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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to start a campaign for more women's toilets?

67 replies

MrsMuddlePluck · 17/08/2017 22:07

We are now in the 21st century so why do women still tolerate queues for loos? You all know what it's like to be busting for a p & watching the lads go in & out in 30secs while you wait 15 minutes just to get in the door.

This is still happening in new buildings & shopping centres. Why? It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work this out surely?

OP posts:
Witchend · 20/08/2017 11:36

Campaign against complicated underwear too? Wink

If anyone goes to see Annie in London and you need the loo at the interval then run quickly. The queues were the worst I've ever seen, and some people queued all interval and didn't get back in time for the start of the second half. I was strongly tempted to say that I identified as a man and go in the men's Grin

But it was odd because there were plenty of toilet cubicles when you got there, and the theatre isn't huge, but it's never been that bad at any theatre I've been to before.

StillDrivingMeBonkers · 20/08/2017 11:45

Toilets should be unisex like the continent.

sparechange · 20/08/2017 11:47

Eeeevry time these threads come up, one or more architect MNers come and explain how building design works and how the number of toilets is based on footfall and not queue times, and how toilets are a maintenance cost and opportunity cost and potential security risk if they can't be regularly checked that's why they don't put millions in

So to save the good and patient architect MNers a job, and because I've read it often enough:
Adding extra loos means taking away revenue-generating thing - seats, shops, food outlets, parking spaces - so venues don't want to put too many in
Adding extra loos means taking on more cleaning staff to check and maintain them - more cost
Adding extra loos doesn't mean more people will come. It just adds more cost and building owners can't or won't justify it because it would mean putting up prices elsewhere

Plus (and this is my own observation) isn't there a bit of a 'build it and they'll come' thing with toilets? They've been times when I've seen the length of the queue and not bothered going. If there are more, wouldn't more people who aren't bursting but could do with a quick wee, start using them and then we are back to the old queue system?

Argeles · 20/08/2017 11:55

I couldn't agree more op. I've been saying this for years.

We definitely need more female toilets.

We are more likely to need more than men, as we have periods, usually take children to the toilet, and are the ones to get pregnant and wee constantly. Our clothing, and the fact we're not just standing at a urinal, make the task longer too. We therefore use them for longer on each visit and perhaps more frequently too.

Pizzaexpressreview · 20/08/2017 11:58

Yep I'm in. It really bothers me that there aren't proportionately more toilets and at cinema/theatre/events/shopping centre/etc I have to queue and husband can just waltz in.

Why is this just accepted?! Male designers??

theEagleIsLost · 20/08/2017 12:00

Actually thought this had got better since I was a child.

So much so I was surprised at a recent visit to a castle where the queue for the woman's loo stretched round the block - actually a few more men than usual took their kids into men’s loos upon see wait.

Problem there was two cubicles in women loos - but in men there was that plus urinals - according to men of our party who had to hand around for half an hour waiting for rest of us.

Nonibaloni · 20/08/2017 12:35

Yes increasing the number of cubicles reduces profitable space BUT unisex toilets (all cubicles) would have a better space to toilet ratio. Although this idea is uniformly flamed. Better designs tegarding dead space and number of sinks not equalling number of cubicles would solve the problem. Perhaps not in older buildings but the same argument was made disability access and we got over that.
I work in a male domited industry (like 1 woman per 50 men) and he number of loos is equal. It is heaven. I have never ever queued for a roiled and I swear it feels like I get another 1/2 hour on my day.

Ellisandra · 20/08/2017 12:45

Perhaps an NHS led programme during pregnancy would help... among my friends and family anecdotally I would report a surge in frequency of loo visits after fucking up our pelvic floors!

Part of my theory is this... you know when you really need a shit? But the queue is long so you hold it in? When you finally get on the loo, I find I can't go instantly. I don't think it's just me - my child is the same. It can take a minute or two to get things moving! So the queue is a double whammy.

FunkyFantasticFudgeball · 20/08/2017 12:54

I work in a female dominated industry with about 140 women and 10 men, yes there are 2 cubicles in each toilet. It's ridiculous, so frustrating

DailyMailReadersAreThick · 20/08/2017 13:16

I can't remember the last time I had to queue for a toilet. Is it really that big of a problem?

