General Urban Waterloo Updates and Rumours

[ac3r]

[KevinL]

It's a single washroom, whether you label it as 'male or female' or 'all genders' it's functionally identical.

[ac3r]

Yeah...try telling that to the crazies, though. Gender neutral facilities really trigger a certain demographic.

[nms]

Or from a different perspective, this is a public washroom Uptown available long before the City Centre and Waterloo Square have opened and long after they close. Nor does it require buying food or drink at a restaurant in order to use it.

[allknowing2012]

Is there a thread/note on what is going on on King St Waterloo near Morty's (Hickory & King)

[jeffster]

It's a single washroom, whether you label it as 'male or female' or 'all genders' it's functionally identical.

When you're so cheap but you want to make yourself sound great, impressive and oh so socially friendly and forward thinking.

One "portable" stall washroom, unsure if you can ever had ever labeled it Gents or Ladies without raising a ruckus.

[ac3r]

When you're so cheap but you want to make yourself sound great, impressive and oh so socially friendly and forward thinking.

Way to trivialize the discrimination transgender people suffer from, dickhead!

[Rainrider22]

When you're so cheap but you want to make yourself sound great, impressive and oh so socially friendly and forward thinking.

Way to trivialize the discrimination transgender people suffer from, dickhead!

Why do you feel it is ok to call people names from behind your keyboard ?

[ijmorlan]

When you're so cheap but you want to make yourself sound great, impressive and oh so socially friendly and forward thinking.

Way to trivialize the discrimination transgender people suffer from, dickhead!

I’m not actually certain what jeffster is saying here. I think he’s making a point about how small a gesture a single washroom stall is, but I could be wrong.

By contrast, it is absolutely crystal clear and indisputable that you just called him an unpleasant name that has no place in civil discourse.

In general, I would recommend assuming the best of people when in a discussion, and in life. If somebody bumps into you on the sidewalk, do you assume it was an accident or do you punch them back?

[ac3r]

The patronizing tone in which he states "make yourself sound great, impressive and oh so socially friendly and forward thinking" that bugs me. Transgender people face bathroom discriminations all the time, this offers them a place to go without anyone freaking out. It is oh so socially friendly and forward thinking.

[jamincan]

The patronizing tone in which he states "make yourself sound great, impressive and oh so socially friendly and forward thinking" that bugs me. Transgneder people from bathroom discriminations all the time, this offers them a place to go without anyone freaking out. It is oh so socially friendly and forward thinking.

Society is rife with performative advocacy that takes little to no effort and results in little to no improvement. It's pride month right now, and suddenly every corporation is seemingly advocating for the LGBTQ community. I'm willing to bet Shell isn't sharing posts like this in Saudi Arabia: https://twitter.com/Shell_Canada/status/...18/photo/1, so posts like this do more to boost their brand in Canada than help their employees or LGBTQ people in general.

I think jeffster makes a good point - the washroom situation for trans people likely didn't weigh heavily, if at all, in choosing this portable washroom - these sorts of facilities are almost always unisex by default - so spinning it as a measure for trans people is more of an exercise in brand building for the City of Waterloo than it is trans-advocacy.

At the same time, you're 100% right that unisex bathrooms are important for trans and gender-non-conforming people and having public washrooms like this helps a great deal. Maybe the post from the City even serves to raise awareness on how problematic washroom accessibility can be.

[danbrotherston]

I kind of wished this would have died down.

Frankly, I agree, I found the statement trivializing. Yes, some things are performative, but I have absolutely seen single washrooms like this given gender designations.

I think you do a disservice to city staff, I don't think going out of their way to label a washroom like this is not likely a branding exercise by the city, but an act by people who care about these things, who this is what they can contribute.

And I think being dismissive of it can be hurtful, although I have no doubt that was not the intention.

Of course, calling them a name is an emotional and unhelpful response, but one that I can understand.

But I also think Rainrider's statement was equally confrontational and unhelpful, even if it wasn't explicitly name calling.

[Rainrider22]

I kind of wished this would have died down.

Frankly, I agree, I found the statement trivializing. Yes, some things are performative, but I have absolutely seen single washrooms like this given gender designations.

I think you do a disservice to city staff, I don't think going out of their way to label a washroom like this is not likely a branding exercise by the city, but an act by people who care about these things, who this is what they can contribute.

And I think being dismissive of it can be hurtful, although I have no doubt that was not the intention.

Of course, calling them a name is an emotional and unhelpful response, but one that I can understand.

But I also think Rainrider's statement was equally confrontational and unhelpful, even if it wasn't explicitly name calling.

I wasn't being confrontational, I was challenging him on his choice of words. I have seen it before.  Don't say something you wouldn't say to someone's face just because your typing. It is bullying behavior which I wont stand for.

[danbrotherston]

I kind of wished this would have died down.

Frankly, I agree, I found the statement trivializing. Yes, some things are performative, but I have absolutely seen single washrooms like this given gender designations.

I think you do a disservice to city staff, I don't think going out of their way to label a washroom like this is not likely a branding exercise by the city, but an act by people who care about these things, who this is what they can contribute.

And I think being dismissive of it can be hurtful, although I have no doubt that was not the intention.

Of course, calling them a name is an emotional and unhelpful response, but one that I can understand.

But I also think Rainrider's statement was equally confrontational and unhelpful, even if it wasn't explicitly name calling.

I wasn't being confrontational, I was challenging him on his choice of words. I have seen it before.  Don't say something you wouldn't say to someone's face just because your typing. It is bullying behavior which I wont stand for.

You were being confrontational. Whether I agree with you or not, it was not a de-escalation.

[Rainrider22]

No Dan, I was not, You will know if I am....