£50k of taxpayers’ cash splashed on study to rename male and female loos ‘toilets with urinals’ and ‘toilets without urinals’
New guidelines have been issued to architects on 'next generation' of public loos to avoid discriminating against transgender users
BOFFINS blew £50,000 of taxpayers cash on a study that could see "Ladies" and "Gents" lavs replaced by "toilets with urinals" and "toilets without urinals".
They asked people to detail their experiences of public loos during a year-long project and concluded they discriminated against transgender users.
New guidelines have now been issued to architects on designing the "next generation" of public toilets - which could see the traditional signs removed.
Disabled toilets would also be changed to "larger toilet with grab bars" to avoid "categorising" individuals based on their gender or disability.
The study's authors wrote: "Participants thought it was important for others to not judge people’s choice of toilet, but to allow people to use whichever space was accessible for them.
"This would mean critically considering the signage on toilet doors in order to understand how toilets do not just illustrate categorisation by gender, disability but also actively produce such categories.
"A suggestion from participants was to write on the toilet door the contents of the toilet cubicle, e.g. toilets with urinals, toilets without urinals, larger toilet with grab bars."
Paper towels could also make a comeback because some people find the screech of hand dryers "stressful", they said.
Some cubicles could even be transformed to include a sink and a soap for Muslim women to wash before prayer.
And councils should be encouraged to splash out on comfier seats for old folk and add built-in baby changing facilities.
The team from Sheffield Hallam University received its £50,000 award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The project ran throughout last year and it's findings were published in November.
The team has since scooped a top prize in a national competition for its work and has won a further £1,500 for more research.
Dr Jenny Slater, who led the study, said: "Toilets may seem a frivolous subject but they are at the heart of important discussions about how we understand our own identities.
"The starting point for us is to explore how disabled people and those identifying as trans, gender-queer or non-binary are treated in modern society.
"As well as issues around toilet closures we have much anecdotal evidence that suggests there is a lack of suitable facilities for our diverse population.
"There are serious discussions to be had among a wide-range of academics about whether the UK's are fit for purpose."
She added: "We’re using the findings to help start a conversation with architects about how toilets are integrated into public spaces in the future."
Campaigners last night ridiculed the sum of public money used to fund the project.
John O'Connell, from the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Rate payers will be furious to see their hard-earned cash flushed away like this.
"Especially as we keep hearing from politicians that the country needs to live within its means.
"But not only is it irresponsible, it is a slap in the face to hard-pressed taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet.
"This is a ludicrous project.”
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Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "We need more public loos and better ones too.
"But the money would be better spent on a programme to raise standards of literacy so that those let down by the education system are able to read the instructions on how to use some of these new high-tech loos."
A spokesman at the Arts and Humanities Research Council said: "We welcome the success of the Around the Toilet project."
They said the research responded to "the concerns and everyday experiences of diverse communities and has the potential to improve their quality of life".