Sunday 26 October 2008

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW

There is no area in which women are more prejudiced against than in the inconvenient inadequacies of public conveniences. For example, while the guys are enjoying an interval drink at the theatre, the ladies are standing in line outside the loos until the two-minute bell is ringing...

I can only assume that the wall decoration for a gents toilet below (thoughtfully forwarded to me by Cindy) is an example of female revenge!



8 comments:

SharonM said...

If it had been designed by a woman, how come none of them are in absolute hysterics or holding up large magnifying glasses?
I'm actually planning to write an article on the loo discrimination women face. In the majority of places I've been to, the Ladies is further away than the Gents - sometimes down an extra flight of steep stairs. And where you're in a food place and there is only one 'female' toilet and one 'male' toilet (identical inside apart from the sanitary products bin) you can often find several women queueing whilst the Gents is free.

Brian Sibley said...

Well, one woman has a camera and another is peering over her specs...

But my reading of it is that the gents using this facility will think that the women are being depicted as looking impressed by what they see, when of course, the truth is they are merely trying to see what all the fuss is about...

Good luck with your campaign - one (possibly effective) strategy to consider would be to go mob-handed to one of those inconveniently appointed venues and picket the gents' loo! Better still, stage a sit-in! Or, at least a stand-in!! :-)

SharonM said...

I remember a few years ago at the Health Club I used to be a member of, the Ladies Wet Changing Room (next to the pool) was having some work done and we were allocated the Men's Wet Changing Room for a week or so. Much to our chagrin, we discovered that it was more spacious and better designed than ours. I think someone was going to leave a rose in one of the urinals before we were moved back in to our more cramped accommodation.

Brian Sibley said...

A particularly thorny variety, I imagine...

Anonymous said...

As someone who has had to "go" in a variety of - shall we say - difficult places, I love this. But then it's nature that makes it more difficult for us ladies... anyone tried to go behind a mini tamarisk in the middle of the desert?

Brian Sibley said...

You just have to ask the camels to avert their eyes...

Fiona R. said...

Across the pond here, we actually have a "potty parity" law (hard fought for by women) in which new public buildings must accomodate the fact that women need and use the rest rooms more - and take longer in them - than men. The result is that there are more toilets in women's rooms than men's and in certain venues, it has made a difference.
However, I personally am not averse to using the men's room (when it's a single room) when the line for the single ladies room is 6 deep. So long as there is a lock on the door (from the inside of course), I'll use it. And once I do, other women follow, providing there's not a man outside waiting first. It's almost worth it to see the look on men's faces when I exit.
I have to say though that I'd rather not do this because I find men's restrooms far dirtier and ickier than women's restrooms. I mean, don't you guys ever shake it off?

Brian Sibley said...

I'll leave other to answers that...

But the American example might well provide grist to those in the UK and elsewhere who are up for the fight for "potty parity".