Mixed sex toilets are terrifying for women but just a laugh for men.

[CrocsNotDocs]

I can enjoy a good fart joke but this “hilarious” anecdote by cricket commentator David “Bumble” Lloyd left me cold. Men really have no idea of the fear women have of mixed sex facilities.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3843028419327926/?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e

If the link doesn’t work, it’s a viral, supposedly hilarious account of David going into a mixed-sex loo for a poo and letting off a loud fart. The lady in the cubicle next to him calls out “Is that you Maureen”.

From David’s point of view, (and pretty much every man and “cool girl” on the planet) he thinks that Maureen must be such a regular farter that her friend thinks the fart noise just has to be her.

I suspect most women would read this situation differently- Maureen’s friend has realised she was half naked inches away from a strange man and is calling out anxiously to her friend to make sure she isn’t alone.

I’m wondering what this board’s thoughts would be. Am I just looking to hard into an anecdote or is men’s complete obliviousness a big issue when it comes to mixed sex facilities.

If it was a mixed sex loo, as a woman, I'd expect men to be in there so can't see your problem with his anecdote.

I think you're reading too far into this. Many women quite like mixed sex toilets as the queue is often shorter. It is just a joke and I think the lady who said that is hilarious. I'm as much of a feminist as the rest of us, but I also don't think something as innocent as this story needs to be turned into "but the patriarchy!"

You are reading too much into it, it’s a joke that probably never happened in real life.

no one is half naked when they go to a public toilet and if someone was anxious while knowing they were in mixed sex toilets calling out seems unlikely. Keeping quiet to hide that you are there is a much more likely option

I’ve never been ‘terrified’ in a mixed sex toilet since I’d be in a private cubicle, you’re reading far too much into this.

Unless certain criteria were met, I'd be reluctant to poo in a public toilet. So either cricket man is confident enough that he would not have a second thought, or he had some urgency. It is a funny anecdote of our time and he'd likely perceive the situation differently to another person.

I give a lot of thought to public 'facilities ' and currently i have a bladder/pelvic floor robust enough that i can waiver a public toilet if it doesnt meet my standard. I prefer single sex toilets, with 2 doors between me and the public - in part due to acoustics but also fear I haven't locked properly...worst case, at least in a smaller cubicle i can reach to hold the door closed and if I can't reach I'd be dealing with a woman who is as embarrassed as me.

'no one is half naked' ..Perhaps not half naked every time, but depending what you are wearing you are 'undressed', and always hobbled. It is unquestionably a vulnerable position. Personally i wouldnt wear pant suit/dungarees in public due to risk id need to go to the loo.

I do think about these things, and I don't think I am alone. Perhaps cricket man doesn't need to give this a second thought. How nice for him.

You are certainly at least a third naked- naked below the waist with your ankles hobbled! It’s very vulnerable!

You do not speak for me.

Nor me. I hate mixed sex toilets. I would hate to listen to a man next to me and hate it when I called for my friend to find a man answering in return. Yes I do find men in women's spaces frightening and we all know men leave toilets in a much worse state than women.

How is the woman in the cubicle supposed to know it was a man next door just by the sound of a fart? Are men's farts lower pitched or something, like their voices?

And even if she did, why would she be shocked or afraid by this when she knew it was a mixed sex loo in the first place? Surely she had no way of knowing who was in and out of all the other cubicles while she was there?

This just doesn't make sense.

I am not terrified by mix sex toilets at all. I find them quite disgusting at times.

It doesn't sound particularly true to me. More like a made up joke. But that doesn't detract from Men really have no idea of the fear women have of mixed sex facilities.

Not all women. But enough, and I'd imagine most women would prefer single sex. From a hygiene point of view, if nothing else.

Do they? Which anonymous survey are you referring to in your data set?

"Did you pretend to be Maureen?" says the middle bloke...

Men are totally oblivious to the risks posed to women in mixed sex toilets. I don't want to share toilets with any men. I've been on the receiving end of an attempted sexual crime by a man who got into a women's bathroom. To the women who say 'most women are fine with it' - don't attempt to give away my rights and protections. You don't speak for me.

You don't speak for me…..

nor me!

Many women quite like mixed sex toilets as the queue is often shorter.

Not in my experience. Men seem a. less reluctant to have a shit in public toilets than women and b. to take ages over having a shit.

I have no qualms about using mixed facilites and would read this piece as intended, as a harmless joke.

I agree with PP that if I were in any position where I felt scared, the last thing I would be doing would be calling out and drawing attention to myself. I would be silent and wait for them to leave.

Can’t say I’ve ever been terrified at the thought of a mixed sex toilet.

It sounds like a made up joke to make men and cool girls laugh but the main aim is to trivalise mixed toilets as concerns by old fashioned, older women, the made up name choice of maureen was an intentional misogynist and ageist choice I think. It's to show that mixed toilets are fun and a laugh and not a serious issue or concern unless you're an irrelevant, nosey, prude old woman who doesn't know better. It's like how Karen is used as a shorthand for middle aged woman who complains. That is the insenuations I'm getting.

It's terrifying how so many well intending, naïve women are sleepwalking into handing out their rights for men's approval as a ✨️cool girl✨️ it's a pick-me vibe, ngl.

I haven’t been terrified, but I did find it very uncomfortable to meet a man I didn’t know at the sinks and realise I was alone with him in a small space with nobody else there. I find the same thing in lifts, when the door opens and a man gets in.

I can imagine that uneasiness becoming active fear if the man appeared odd in any way.

It’s not as bad as a mixed sex changing room, dormitory or hospital ward, but I am often uncomfortable in enclosed spaces with male strangers. I’m sure other women feel the same and have many experiences in lifts of exchanging relieved smiles to find the other traveller is female.

Terrifying?? Seriously?

At the International Horse of the Year show London lots of ladies used the gents ( predominantly single cubicles ) as there was no queue