Thursday, February 9, 2012

Woman's Right to Pee

Of course, women should continue to fight for equality, and their rights against violence especially the domestic kind.  But I think women can also start thinking about something really practical that impacts them on a regular basis - the right to pee!

Whether in malls, in cinemas, especially airports, the queue in the ladies room is just long.  Interestingly, the line to the adjacent men's room is pretty much non-existent.

There is bad biological effects if one "holds on" for a long time.  Not sure if this is really medically proven, but common sense would tell you that prolonging the wait for urination has bad impacts to the excretory system, particularly the bladder.  So I am really surprised that the women are not actively lobbying against changing the "restroom/wc" system all over the world.

The impact to men?  We wait for the women, right?  I mean while they wait we also wait, so it is also to our interest that they get their right to the restroom.

Some initial thoughts.
1) In malls, why a 50%-50% split on restroom space?  Women need more space.  I hardly see any lines on the men's room.  So should there be a bigger women's room?

2) Open the handicap restroom and offer it to the women during peak time.  If a handicapped person is there, then the person will be prioritized.  If you notice, the handicap restroom is often unused and in fact locked.  Why not open it up to the women?

3) Smaller stalls, bigger counters.  Just an idea and I am obviously not an expert on this.  In the current space for 4 cubicles, is it possible to make it smaller so there could be 5 cubicles?  I am thinking to build the smallest possible cubicles.  It does not need to be very comfortable, just enough space for someone to do one's business.  Also, build bigger counters, or at the minimum provide more mirrors.  I was told that in a women's room, women spend more time in the mirrors than in the cubicles.  I could be very wrong.  But if that is the case, then it just makes sense to install mirrors in the women's waiting area that way they could do some retouches there, which will facilitate a faster turnaround time for women to get in and out of the restroom.

Other ideas?  Just a practical problem I thought impacts a lot of women...and men that goes home with them.


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