Yay - a solution to the queue for ladies - urinals

[HDDD]

The Peequal: will the new women’s urinal spell the end of queues for the ladies’?
Designed by women for women.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/07/the-peequal-will-the-new-womens-urinal-spell-the-end-of-queues-for-the-ladies
Not for me. Ever.

Wow that is really small in that first photo!

WTF??

So no fat women either then.

They just designed this to suit themselves without any thought to their actual end user. Where's the user-centric design thinking? Customer empathy?

"Enabling those in the queue to see which stalls are free"

I thought the vacant and engaged bits when you lock the door did that job?

Yeah, like no pisshead nob at a festival isn't going to get his phone out and try and film you while you're trying to wrangle yourself onto one of those whilst avoiding others accidents whilst trying to keep your dignity intact!

You need manned for security, women only toilets, and more of them. And perhaps a seperate area for those who want to do their hair/make up so they don't clog up the sink area for those who want to just wash their hands and go.

This is all very "lean in" isn't it (not too far don't want to fall in that!). The idea that women would do better to be more like men.

That's an even shitter design than I was expecting.
And my expectations were already low.
There's no chance I could have used that drunk in my fit 20s without over balancing or getting piss all over my clothes.
And obviously post child is impossible!

@SoMuchForSummerLove

And money. Let's face it, that's what this is all about. Those in charge won't hire the necessary amount of portable loos for women because...well, because. Women's needs are an inconvenience compared to men who can and do piss anywhere.

You hit that nail RIGHT on the head. Does women no good whatsoever. A shit idea and the women who designed it really need to give their heads a wobble.

Thanks TheSockMonster

The photos belie the graphic in that the walls are much lower and the cubicles much smaller than the graphic suggested. The whole thing seems flimsy as well.

So, let's recap which groups of women are excluded by this design:

• disabled
• overweight
• pregnant
• accompanied by children
• drunk
• menstruating
• elderly
• with knee and balance problems
• after childbirth
• suffering prolapse
• suffering incontinence issues
• wearing the wrong clothes
• in need of dignity
• in need of privacy
• in need of safety
• in need of toilet paper

And how about women from culturally or religious conservative backgrounds? If they cannot use facilities in the presence of men, how would these "peequals" work for them?

Here's my invention. It's called bushomatic. It's a large bush you carry round in your car. Comes with trowel. You simply plant it in a field and per behind it. Loo roll sold separately.

Love the BUSHOMATIC (tm)!! ;-)

I was thinking of marketing it by having the bushes shaped into love hearts and flowers. Because obviously I need some sort of signifier to say, 'this is a ladies product' and bushes with adequate cover aren't usually pink.

The men's bushes will be phallic shapes obviously.

The Bushomatic. The carbon neutral, self-composting toilet for the 21st 1st Century.

Also provides cardiovascular exercise and contributes towards a healthier lifestyle.

Quick! Patent it!

@PaleGreenGhost

This is all very "lean in" isn't it (not too far don't want to fall in that!). The idea that women would do better to be more like men.

It’s very Lean In!

Men define the space and it’s up to women to find a way to exist in that male space without challenging or changing it.

Men can use urinals whilst remaining upright and almost fully clothed with only a tiny risk of getting urine on their shoes or clothing. They also have less need to wipe. Women cannot and do not. In order to cram the same number of toilets/urinals in women have to Lean In and compromise their dignity.

The actual solution is to allocate available toilet space based on equal need rather than equal square meterage. Or just provide more bloody toilets for everyone!

It's grim. I wouln't use it.

@MsFogi

It's six times quicker because 99% of women will walk in and walk out again without actually going to the loo.

Absolutely!

That picture shows the ‘cubicle’ is absolutely TINY.

Very, very few women I know would use it.

I’m pretty fit (usually, currently 8 weeks postpartum) and have good balance but I’m really not sure I’d want to use that.

I STILL don’t understand what you do with your clothes though if you put your feet either side of the hole.

It's six times quicker because 99% of women will walk in and walk out again without actually going to the loo.

Haha yes.

I’m really surprised by the general response to this. Personally, I would love to have the option of using these at a festival, alongside portaloos if you need privacy for pad change or to have a poo.

I’ve long envied men having this option and always hoped, having seen a similar setup with she-wees a few years ago at a festival, that this might go mainstream.

I definitely do not think the designers are intending these to be a one fits all solution, and I’m surprised that others think that they would, men still have toilet stalls available to them alongside urinals so why wouldn’t women. Portaloo with toilet roll and bins, and disabled access toilets would obviously be needed alongside.

I think we have a cultural issue with crouching to pee in the UK and that’s coming across in the responses. Women all around the world pee like this. Lots of women are quite comfortable doing it.

This solution is definitely only equivalent to going in a bush (unless they added toilet roll), but this is progress, when you consider the average festival has numerous private corners or a bush a man could do a wee in without having to completely expose himself, however that wouldn’t be possible for a women. Don’t others see this as in some way enabling?

When I’ve seen women’s urinals at festivals they’ve normally had large barriers surrounding them, so preventing the issue of people staring in.

A previous poster questioned using it with kids. Honestly I would find it easier than the current situation. I find trying to manoeuvre a toddler on the loo with both us stuffed in a tiny, locked, stinky, cubicle very hard work. This looks a lot easier as it’s fairly open.

But how, physically, can we use them? It's not the privacy etc aspect for me. It just looks impossible physically... where are the actual diagrams showing what you do with your body and your clothing?

A simple hole in the ground would be much easier than this, which makes it much harder to squat .

When I went to festivals I bought some Travel John bags, they turn pee into gel (you can also poo in them too I think, and also work as sick bags). Sealable, can be used in the privacy of your own tent. Saved me a trip to the manky toilets, alone in the dark many a time. Then during the day there would be the arena area toilet blocks with actual toilets in them that were a bit cleaner.

A previous poster questioned using it with kids. Honestly I would find it easier than the current situation. I find trying to manoeuvre a toddler on the loo with both us stuffed in a tiny, locked, stinky, cubicle very hard work. This looks a lot easier as it’s fairly open

Have you seen the latest picture of the prototype in use?

Theres not enough room in there for anyone of my size and I'm not big, a kid wont fit in there too by the looks of it.
We all know that over time money talks and this would end up being the only choice available at festivals and similar.

Who or what will stop you being filmed trying to use it and finally
Men get a fully enclosed pissoir and we get an open air one. If we are really up for this sort of loo arrangement then give us the exact same as men. We still probably wont use it but those who do will get some privacy.

I think we have a cultural issue with crouching to pee in the UK and that’s coming across in the responses. Women all around the world pee like this. Lots of women are quite comfortable doing it.

I lived in area for a few years and regularly used squatty loos. They were about a million times better than this even in the grimmest places. Come with a bum gun too!

@Clove76 it's much cheaper so it's going to become the default for women if we use it. That means less portaloos overall. I can't see that being a good thing.

And at least one of my toddlers would have used the lack of door to just run away.

It's little better than pissing out in the open. Makes me quite angry actually, that our dignity is seen as fucking optional and an inconvenience.

Asia not area.

I think we have a cultural issue with crouching to pee in the UK and that’s coming across in the responses. Women all around the world pee like this. Lots of women are quite comfortable doing it.

I disagree. I've used whole-in-the-ground toilets. Proper ones I mean, with a lockable door, a flush and "a bum gun". That's not comparable to this contraption.

I will admit they were filthy toilets and I wasn't keen on them, but they could be flushed clean with the available hose before use. And I was young, so squatting wasn't an issue. Thanks to the lockable door, it also didn't matter whether I had the right clothes on or not.

None of this applies here.