Geeky Talks
Potty Tawlk
Dear Internet,
There’s a big discrepancy among my friends that makes me need to post a question to you. It’s of dire importance, naturally, as I wouldn’t waste your valuable, precious time if it wasn’t.
If there is a men’s room and a women’s room, both the exact same except the sign on the door, do you wait in line for a busy women’s room?
Or do you go to the men’s room?
I ask because once, as a very very large pregnant woman, I stood in line at Starbucks for ten minutes behind a mom with a preschooler and three old ladies while some woman decided to “drip dry” in the single ladies room. One man after another popped in front of the line, whipped it out, did their thang, and left leaving the very large pregnant lady, the three old women and the preschooler perplexed.
And also very stupid.
Since that day, I will not wait in line for a bathroom that I feel confident is cleaned often, contains no nasty urinal, and mostly almost exactly matches the one across the hall. With the caveot, of course, this does not, no ever, apply to a gas station…. Obviously.
So? What do you do? Hold it and wait? Or wiz and go?
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Hmm…If it is a single bathroom, yah. I would do it. ESPECIALLY IF PREGNANT.
If there are two stalls?
No.way.in.hell.
Unless I was very pregnant and had a friend who could stand in front of the door and explain.
Hold it and wait. I’ve never been in a men’s restroom, but my husband says they are the filthiest places on the planet. Of course, he’s kind of a germaphobe, so a misplaced piece of toilet paper might make him recoil in horror.
I hold it an wait. I’m too inhibited to use the men’s room.
One other thing. Sounds like Heather and I are married to the exact same man.
Even when I catch a brief glimpse inside the male washroom, I feel like I have to take a shower.
Boys have cooties
This is SO RANDOM. But, I totally had this dream last night that I went to drinks with a friend and found out midstream that I was using the wrong bathroom. So, I had to WAIT in there until all the men were gone. Which meant, I was away from the table a very very long time. I need help. Totally.
I would have to wait. I’ve thought about it, but I couldn’t do it.
In my personal case - it’s really a matter of need. How badly do I need to go? I live with all boys, dude. So it depends on “Eh, gotta pee… Hate the line” or “GETOUTTAMYWAY!”
Mens room!! IF I can either lock the door or work out a deal with another woman to guard the door. Absolutely! Is that bad….?
It depends. Like at church, I do it all the time because there is only one and a nice lock on the door. In more public places it has to have a lock on the outer door…(and be just a single bathroom, no stalls)...
it is too funny to walk out and have guys waiting in line! the looks on their faces is classic!
ever since I was at work waiting for the women’s to open up and a MAN came walking out. Yeah, I pee where I can.
Dude, totally go.
I cannot tell you how many times I have used the mens room, and I don’t even care if it DOES have a urinal. They still have normal stalls too!
I’ve never gone in to the men’s room to be before, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t. I did want to say, when you said, “One man after another popped in front of the line, whipped it out, did their thang, and left…” I first read it as “One man after another POOPED in front of the line…” I was like, “What? Men pooped in front of the women’s line?” Clearly I need to slow down a little when I read.
If the men’s room is a single-seater with an external locking door, and it’s a clean establishment with no scary men lurking about the restroom, I would do it… I would do it whether pregnant or not, quite frankly. If ya gotta go, ya gotta go!
I have nooooo problem using the men’s washroom.
If I were pregnant or drunk I would use the mens room.
If not, I would wait.
Well, I?ve used several men?s rooms in my day, (typically post-cocktail, pre-kids), and I have no problem with the whole man-space issue, the true governor for me is the filth level. Even the seemingly clean men?s rooms have an unmistakable urine smell. Yuk.
Eh… I’m pretty grossed out by most public restrooms, let alone the men’s rooms. Even during the last few months of pregnancy, when I needed to pee more often than I needed to breathe, I never crossed over to the dark side. I don’t see anything philosophically wrong with it if you’re bold enough, but I am not that woman.
If it is a single, I would whiz and go. If it is a multi-stalled bathroom, I would hold it and wait. I’m not gender biasis. I HATE all multistalled bathrooms.
I am so for using the men’s room. In fact, I’m usually the one making deals with the mother of the pre-schoolers to take turns watching the door for each other. If the door locks, then I don’t even need to make the deal, I just do it by myself. The looks on the men’s faces are usually pretty priceless but they almost always have good humor about the entire situation.
