Airports Moving to Gender Neutral Bathrooms
Picture it: Kansas City, 2023. A grandmother enters a restroom at the Kansas City International Airport (KCI), but stops abruptly when she sees a man inside, using a sink. She looks confused. The man glances at her over his shoulder.
“I’m just trying to figure out which way the ladies’ room is,” the woman tells him with a nervous laugh.
The man explains: There is no dedicated men’s or ladies’ room here. This is a unisex bathroom. Choose any stall with a green light over the door. A red light means a stall is occupied.
The woman raises her eyebrows and pauses, but says, “okay,” and walks toward the stalls.
“And then we can meet back here and wash our hands together,” the man says. They laugh.
This is the new all-gender washroom experience in KCI’s airport terminal, which opened in February 2023.
In July 2023, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport announced the opening of its own first multi-user all-gender bathroom, explaining in a statement that the change “helps create a better flow for travelers and reduces waiting and congestion.”
