Are These Trans + Gay-Only Bathrooms Good For Safety? Or Just Separate But Equal?

Students at one of the top samba schools in Rio de Janeiro were either dismayed or elated to find bathrooms set aside specifically for gay and transgender dancers. At Unidos de Tujuca, which will send participants to the annual carnival celebrations in March (NB: That’s the news peg), the separate but equal facilities are being called “carnival apartheid” by one anti-homophobia proponent. Either that, or they’re providing a safe place to pee. There is one possible solution: make bathrooms (sexuality and) gender-neutral, a la Starbucks, although that would likely require the implementation of single-person facilities throughout.