Pooping: Single-Sex Single-Use Toilets illegal?

Today I wasted away in a corner at Starbucks studying High Yield Anatomy. Needing to #2, I ventured to the bathroom and found the door locked. No big deal. Until the dude sitting at the table next to the bathroom explains to me that some chick just went in the men's restroom, and he was pretty sure the women's room was open, so I should just go in there for my business. This was sorta ironic, since I was just telling Courtney about this article, and about how it totally makes sense for places to only have unisex single use bathrooms.

A few feet from my office, Yale Law School every day violates our nation's civil rights law by needlessly discriminating on the basis of sex. And people walk by this violation day after day and never say a word.

There are two single-use restrooms side by side. One is designated for use solely by men; the other solely by women. This might seem innocuous. But it's a clear violation of Title VII, our core federal civil rights law that prohibits private employers from discriminating on the basis of sex. Yale is discriminating on the basis of sex in the conditions of my employment. I can't use this women's bathroom because I'm a man.

Of course, the ridiculous thing about this might be that he very well could use the women's restroom if he wanted to, and get in absolutely no trouble. People might think he's a little weird, but hey, most men are used to that. Especially men who would write an article like this. I'm not sure if the signs in the front of restrooms are absolute gender requirements (like white/black water fountains in the South--you could get arrested for that'un), or if they're simply suggestions, like "We at Starbucks honorably and nondiscriminately suggest if you urinate out your (penis/vagina) that you might find this restroom to suit your needs for comfort and cleanliness instead of that other one."

Of course, the feminist movement may have not jumped on this one because we all know that women's restrooms are a lot cleaner than men's restrooms. Women don't have to aim when they piss, and men usually don't bother. That sets up a nice dynamic right there. Maybe women have to wait a little extra longer sometimes, but hey, better to piss on yourself than a toilet covered in the urine of the dude that came out right before you.

Just so you know, I waited until the woman came out of the men's restroom. I couldn't quite bring myself to go deposit my bounty in the women's can.