Mohammad Gill June 3, 2005

Tags: trivia , humor

rel="tag" href="/tag/women">women waiting lines outside the restrooms are usually twice as long as those of the men’s. So, in compliance to the ordnance, the facilities owners are required to provide double the capacity in the women’s restrooms compared to that in the men’s.

There was interesting and quite passionate discussion on the potty-parity topic at the Mitch Albom talk show on the radio (June 1, 2005). Albom invited comments from the listeners, both men and women, and some quite interesting facts were revealed.

For example, it was said that the men generally act quite matter-of-factly when they pay a visit to the restroom. They do their thing and walk out. At times, many of them do not even care to wash their hands after their act. So the waiting lines keep moving at a regular pace. Not so in the case of the women.

One woman commentator said that the women quite often socialize even in the restrooms. It’s not unusual for them to go into the stalls in pairs (only in pairs due to lack of space); while one is doing her thing, the other keeps the conversation flowing smoothly. It is not unusual for the “stand-by” to look at the other woman who is busy doing her thing. After the act, they take time to clean up, comb the hair or even put on the make up. The men, on the other hand, usually consider it “gauche”, if not outright indecent, to glance sideways at the neighboring guy who is letting it out.

A woman listener narrated an incident in which she escorted her ten-year old daughter to a concert. The girl felt the call of nature and went to the restroom with her mother. The waiting line was quite long and halfway through, the girl could hold it no longer. So she let it go. It was very embarrassing for both of them who tried as best as they could to hide the mess. The radio show host commented that the girl should have rushed to the men’s room to use the facility; the men would have understood the urgency and made room for her without any hesitation.

A point was also made by another woman, which is quite valid, that the women invariably take their children to the restrooms when they use the facility themselves. For this reason, they take more time. But several women emphasized the social aspect which seems quite natural to the women-folk.

We, in our ethnic countries, just beat the drums of fairness toward the fair sex; in the west, women fight for their rights and in time usually get them. Potty-parity is not an issue in our countries. If no restrooms were conveniently available when the nature called, the men would let it go out in the open in a place away from the crowded area. Such a facility is not available to the urban women. The countryside women have a lot of God-given space to respond to the call of nature. In fact, they also socialize frequently while answering the call. In cities, they’re handicapped.

The lead provided by the City of New York will most likely be followed by the other cities. It will be hard on the husbands and the boyfriends who are waiting outside for their companions to finish their business and come out to join them. The women will have all the time to attend to their other needs besides the call of nature, in the restroom stalls.

Social conversation comes quite naturally to the women; in fact it is a second habit with most of them. I remember a time when my monthly expenditure exceeded uncomfortably my income. I used to cut corners to economize when and where possible. It was difficult to break even every month. One of my back-breaker expenditures was the telephone bill. When it was close to $100, I did not care much. I would look at the bill, scan my wife’s social calls and quietly pay it. Gradually, the bill soared close to $200 and occasionally even more than that. So one day, I suggested to my wife that when she felt the urge for social conversation, she should drive to her friend’s house and talk at leisure there. This will alleviate my burden somewhat. She listened to me, nodded her head in agreement and picked up the phone after a while to start the conversation. Her friend on the other side was although relatively busier than my wife because she had a job also, she never complained to indulge.

One of my wife’s cousins is in New Jersey living with her son and ‘bahu’. She used to call my wife every day and talk for hours. A couple of times, I picked up the phone to tell her that her cousin was not at home. She would get the information but then start the conversation with me. The first time, she talked to me (I was only listening or interjecting ‘yes’, ‘no, no’, etc.) for about ten minutes, saying the same things again and again and again. I got tired and said to her as politely as I could afford that I was not a good telephone conversationalist. “I run out of the talking material in no time.” She thought I was kidding. Eventually, she believed me. Afterwards, she would terminate the call after some introductory pleasantries by saying, “OK, I’ll call later when Fauzia is at home.”

Woman! Thy name is social conversation (even in the restrooms while in concert with God).