If I have a lookout, then I’d go. If not, probably not…unless I was about to burst. Peeing in a men’s bathroom would be far less embarrassing than pissing myself.
Men’s room.. that’s what squatting is for…
I have been into the men’s toilets so many times in my life - usually in pubs or on nights out where the ladies was full to bursting. They were often multi-stalled as well - just walk past the men at the urinals, being careful to keep eyes ahead, and lock yourself in the almost always empty cubicle. When I got to go, I got to go…
I’m nearly 35 weeks pregnant. I will pee anywhere. I commute via train and recently two of the three stalls in the women’s room were broken. FIVE women ahead of me in line. I recruited a woman to stand outside the men’s room while I went and then returned the favor.
Germy? Undoubtedly. But I grabbed a wad of toilet paper to open the stall door and flushed with my foot. Returned to the cleaner women’s room to wash my hands.
Before I was pregnant, I had slightly higher standards. I would only use the men’s room if it was a single bathroom at a place with reasonable cleaning standards.
I think it does need clarification that when we talked about this at Starbucks the other afternoon, we were EXPLICITLY referring to the type of bathroom where ONE person enters and locks the door behind them. One person per…PERIOD.
And yes, I would TOTALLY hop behind that door with the man sign on it. ANY day, ANY place…maybe even at a gas station (if I was desperate)!
Been there. Done That. Also pre-kids and under the influence. But If I had to go, I would do it again. As long as there is soap and water afterwards its fine, even with the urinals. Have even gone into the men’s room while men are in there. They are normally pretty courteous to women.
will use the men’s room when in need.
Why not? It’s just a potty. And if it’s a single, I really don’t see the difference.
On a related note: I stood in line at Ikea to use the bathroom while in labor and was pissed that nobody (including me) thought to give me cuts. I WAS IN FREAKING LABOR. Of course, I didn’t actually know that was what was happening… I just thought I’d eaten a bad cupcake or something. Still. If you saw a very pregnant woman at the end of a long bathroom line and every couple minutes she was going, “oh!” and clutching at her tummy, wouldn’t YOU give cuts?
Elaine: I give pregnant women cuts in line, sure! It’s only decent!
Men’s restroom or not: If I can lock myself in, and if I am desperate enough, sure!
*But I am biased in that I think men (in general) should NOT use the women’s restrooms!! I had to use the ladies room AFTER a guy walked out of it and it was not pretty…
OMG I always use the mens handicap restroom if available and all others are full!! besides I will take the mens handicap restroom over trying to cram all three of us plus stroller in the tiny stalls in the main bathroom!
I used to frequent this gay bar that didn’t have a women’s room, just unisex restrooms. It was the perfect bar otherwise so I got over myself, if you will. After that, I pee anywhere as long as I have a friend to stand guard. I have no shame - but I never get UTIs, either.
Of what use is it for me to lug around three little boys if it isn’t a ticket into the men’s room for a quick pee?
Uh, Yeah, I pee in the boys room all the time. Its just easier, and quicker.
jerseygirl89 LOL! I love it.. No shame No UTIs. That should be a tee-shirt.
And Elain, OMG, I was in Labor and someone didn’t let me use the potty, too! I didn’t know I was in Labor, of course, but dayam. Everyone just scooch along and let the pregos PEE.
ok, so if you’re pregnant and carrying a boy, don’t you get some kind of credit for using the boy’s room?
In my personal experience, men’s rooms are no more dirtier than women’s rooms. Chicks can be real pigs at times too. I don’t know about using the mens room alone, but if someone watches the door for me, I have no problem with it.
It’s amazing what you can use that baby bump for. I once moved an entire line of traffic back a little because we needed to get out of the line to take a different exit. I got out of the car and pleaded with the other drivers to nudge their cars back to make room for us. I just waddled a little more exaggerated because I wasn’t super huge yet. (I knew I was going to have to pee sooner or later and we had a long trip ahead of us!)
My point is, if you’re preggo and need to pee and the mens room is the only option, go for it, people understand and if they don’t screw em. Use lots of toilette paper.
A friend once told me (I used the mens room while out drinking long time ago) “That’s where the men GO, that’s not where they KEEP them!”
I’d use the boys bathroom if I really had to pee. When ya gotta pee, ya gotta pee.