Gender Neutral Bathrooms Designs Respond to Controversial North Carolina Law

While the Justice Department and North Carolina duke it out over proper access to bathrooms, many places, including the White House, have designed gender-neutral bathrooms that address many of the problems associated with sex-segregated bathrooms.

3 minute read

May 12, 2016, 9:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


Gender Neutral Bathroom

TheChoperPilot / Shutterstock

By now, most people have heard of North Carolina's infamous "bathroom law," House Bill (HB) 2, which requires people to use the bathroom of the gender listed on their birth certificate, potentially violating the civil rights of transgender people, and already costing the Tar Heel State state millions of dollars in economic damages due to boycotts resulting from the law, though the ultimate impact is uncertain.

Hours after McCrory called on the "U.S. Congress to bring clarity to our national anti-discrimination provisions..., Attorney General Loretta Lynch said no clarification was needed, and she asserted that federal civil rights laws barring discrimination on the basis of sex prohibit laws like the one in North Carolina," write Blinder, Pérez-Peña and Lichtblau.

“They created state-sponsored discrimination against transgender individuals who simply seek to engage in the most private of functions in a place of safety and security,” she said at a news conference in Washington. “None of us can stand by when a state enters the business of legislating identity and insists that a person pretend to be something or someone that they are not.”

Straying from her usual understated, lawyerly tone, Ms. Lynch, a North Carolina native, grew impassioned as she likened the fight to earlier battles over Jim Crow laws and laws against same-sex marriage.

Do we really need to segregate bathrooms by sex?

"An architect in Chicago is designing and advocating for private gender-neutral bathrooms — essentially a row of individual toilet stalls with doors that open onto a common area where everyone can wash their hands...," writes Emily Peck, business editor for Huffington Post.

Unisex bathrooms like this are cheaper to construct, offer users more privacy and safety and take up less space, said architect Matt Nardella, who owns Moss Design. Plus, there’s more “line equity” — never again will you have to wait in line with a hoard of women while the guys get to go and move on with their lives.

Nardella's design was prompted by the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), an anti-discrimination ordinance passed by the Houston City Council but repealed by the voters last November.

There's another advantage for bathroom gender neutrality that any parent of an opposite sex child can relate to — real safety concerns involved when young children enter segregated-sex adult spaces alone," adds Peck.

Colleges and universities are also making gender-neutral bathrooms more available. The White House even installed a gender-neutral bathroom stall last year.

There's some irony in the North Carolina controversy. HB2 "was prompted by the City of Charlotte’s adoption of an ordinance barring discrimination against gay or transgender people, and specifically allowing people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that conform to their gender identity," write Blinder, Pérez-Peña and Lichtblau. McCrory, an outspoken proponent of HB2 which nullifies the Charlotte ordinance, was mayor of Charlotte, the largest city in the state, for 14 years.

Monday, May 9, 2016 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight