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McDonald's sparks Brazil controversy over unisex toilet

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Agence France-Presse

<p>RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A McDonald&#x27;s restaurant in Brazil was on Sunday ordered to comply with health regulations by installing separate male and female toilets after sparking a controversy with its unisex bathroom.</p><p>The scandal erupted over a viral video shot from inside the unisex toilet of a McDonald&#x27;s restaurant in Bauru, in Sao Paulo state.</p><p>In the video, a woman who appears to have shot the clip can be heard complaining: &quot;This is absurd! Children use these bathrooms. This is communism in our city of Bauru, it&#x27;s shameful!&quot;</p><p>The video caused such a storm that health officials visited the restaurant and &quot;found that the municipality&#x27;s health regulations had not been respected,&quot; Bauru mayor Suellen Roim said on Twitter.</p><p>According to a local law, bathrooms must be &quot;separated and identified, one for each sex.&quot;</p><p>McDonald&#x27;s has been given two weeks to comply with the regulation or face either a fine or the restaurant&#x27;s closure.</p><p>The company explained in a statement that it was trying to create areas of &quot;inclusion and respect&quot; so that &quot;everyone feels welcome to use&quot; the bathrooms.</p><p>The fast-food chain said it was cooperating with authorities to &quot;meet certain standards.&quot;</p><p>But the issue riled up the ire of conservatives in a country where questions about gender have become a hot topic since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro -- often accused of sexism and homophobia -- took power three years ago.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/09/21/mcdonalds-ph-buys-100k-doses-of-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccines">McDonald&#x27;s PH buys 100k doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/01/20/new-normal-mcdonalds-bets-on-chatbot-creative-order-channels-to-reach-consumers">New normal: McDonald&#x27;s bets on chatbot, &#x27;creative&#x27; order channels to reach consumer</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/07/20/mcdonalds-opens-largest-ph-store-in-pampanga">McDonald&#x27;s opens largest PH store in Pampanga</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1660254" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

A McDonald's restaurant in Brazil was on Sunday ordered to comply with health regulations by installing separate male and female toilets after sparking a controversy with its unisex bathroom.