilets. Remember the media going wild! Remember Labour and Greens going wild. But there they are telling schools to do the exact same thing. Their hypocrisy knows no ends.

By the way, our polling showed that the majority support that bill.

Urinals are not permitted in new builds and should be removed when upgrading existing toilets or not meeting our design principles for learners.

Yep – urinals have been banned.

So why did we have urinals in the first place if they’re so nasty?

• Water conservation – urinals use way less water in a flush
• take up less space than a regular toilet
• avoid queues – just check the queues at a sports stadium at half time between ladies and men
• The design of urinals reduces fluid contact with the surface, promoting better hygiene.
• They are also designed to minimize splashing, thus reducing the spread of germs and making it easier to maintain a clean bathroom. For these (and other rather obvious) reasons, cleaning a urinal is typically less labor-intensive than cleaning a toilet.

Ah but when you’re pushing an ideology, conserving water and encouraging hygiene aren’t important.

And then we get to the real problematic bit – yes, more problematic than what we’ve already seen

The Ministry supports toilet facilities that are designed to be suitable for use by use by all-genders. •Schools are able to choose whether toilet cubicles or groups of toilets are allocated for use by all-genders, single-sex or a mixture of both.

So that’s very important for principals and school boards to be aware of that. You still have some say.

When choosing the signage for toilet doors, consider icons and signs that are inclusive and easily readable. For example:

consider signage that communicates the functional use of the toilet cubicle, rather than allocating use by sex,

use inclusive terminology such as ‘all-gender’, ‘all-abilities’, ‘inclusive toilet’ or ‘toilet’,

avoid the term ‘unisex’ as it focuses on biological sex rather than spectrum of gender, and

avoid icons of figures wearing pants or dresses as this suggests that a person’s clothing accurately reflects gender or sex.

Yes that pesky biological sex and women wearing dresses. We mus remove the internationally recognised toilet symbols of a figure in trousers or skirt. So binary.

And then the suggested signs – so they’re all just labelled Wharepaku – Maori for toilet – no mention of boys girls male female. The closest to female is the one circled – defined

As Fern Hickson from Resist Gender Education wrote: Reducing girls to a menstruation icon is deeply offensive and treats females as ‘other’ than the male norm. The ‘female’ icon is not understandable or relevant to young pre-menstrual girls in primary schools. She continues:

Labelling toilets in such an insulting manner is completely unnecessary when the perfectly suitable word ‘girls’ is available. It is also unnecessary because no child at a NZ school has had a physical change to their genitals, as that surgery is not available to minors. All students have the penis or vulva they were born with and should use the appropriate toilet for their sex. For the very few students who are upset by the words ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, a third unlabelled toilet space can readily be provided without disrupting the language that suits everyone else. Women and girls, who are vulnerable when using a toilet, deserve secure, clean, and private single-sex spaces. Only females need to remove clothing, make skin contact with a toilet seat, and manage menstrual flow when using a toilet. Being able to do that without having to wipe a male’s urine off the seat first or have a male hammering on the door asking what is taking so long, is a female human right that was universally recognised until very recently.

Finally, there’s a page on the Ministry website

It relates to LGBTQIA+ students:

But I’ve underlined the ones that also relate to girls for example who want a toilet just for biological girls

• have experienced verbal slurs 
• are worried about threats of physical harm or harassment
• feel uncomfortable getting changed in front of others
• are unable to access a space aligned to their gender identity
• “hold on” or have to travel longer distances to get to assigned safe spaces
• need to change in spaces with peers who have caused harassment.

Most girls could say all of those things – but they don’t have a special page or lobby group – or pride parade. Females are so… irrelevant.

And then there’s recommended resources for school leaders, including

Article about a primary school installing a unisex toilet to help a child feel safe and accepted at school

A popular Auckland primary school has been praised for installing a unisex toilet to help a 6-year-old transgender pupil feel safe and accepted. The toilet was installed earlier this year with the support of the Board of Trustees and the Education Ministry after the child’s transition from boy to girl.

Yes – 2016! And yes – a six year old. I’m sure you were thinking about your gender identity when you were 6.

What do the public think of all this?

In May, Curia Market Research did a poll for Resist Gender Education.

“Do you think that schools should ensure children have access to bathrooms and changing facilities that are categorised by biological sex?”

69% agree

Only 16% disagree

16% weren’t sure

When the results are collated according to the voting preferences of the respondent there is a disturbing lack of care from Green party voters in this area, with only 26% expressing a wish for single sex facilities. This is in stark contrast to the other voters who sit within a relatively small range of 65% to 88%.

When you get called names, ignore it. Most thinking normal NZers agree with you.

And when politicians gaslight you and say “what’s your obsession with toilets” just remind them that it was their obsession that started all this. And the Ministry of Education are continuing the obsession by indoctrinating our children.

Don’t stop pushing back on their ideology and agenda. We need to flush it away.