Candid Moments Caught in the Ladies' Loo

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www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-47361066?fbclid=IwAR0zdZ6T7IW-na-e_mzLGGG6pM9dfc4BQspgfhr0rcO1sBCCWLSIllqRrOI

It's a well-known fact that women take longer in public toilets than men. It's partly because it is more than just a place to use the loo - it is often where women chat, bond, fix their make-up and their problems.

Samantha Jagger has been documenting these candid moments between friends and strangers for almost 10 years.

Instead of staging "Insta-perfect" shots, she uses a battered 35mm point-and-shoot camera small enough to fit in her handbag.

Her photographs, taken chiefly in toilets in pubs and clubs in Manchester and Leeds, are about to go on show as part of an exhibition called Loosen Up.

The article shows a really lovely series of pictures taken (with permission) by the (female) photographer. I'm interested in seeing the rest of the exhibition!

Made me think of voyeurism. Encouragement much? Last thing anyone needs is more cameras in toilets.

But she is showing what women do in loos
She is not a voyeur
She has the women’s permission s

Great shots telling stories

I guess this is a thing for some women but never me. Maybe because I never did the party girl thing. I imagine some women do find this space useful - especially as a safe place to escape men in environments where male violence is likely.

However The stereotype of guys saying to women “what were you guys DOING in there so long?” And hoping to hear about making out or something Is annoying and homophobic. Usually my (mental) response when I hear that is “waiting in line because it takes twice as long to go and there are fewer stalls than urinals...”

This was posted on another thread. I thought the photos were beautiful.

I don't know if it's what the artist intended, but to me it showed what intimate spaces women-only spaces are. How privacy is so important for women. Women will never be that relaxed in an enclosed toilet in the presence of men they don't know.

As a poster (on the other thread) pointed out - this intimacy between females in a shared, yet single-sex space is exactly what some of the transwomen fetishise - the ones that insist they are women.

Gender neutral loos/males (no matter how they identify) in women's spaces changes the whole dynamic. This push for everything gender neutral, I think, represents a loss for women - lost privacy, lost space, lost escape from the male gaze.

I'm with FWRLurker. As someone who doesn't wear makeup and gets in and out of public loos as quickly as possible, those particular photos don't speak to me at all. But I'm glad that they speak to other women.

What I have done in a public loo - and value female space for - is:
discovered I was pregnant
sought refuge from intimidating men (railways)
managed a miscarriage
changed for work
comforted a stranger
cleaned up a child
dried wet clothes under the hand dryer
assisted elderly ladies

I hope that there will be photos of that kind of activity!

I almost always take longer than my husband. But that's because of the queues.

I hate those photos. It's everything that men want to buy into as part of their fetish. Yes, those things happen, but they are private and should not, in my opinion, be showcased (even with permission). Males who want to be seen as 'fully' female think they are missing out by not being involved in this kind of intimacy. Keep it private I say.

I also agree that I do zero female bonding in toilets because I have never been included as a visibly gender non-conforming person. However, I have: hidden from men in loos, gone to the loo to recover from being triggered by a man and been glad to be free of them whilst recovering myself, locked myself up in a cubicle to recover from mental health episodes and IBS problems (would not feel as safe with certain men in space), been in toilets where other women were dealing with kids/periods/pregnancy related stuff and in vulnerable position and thought to myself how good it was that they had that space free from men. A photo of me in a women's loo wouldn't be so fun, more like me mid panic-attack and not being included but being fine with that for a little peace. Women seem to understand the boundaries. They won't try to 'rescue' if you say you just need to be alone.

Me too fair I don’t like them at all. But then I don’t wear make up or tights (generally) and wouldn’t choose to spend any more time in toilets than I would have to.