Can I use the loo?

Why the arts sector is hung up about toilet issues

Thanks to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the primacy of biological sex, we’re now back to sensible directives, not least on segregated toilets. Girls and Boys in schools, Ladies and Gents for adults, at least in the workplace. “Interim guidance” suggests public buildings ought to do the same, even in the arts world, which is embarrassing everyone by dragging its feet somewhat about the fact that the law is the law. It’s all about the loos, at the moment.

The London Old Vic had a particularly egregious take on the ‘self-selecting loo’ policy favoured by a lot of arts organisations; a fundraising push six years ago (fronted by Joanna Lumley, for some reason) to stop long queues outside the Ladies at the elderly theatre, led to a complete refurbishment with new loos and urinals. However, when the smart new toilets were unveiled and the new policy brought in, it was revealed rather unfortunately that while women had access to pretty much the same amount of bogs, the chaps, whether in dresses or not, could saunter across 42 facilities at their will.

“This is an improvement how?” asked the feminist campaigner Caroline Criado Perez. “Are you going to have staff permanently on duty in the mixed-sex toilets to mitigate the increased threat to women’s safety?” asked Chan Beck.

This is now in the past. Ladies, welcome to a return of our own sanctuary in the interval, where relief and bodily functions can be achieved, wardrobe, makeup or hosiery malfunctions administered, discreet half-time chats can had and of course, the stomach clenching jeopardy of that classic moment properly relished. You know, the one when a recorded voice intones; “The play will recommence in….one minute,” causing you to charge out of the stall pulling your underwear up. Yes. The good old days.

However. More than 1,000 cultural figures, including the bosses at Welsh National Opera, have signed a letter claiming the judgement “overlooks the need to protect trans people from discrimination.” Some theatres, in order to continue this ‘protection’, have gone one step further in their wisdom and are simply ignoring the Supreme Court ruling completely. Therefore not protecting women, at all.

Bristol Old Vic has said it would “continue to welcome everyone to use the facilities that are most appropriate for them” and that it would intervene only “if people were behaving inappropriately in our spaces.” My local theatre, the King’s Head in Islington, has renewed its commitment to gender-neutral toilets and declared “it is now more important than ever for us to celebrate and platform trans people in our venue.” Even The Times’ Matthew Parris suggested that as all theatres are going to go unisex, this is “the end for that miracle of plumbing, the urinal,” and started panicking about having to queue.

The arts world clearly thinks it is above the law and that ‘platforming’ trans people is key, no matter what biological women think or care about a man using the Ladies, and no matter that a man who chooses to disregard a Ladies sign is breaking the law.

This week, I was at the launch of a new campaigning organisation, Freedom In The Arts, which has been founded by arts professional Denise Fahmy and choreographer Rosie Kay. FITA’s debut report, ‘Afraid To Speak Freely’ reveals the amount of self-censorship, cancellation, career ruination and anxiety there is within the arts world, particularly with regard to speaking about women’s rights, gender identity and transgender politics.

At the launch, which was attended by a big crowd including Rosie Duffield MP, Claire Fox, Simon Fanshawe, Toby Young and Grayson Perry, there was a lot of chat about the loos. The freighted issue of toilets in arts venues is certainly a flash point. “It is only a matter of time,” said one arts professional to me, “before a woman takes a theatre or gallery to court over the legal right to have exclusively female toilets.” So unless this happened at a privately funded arena such as Wigmore Hall (unlikely), an impoverished, Arts Council-funded arts destination might be sued for sex discrimination. Which it would undoubtedly lose. Is it worth it?

Do you know what? This is what I would say. In any given arts venue, be it theatre or gallery, then can the director please get a grip, leave us ladies queuing up outside the Ladies and designate the Disabled toilet within that venue as unisex. This would give trans people a dignified and protected space for themselves. Would it cause a problem for the disabled, non-trans community? Possibly not, given that only 0.5% of the population is trans.

Disabled toilets are typically unisex anyway. I’ve never seen a Disabled Ladies loo. Problem sorted. Yes, I know this is Kemi Badeonoch’s position. Well, maybe Tory politicians have good ideas about the arts sometimes.

Meanwhile, let us leave the torrid topic of lavatories and get back to a wider issue in the arts which the Supreme Court decision now provokes, namely fair female representation and proportionate democratic involvement from women within the arts in all areas.

The loos, as it were, are a bum issue.