Hoax Alert: There Are No Urinals In The Women's Bathroom At Target

Contrary to rumor, Target is not adding urinals to women's restrooms in their stores. As you may have heard, Target recently announced that their customers and employees are able to use whichever restroom they feel matches their gender identity.

Target's 'decision' wasn't really much of a change from what the retailer had already been doing. That's probably true of every bathroom, as trans people have likely been using their preferred restroom this entire time without incident. That fact, however, hasn't stopped several people from slamming Target's Facebook page with comments accusing the store of changing their policies to allow alleged predators into the restroom.

One woman even posted that she was using a women's restroom in a Target north of Los Angeles when she spotted a pair of urinals fixed to the wall. This Kathleen Crawford also apparently refers to the penis and testicles by their scientific term: "giblets."

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

Subscribe

Crawford's post was shared over 15,000 times and counting, according to Buzzfeed. However, it seems like it's just a bunch of malarkey. A Target spokesperson told Buzzfeed that the photo simply isn't accurate.

"We are not putting urinals in the women's restroom," Target spokesperson Molly Snyder said.

And 'Alan' at Target posted that the retailer has no intentions of installing urinals into women's restrooms, according to Snopes.

(Photo via Snopes)
A more plausible explanation exists. As you can see, the urinals are covered in plastic, indicating they are not for use. This particular Target is apparently under construction, so the restrooms have been temporarily relocated.

But who needs logic when you have hyperbolic fear-mongering! As such, a petition encouraging people to boycott Target has already amassed nearly 1 million signatures.

It is still unclear why anyone thinks urinals would be put in the women's restroom at all, as plenty of people of all genders pee without issue in what are known as homes, which often come with only standard toilets.