Washroom equality now!

I was at Canadian Tire the other day, when I felt the call of nature. I went to look for the in-store washroom, and found a woman waiting in front of two washrooms. One was marked for men and one was marked for women. They were single-person washrooms, and while the woman's washroom was occupied, the men's washroom was empty. I suggested that she use the men's washroom instead. She was reluctant to the idea, but eventually followed my advice.

This of course leads me to the topic of segregated washrooms. In this day and age, do we still need to have washroom facilities that are specifically for men and specifically for women? For single-person washrooms, segregated washrooms are silly and inefficient. Would it really matter for women to see a urinal in their washroom? Would it really matter for men to see a tampon dispenser in theirs? In a slightly more bold statement, I would suggest that many-person washrooms also be co-ed.

I think that most of us are mature enough to handle co-ed washrooms. My girlfriend cringes at this idea though. Her main argument is that women feel uncomfortable in co-ed washrooms and it would increase the risk of women being in a washroom alone with a crazy person. But are crazy people exclusively male? Maybe we should have segregated washrooms for sane and crazy people instead. In that case, I may understand why a woman at Canadian Tire would be waiting to use the sane washroom when the crazy washroom is still empty.

PS: No Doubt's "Just a Girl" video.