Unisex is an
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of
sex
Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...
. The term can also mean
gender-blindness
In education, business, law, and other fields, gender blindness or sex blindness is the practice of disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions between people and applying equal rules across genders ( formal equality of opportuni ...
or
gender neutrality
Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...
.
The term 'unisex' was coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The combining
prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed.
Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...
''uni-'' is from Latin ''
unus
Unus the Untouchable (also known as Gunther Bain, born Angelo Unuscione) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Unus is a Mutant (Marvel Comics), mutant, and is named for his ability to consciously project ...
'', meaning ''one'' or ''single''. However, 'unisex' seems to have been influenced by words such as ''united'' and ''universal'', in which ''uni-'' takes the related sense ''shared''. Unisex then means ''shared by sexes''.
Examples
Hair stylists and
beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and Day spa#Medical spa, medical spas.
Beauty treatme ...
s that serve all genders are often referred to as unisex. This is also typical of other services and products that traditionally separated by sex, such as clothing shops or beauty products had traditionally separated.
Public toilet
A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...
s are commonly
sex segregated
Sex segregation, sex separation, sex partition, gender segregation, gender separation, or gender partition is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their gender or biological sex at any age. Sex segregation can sim ...
, but if that is not the case, they are referred to as
unisex public toilet
Unisex public toilets (also referred to as gender-inclusive, gender-neutral, mixed-sex or all-gender, or without any prefix at all) are public toilets that are not separated by sex or gender.
Unisex public toilets take different forms: they m ...
s.
Unisex clothing
Unisex clothing is best described as clothing designed to be suitable for both sexes in order to make men and women look similar. The term unisex was first used in 1968 in ''Life'', an American magazine that ran weekly from 1883 to 1972.
History ...
includes garments like T-shirts; versions of other garments may be tailored for the different fits depending on one's
sex
Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...
, such as jeans. The sharing of a pool or recreational facility by swimmers and others of various sexes is commonly referred to as mixed bathing. When a school admits students of various sexes, it may be called coeducational or a
mixed-sex school
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
.
See also
*
Mixed-sex education
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
*
Mixed bathing
Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''.
Mixed may refer to:
* Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 2001 Census Music
* ''Mixed'' (album) ...
*
Unisex name
A unisex name (also known as an epicene name, a gender-neutral name or an androgynous name) is a given name that is not gender-specific. Unisex names are common in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. By contrast, some co ...
*
Unisex public toilet
Unisex public toilets (also referred to as gender-inclusive, gender-neutral, mixed-sex or all-gender, or without any prefix at all) are public toilets that are not separated by sex or gender.
Unisex public toilets take different forms: they m ...
*
Gender role
A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex.
Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...
*
Gender mainstreaming
Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the implications for people of different genders of a planned policy action, including legislation and programmes.
The concept of gender mainstreaming was first proposed at the 1985 ...
*
Unisex Salon
Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality.
The term 'unisex' was coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The c ...
References
Androgyny
Gender equality
Sexuality and society
{{Sex-stub