Gender Neutral Toilets at Festivals: Progress or Just a Practical Nightmare?

Let’s talk about gender-neutral toilets at festivals because while it sounds like an inclusive step forward, the reality behind the scenes is a lot messier.

As someone who works in toilet hire and logistics, here’s what we’re seeing more of: • Organisers wanting to go “gender neutral” across the board but without changing the actual facilities • Cubicles with no urinals = longer queues for everyone • Cleaning teams struggling with unclear expectations (when do you clean, who’s inside, are there separate attendants?) • Punter confusion, people not sure if they’ve walked into the right block, or holding it in because they feel awkward

Also, most of the current set-ups still don’t serve everyone equally: • Women and non-binary people often still get short-changed with fewer loos or longer waits • Some men take the piss (literally) and trash the cubicles • No urinals means men take it to the fences anyway

What needs to be done? Urinals and cubicles. More thoughtful layouts. Maybe staffed gender-neutral areas and gendered zones. Because right now, festivals are trying to do the right thing, but half the time it just ends in chaos, queues, and people holding it in for 4 hours.

Where do you stand? Is gender-neutral toilet design at festivals working?