Regarding the debate about who can use which toilets (Barclays to bar trans women from using its female bathrooms, 30 April), it’s worth recounting some of my experiences as they’re probably the experiences of many of your female readers. I’m 68 years old and have used male toilets so many times that I’ve lost count. This has always been because the queues for the women’s in cinemas, pubs etc have been so long that I’ve gone into the men’s with a big smile, asking loudly if anyone minds me coming in before I pee myself.
Sometimes I’ve been actively welcomed in, and I have never had a bad experience. I’ve then gone into a cubicle – except for one time at a theatre when the cubicles were all busy and I had to squat backwards over the urinals. No one was bothered. This was during a Sound of Music singalong event where most people were in fancy dress and it was hard to tell who was male and who was female.
The toilets at a local school I visit are gender neutral and are designed in such a way as to feel safe. There are always solutions to such issues if people are willing to listen to each other respectfully and carefully.
Lizzie Holland
Lancaster
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