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   nev (nev@bananachips.club)'s status on Tuesday, 01-Apr-2025 03:46:01 JST nev

   So in March 2023(?), Tumblr user fleshdyke (https://web.archive.org/web/20230913091647/https://www.tumblr.com/fleshdyke/711416276490321921/thats-because-i-lied-about-this) claimed that public bathrooms are free in Canada because "two gay men got arrested for fucking in a public bathroom but they argued since you had to pay for it it was a hotel and it was fine". User hieronymus-botch called them on this, and fleshdyke admitted they made it up. In March 2025, Mastodon user @TicklishHoneyBee repeated the false claim with no source.

   You may be interested in learning some real history about Canada's indecency laws against homosexuality, and about public toilets!

   Hamish Copley writes about how Canada got its "gross indecency" law prohibiting gay male sex: https://thedrummersrevenge.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/the-gross-indecenency-law-in-canada/
   And about the first men jailed for "gross indecency" between consenting adults (probably in public): https://thedrummersrevenge.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/the-first-police-raid/

   Read more about the criminalization of homosexuality (and eventual decriminalization) in the Canadian Encyclopedia: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-1969-amendment-and-the-de-criminalization-of-homosexuality

   Chris Bateman writes about the history of public toilets in Toronto, including fearmongering about gay men using them, for Spacing Magazine: https://spacing.ca/toronto/2014/07/09/happened-public-washrooms-toronto/

   See also this excerpt (re: Toronto) from Lezlie Lowe's book about the dismal state of public toilets, here: https://nowtoronto.com/culture/rise-and-fall-of-public-toilets-in-toronto/

   There's currently a design contest going for an "innovative" new public toilet, hopefully to be installed in my very own neighbourhood of South Parkdale: https://www.frequencynews.ca/news/toronto-advocacy-group-will-pay-you-1500-to-design-a-new-public-washroom/

   And here's some pieces on the fall of pay toilets in the US (thanks to a grassroots free-toilet movement), and the argument that they should be brought back: https://psmag.com/economics/dont-pay-toilets-america-bathroom-restroom-free-market-90683/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-19/why-the-u-s-should-give-pay-toilets-another-chance

   #lgbtq #history #canada #toronto #parkdale #MediaLiteracy

   • RamenCatholic 🐢 🌈 and RamenCatholic 🐢 🌈 repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     nev (nev@bananachips.club)'s status on Tuesday, 01-Apr-2025 13:50:45 JST nev

     in reply to

     When evaluating some random claim someone makes on the Internet, you can ask yourself:

     - Do they say *how they know this*? Do they have a link to an article or mention a book or person you can look up?

     - For claims about a historical event, is any date and place given?

     Now, of course, any random person can write a blog post or article saying anything they want. There are many ways to evaluate how trustworthy an article is—including asking the questions above. But let's take small steps for now!

     (P. S. the original clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHrZRJR4igQ )

     #MediaLiteracy