To pat my feminist self on the back

[babanouche]

when I use the man's bathroom in a restaurant if the woman's is occupied?

To make a stand about doing this is a bit silly really though and to barge into somewhere that there are equal amenities is rude.

It's not really striking a blow for feminism is it?

But using the men's if there's a massive queue and no urinals in the gents is sensible. I don't understand this pearl clutching at men seeing women using a sink. Unless I'm an oddity in shutting the toilet door?

But you can only say that because you don't have an issue yourself - you 'don't understand'. I don't either, not personally. But I accept other people may feel differently and I don't think it's fair to take that decision for someone else and decide you'll just barge in.

Men seeing women using a sink? Where did that come from?

Some loos even have male cleaners! Now that is a bit more equality. Or at least it would be if they weren't almost always immigrants who also get a pretty rough deal in the equality stakes.

True, KM (about equality and rough deals).

They always have signs up, too.

But but but...what if one is rinsing one's mooncup at the sink?

Because all you can see in the ladies is the sinks. Any weeing or otherwise goes on in the cubical.

There's unlikely to be a massive queue in a restaurant though unless something has gone very wrong. Clubs and festivals? Fair game IMHO

It'd be almost as bad as men having to walk past the tampax section in the supermarket, worra. DH has only just recovered his masculinity.

Lol at mooncup. Apparently one should keep a small bottle of water handy or you can not rinse, just empty

Like i said previously it would be good to actually get rid of mens pissing things as in urinals and troughs. Then the waiting times could be the same. Oh and ban mirrors inside any toilet too. They should always be situated near handwashing facilities.

I always do this. I refuse to wait in a huge line when there are free ones.

Not so much in larger loos, def. where there are little separate ones.

Oh and make the top of cisterns be covered in rubber hence no damn snorting in there!

Waiting times for women would still be longer - they are even when you don't have urinals. Women spend longer in the loo (tampax etc.).

It doesn't take that long to stick a tampax in, really it doesnt.

Books and mags

Reminds me of my dad taking the sporting life in there. But to his defence we did have two loos and he had the little one that none of us girls (3) liked.

Well, perhaps it's something else then, clipped, who knows. Personally I don't think any of it is wildly time-consuming!

I can see its a bit rum where there may be a load of men with thir winkles out but a lot of places now are totally self contained little loos and to see ten women queue whilst a perfectly good lav goes begging enrages me. I say anyone going to pop in that one? No they say so I nip in like a ferret in and out.

Neither do I LRD, I cannot imagine what the girls do in there. I'm in and out due to sheer politeness myself knowing someone else needs to go.

I don't think making men take longer is the solution. I think women need to be a bit quicker and we need more loos that flush properly and quickly. Some ladies take an age. They can't all be doing enormous shits or emptying colostomy bags or fiddling about with moon cups.

We need a time and motion study. Literally.

Nice little separate unisex loos.

Own private sinks for the washing of moon cups.

I suspect there are a lot of ladies who wait for the tank to fill again so they can do a full flush. Heaven forbid anyone should know they wee! They'll be hoverers too, mark my words.

Here here katie!

Every so often someone will do something in a women's toilet that they may choose not to do if they were in a mixed sex environment. Adjust your bra in front of the mirror or take your headscarf off or even feed a baby. I don't think babies should be bf in toilets but as it's not my baby or my breasts then my opinion isn't really important. Anyway, if you are in a mixed environment then you can choose to either do or not do these things according to your personal comfort level but I don't think it's making strides towards equality to put people in a position where they think they are in a single sex environment, and therefore will behave accordingly, if actually people are going to trample all over it. It's not about pearl clutching, it's about adjusting your behaviour according to the environment. I would think quite a lot of pubescent boys would not like girls walking in on them when they are having a piss and people thinking that they shouldn't care is a bit irrelevant if they do care.