A sign found at a bed and breakfast in Cavallino, Italy displays bathroom symbols for three categories—men, women and ‘gay’— with an image of a male figure with a hand on his hip.
The sign has been condemned by LGBT+ groups in Italy with Gianluca Rollo from the LEA Association calling for its removal.
“It is frankly shocking that in 2017 there are still cases of this kind, where there is a great confusion between gender identity and sexual orientation and it is flaunted in such a misleading and homophobic manner in public places, which only humiliates and hurts people,” he said.
Managers at Tenuta de Camporelle maintain that the sign has been there for 15 years—put up by previous management—and has been hidden from sight.
"We never thought of removing it because we could not see it," they told Repubblica, adding: "We found out that it had been tampered with and then we removed the sign to avoid further problems."
Repubblica reports that the owners remained unapologetic for the sign, saying the bathroom used to be part of a private property.
"We were not in the wrong. And anyway, having removed that sign is worth more than a thousand apologies."
