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Public accommodation

All of the major civil rights movements in the United States have involved public accommodations:

  • retail stores
  • rental establishments
  • service establishments
  • educational institutions
  • recreational facilities
  • bathroom facilities

Key civil rights movements include:

  • Civil rights movement (discrimination and segregation on the basis of race)
  • Women’s rights movement (discrimination and segregation on the basis of assigned sex)
  • Disability rights movement (discrimination and segregation on the basis of ability)
  • Transgender rights movement (discrimination and segregation based on gender identity and expression)

Bathroom facilities have often been the most hotly contested sites:

  • Race-segregated bathrooms
  • Bathrooms that did not accommodate disabled people
  • Sex-segregated bathrooms

The transgender rights movement has seen the promotion and adoption of unisex dressing rooms and toilets in some areas. Some people resist these changes in the same way other people previously objected to ending race-segregated bathrooms or adding stalls for disabled people. They would claim inclusive facilities increased danger, expense, and discomfort.

Most of the people who object to public accommodations for trans people base their objections on religious or political grounds.