Trolls tried to cancel British Library for its gender-neutral toilet – but it backfired, badly
Trans activists couldn’t believe that the anti-trans users had missed the blatant sign detailing the location of the women’s toilet. (@EmpressXayide/Twitter)
An attempt to criticise gender-neutral toilets online has backfired spectacularly after the rebuttal was staring the user directly in the face.
A Twitter user by the name of Sara posted a picture of two toilet doors in the British Library on Wednesday (11 January) accompanied by an emoji of a woman facepalming.
Both doors feature gender symbols, with one featuring the male symbol and the other featuring the male, female, disabled and trans symbols.
In actuality, the door that the user seemingly took issue with is a single-cubicle disabled toilet, which is available for everyone.
Pictured between the two doors is a sign which clarifies that the female toilets are on the other side of the building.
Despite the glaringly obvious indicator as to the existence of separate female toilets, so-called gender critical trolls began lambasting the establishment for “more woke madness” without a hint of irony.
The confusion even reached the Cymru arm of the anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance, which shared the photo with the caption: “Really [British Library] you should know and do better than this. It’s a disgrace.”
The outrage was nothing short of hilarious for trans activists, who couldn’t believe that the answer to the anti-trans outrage was staring them directly in the face.
“That’s a disability bathroom,” one user wrote. “And it clearly states there is a woman’s restroom down the corridor.”
Another wrote: “I’ve been to the British Library, this is a single access cubicle for use by anyone… The ladies is on the same floor. Stop scaremongering.”
Others reading the array of anti-trans rhetoric littered in the replies of the post were simply bewildered that so many gender critical activists had missed the sign.
“You know we can all read the sign, right?” a baffled user commented.
“Every gender critical argument is the same,” another user wrote. “Take things out of context, and be so egotistical that you can’t differentiate assumptions from reality.”
Queer woman discriminated against for using disabled toilets
Despite the hilarity of anti-trans individuals getting confused at the concept of disabled toilets, the confusion can sometimes turn into anti-GBTQ+ hostility and discrimination.
In May 2022, a queer woman was blocked from using disabled toilets by a staff member and told her disability didn’t exist.
Tay Beales was reportedly shopping at M&S when she was confronted by a staff member who told Beales that she was “not going in there”, leaving her forced to use the men’s toilet.
Beales complained to a staff manager, but told DevonLive that she didn’t “think the manager took the incident seriously.”
“I think it’s awful that a brand that represents different disabilities and pride and all of these campaigns, hasn’t taken it seriously, especially face-to-face,” she said. “There was no reassurance that the problem was going to be dealt with.”
In a statement, M&S said: “We have a zero tolerance approach to discrimination across M&S and we always work to ensure that our stores are welcoming for everyone.
“We are very sorry that Tay’s experience did not meet the high standards of customer service that we set for ourselves, and for the upset that this caused.”