I'd rather campaign for better disabled toilet facilities.

PollyPerky · 20/08/2017 13:21

I agree with your OP.

A few places get it right, but most don't. It takes women ages to have a wee- down come the trousers and knickers, or tights, bag needs hanging up somewhere, maybe tampons need changing etc. All blokes do is whip their willy out and it's dead simple.

Recently I was at a major art gallery in London. There were 8 toilets for women. I am not sure if there are any on other floors or not but in all the years I've been going, I've never seen any. They have wash basins in each cubicle but they weren't working so you had to queue for the basins- 3 or 4 basins for 8 loos.

I just don't get it. Many stores are the same. if you have hundreds or thousands of women in one place at any time, the odds are that in a 2-3 hr period, when cafes are provided serving drinks. more than 8 are going to need a wee or something else at any one time.

wrenika · 20/08/2017 13:29

I must not go out enough cause I can't think of the last time I had to queue for a toilet!

reportPost · 20/08/2017 13:32

Men don't tend to have more facilities, they're just quicker.

A 50/50 split seems fair.

Pizzaexpressreview · 20/08/2017 14:18

report you're a man right? 50/50 isn't fair when men don't need to use cubicle most of the time and women do very time!

Pizzaexpressreview · 20/08/2017 14:19

M and S always has a queue too. But often attractions.

Definitely places with a defined break like the cinema or theatre...

Sirzy · 20/08/2017 14:26

I would much rather see the time, money and space go to improving disabled toilet facilities so everyone can actually access a suitable toilet area to meet their needs.

BossaDad · 20/08/2017 14:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pizzaexpressreview · 20/08/2017 14:31

Boss - I agree there should be an alternative for women - like more cubicals!!

Funny these men coming onto the thread telling us how to do it...

ihatetosay · 20/08/2017 14:32

no queues at the football yesterday except for the men ha ha

BabychamSocialist · 20/08/2017 14:33

I'd rather there were more disabled toilets really. How do you think disabled people feel having to queue up to use the one accessible toilet? Most of the time, it isn't even someone disabled, but someone who just didn't want to wait in the normal queue.

The reason the queue for the Ladies is so long is because women take a lot longer - faffing about in the cubicle, at the sink etc. I'm pretty quick, but I still take longer than DP or my sons.

BabychamSocialist · 20/08/2017 14:38

Ewanwhosearmy

Depends on the age of the kids. If they're still in nappies, most mens' toilets don't have the facilities for a nappy change. It used to really irritate DP (who was a nappy-changing pro) how rare they were. It's slowly changing, but the baby change facilities are still overwhelmingly in the womens' toilets.

Spikeyball · 20/08/2017 14:42

Fully accessible toilets are a bigger issue.

FortunatelyUnfortunately · 20/08/2017 14:44

@ITCouldBeWorse check out these guys for disabled facilities. Great idea. mobiloo.org.uk

Motherbear26 · 20/08/2017 14:46

Had a huge rant about this very issue during a recent trip to Legoland!

Women take longer to use the loo simply because it is a more 'complex' process iyswim. As pp's have said, it's very simple for men. As for men taking the kids with them, that's fine if you have ds's but my 8 yo dd would feel very uncomfortable venturing into the men's with dh. On the rare occasions I'm not there dh has had to ask a kind looking woman if she'll keep an eye on her in the ladies.

Completely agree that unisex family toilets are the way forward for situations like that, but I do also think women should have double the number of toilets that men have. If men had to queue this wouldn't even be an issue.

VestalVirgin · 20/08/2017 15:02

I don't think there's a need for urinals, except perhaps for purposes of saving water. Most women don't want to use some device to be able to pee like men. Just add some cubicles. This is something that can easily be fieldtested at any festival where there's portable rented toilets. Just add cubicles until the situation works. Then use that number to calculate how many toilets are needed.

Of course, something that's likely an exacerbating factor in shopping centres and the like is that there simply are more women than men there, but no one considered that when building the toilets.
Again, easily fixable if someone is willing to invest the work.

Perhaps it would help the buck the trend that women are always responsible for children?

Long-term, that should happen.

Short-term, having a women only, men only and a family/unisex toilet would help. You can't force people to change all of a sudden, but you can build new toilets pretty fast.

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