my latest crusade
... takes shape slowly. Nevertheless, I hereby declare it to be my Official Rant of Note: Single-Occupancy Gendered Toilets (SOGTs).
A cafe, a bar, a restaurant has two single-occupancy toilets. Why ever would you label one for one gender and the other for another when they are identically furnished? It just doesn't make sense. I mean, if there's a urinal, there might be some sort of rationale to call it the men's room, but there's no reason why women can't use it. Heck, women should have urinals available to them too - case in point.
Anyway, the traffic jam outside a SOGT that sometime results, from one being occupied and the next customer being of the same gender, is so unnecessary. The example (here, last paragraph) that catalyzed my crusade repeated itself yesterday, at the exact same cafe. And in the latest episode, the guy waiting in line came back to the table, "got permission" from his girlfriend to use the women-labeled restroom, and proceeded relieve his need.
I can understand the need to label restrooms when they are multiple-occupancy and one should not barge into the other gender's territory for reasons of "decency" (or at the very least, adherence to societal norms). The casual user might not know whether the toilet is single- or multiple-occupancy, so it's understandable to hesitate. But the whole reason for my crusade is so that business owners start making sense with their toilets.
Because if you can't be reasonable about excreting, what can you be reasonable about?
4 comments:
in china they have holes in the sidewalk--literally cop a squat
I have to say that I like men not being allowed to use the women's bathroom. Men's bathrooms are always skankier than women's bathrooms. I think men care even less how accurate they are when they are outside their own home. Seriously, just ask any office cleaning staff whose bathrooms are skankier at the end of the day.
Sascha - you sure about that? I mean... is it rumor, or do you actively survey men's restrooms? (I'm not being snarky here, I'm honestly asking whether your info is rumor/speculation or based in statistically robust observation.)
I've heard from women about the "hover over the seat" technique in public facilities being a cause of much skankiness.
When there's gender-segregated multiple-occupancy toilets, there's usually urinals in the men's, which means a different pee-situation and less likely inadvertent splashing. There's a whole industry devoted to further improving that situation. Personally, I think the urinal-splash-back situation should be improved by better design (a more tangent-to-stream porcelain shape), but that's just me ranting.
I'll have to remember to take a survey of janitorial staff when I encounter them in the future...
If it would make bathrooms easier to get to for women, I'm all labeling it any other way. I am sick and tired of getting in line at Pine Knob or wherever, only to find myself behind a woman with a kid or two. While she takes 40 minutes getting the kids to pee, I'm there doing a little "pee dance", looking like a crazy woman. Personally, I get in, do my bidness and then leave. I'm faster than my husband for cryin' out loud. All women should pee this way.
Okay there is my pee-pee rant and waaaay too much information!!!
Patti (from various bike events around town :))
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