Sunday, Nov 28, 2010 14:01 ET
"Toilets": The hidden meaning of toilets
An expert explains what you didn't know about toilets -- from safety to cleanliness to gender politics
By Schuyler Velasco
http://www.salon.com/books/nonfiction/?story=/books/feature/2010/11/28/toilet_interview (http://www.salon.com/books/nonfiction/?story=/books/feature/2010/11/28/toilet_interview)
Why do we have so much trouble talking about toilets? After all, our anxieties about bathrooms can dictate the way we live our lives: We stress out about people overhearing our bodily functions in public restrooms; cab drivers in New York City have to pee in bottles for lack of bathroom breaks; women in some third-world countries must dehydrate themselves during the day to avoid relieving themselves in the presence of men. But try to bring up defecation or urination in a conversation, and all you'll get are jokes, disgust or awkward silence.
[...]
Gender issues related to toilets come up over and over again in the book. Should public toilets go unisex?
A public restroom has really become the last bastion of sexual segregation. And so, for good or for bad, it reinforces that separation. On the pro side, it's just inefficient in terms of the use of space to have a separation of males and females. And there are people who cross-dress in terms of gender, or who are in different stages of sexual transition. For gays and lesbians, the sexual threat of someone of the opposite sex is not as great as the sexual tension of someone of the same sex. So the founding notion of this absolute separation is not true biologically, culturally or erotically.
A potentially interesting article that doesn't actually say much of value. Which is kinda sad, since there's a lot to be said on the subject.
But these caught my eye.
QuoteSitting is a cultural phenomenon, and it developed in royals as a way of giving deference and honor, as in thrones.
The chair has snatched our body. We think we "use" the chair, but actually we've been conquered by the chair.
The squatting position, on the other hand, causes the body to be arrayed in a very optimal way for expelling feces
Wrong on so many counts.
The pedistal was preceeded by the latrine shed. A chair was more convienent, firstly because latrines stood over pits, so it was necessary to have a secure place to position yourself, secondly, it's easier to keep your clothes clean, thirdly, it's more comfortable, especially if you fancy a smoke and a read of your paper while you take your time.
As for the squatting position being optimal, rubbish.
QuoteIn many parts of the world, the gender differentiation and the burden on women is just overwhelming. In some places, when they use public latrines, including open fields, women have to go before daylight.
And, ah, which parts of th world would they be then? The problem with these types of claims is that many will want to believe them. Since none of us can claim to have been everywhere, the claim is almost impossible to refute.
I choose to refute. Quite simply because it is utterly prepostrus.