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Over the years,
as I have waited in long, long lines for the “Ladies”
room, while watching men whisk in and out of their counterpart
with no wait whatsoever, some woman in line has inevitably
muttered, “Some day there will be enough ladies’
facilities,” to which several other women have just
as inevitably replied, “Yeah, when we finally get
a woman president.”
Who would have thought we would start to get a bigger share
of toilet facilities before a woman finally made it to the
top job?
Unnoticed by most of us, (although it should have been
the cause of great celebration) New York City in 2005 passed
a law requiring that all new or largely modified places
of assembly, such as theaters, arenas, stadiums, etc., have
two women’s toilet fixtures for every one designated
for men.
Known as potty parity laws, they were designed to equalize
the extra time required by women in rest rooms. Studies
indicate that women take twice as long as men, due in part
to their anatomy, as well as their often being accompanied
by small children.
Architects and code officials, mostly male, despite being
married or having girlfriends, were, in the past, blissfully
unaware of the anatomical differences between men and women.
Facilities in the House and Senate, long bastions of male
power, were also hopelessly inadequate or nonexistent and
had to be altered or added as more female representatives
were elected.
Rules for public facilities vary by state. Connecticut’s
law, which only affects new buildings and does not address
the number of facilities for men versus women, was passed
in 1977. However, many small shops are ignorant of state
codes requiring access to their facilities. I was also unaware,
(and I bet you are, too) until researching this column,
that there is a National American Restroom Association,
a tax-exempt, nonprofit which advocates for the availability
of clean, safe, well-designed public restrooms. The group
came into being in 2004, illustrating that Americans were
“Johns come lately” to the cause as previously,
in 2001, 17 nations had participated in a Toilet Summit
in Beijing.
A more recent summit in Singapore declared that toilets
should be beautiful, clean, hygienic, functional and accessible.
As a matter of interest, Singapore, with 650 square kilometers
of land, has 29,540 public toilets, while New York City,
with 831 square kilometers, has just 1,178 public facilities.
The Singapore summit also declared Nov. 19, World Toilet
Day, (has Hallmark heard about this?) and also fashioned
a somewhat inappropriate motto, borrowed, I believe, from
Churchill’s war slogan, “Never Give Up.”
I suppose this may refer to the fact that poor, unsanitary
or inadequate facilities, while posing a serious health
hazard, have been a taboo subject in most cultures.
For middle-age or pregnant women, parents with young children
or those with congenital defects, going shopping, visiting
or commuting to work can be an ordeal.
Potty parity is used, for the most part, only in places
that experience high demand periods, resulting in long lines.
Some cities have found unisex restrooms, each a complete,
small bathroom with its own lock and availability indicator,
a good answer as they offer inherent potty parity.
New York City, long envious of the excellent public facilities
available in cities like Paris, has tried in vain to install
similar toilets. There were fears they would be used as
homeless hangouts, or that people would read or phone while
on the porcelain throne, or they could not be made secure
or handicapped accessible. As a result, America’s
major city still suffers from the sad reputation of having
no place to go when you gotta go.
Jean Cherni is founder of Senior
Living Solutions, a retirement advisory service. Contact
her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds, Branford
06405.
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