Fatherhood has been treating Ashton Kutcher well and given him a newfound appreciation for all it entails–so much so that he recently took to social media to advocate for diaper changing stations in men’s restrooms. Kutcher’s comments were met with echoes of approval by other men said they have an equal influence as women do in child rearing.
There are NEVER diaper changing stations in mens public restrooms. The first public men’s room that I go into that has one gets a free shout out on my FB page! #BeTheChange
The Two and A Half Men star’s message had amassed over 200,000 likes as of Tuesday morning, as well as a slew of shares and responses. One reply from a father named Robert Ledbetter suggested men forgo the men’s bathroom and go straight for the women’s bathroom. “Fight the power. Just go in the ladies room. I’ve propped open the door with the trash can before and taken it over til I was done.” Facebook user Tim Bryant wrote: “Real men can change a diaper anywhere. But I still agree with you. #BeTheChange.”
Others noted that unisex public restrooms, known as “family” restrooms, are becoming more widespread, and volunteered suggestions of restaurants or shops that provided them.
A woman named Rissa Leigh Gagne provided a different perspective: “Men everywhere are cursing you out for trying to take away their excuse to escape diaper duty,” she wrote.
Democratic California State Senators Lois Wolk and Ricardo Lara had co-authored legislation that would have mandated baby changing tables be implemented in both men’s and women’s public restrooms in February of last year. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September.
Kutcher’s fiancée, Mila Kunis, gave birth to a baby girl named Wyatt Isabelle in October of last year.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz