Potty Parity

If you go somewhere and the lines for  the men’s and women’s room are equal:   that is potty parity.   It is not always based upon the number of stalls but based upon the number of users waiting for those stalls.  If there is only a single toilet, then everyone waits in the same line.

You get off a delayed flight and most passengers make an immediate bee (or is that pee) line for the  nearest comfort station.  The pregnant women, mature ladies with bladder leakage issues, and mother with squirming toddlers all stand in line, crossing and recrossing their legs.  The toddlers even hold their crotches as if that might help the desparate wait to inch to the front of the line  where relief is just a flush away. Meanwhile the men breeze in and out of the men’s room and if they even think of the women waiting in line, it’s a superior smirk that it is better to be male.

This same scenario plays out at intermission for a concert, play or ice skating show.

The  only times I have seen the tides turn is at a sporting event such as hockey, basketball, or boxing where the number of men often outnumber the  women.  Then we breeze in and out of the ladies  room while the men shuffle patiently in line:  the older men with prostate issues, the younger men who have rented too much beer in too short a time, and anyone with a bladder infection.

Today at Pollack Winery in Greenwood Virginia, there was a single line for the two unisex bathrooms.  Strictly a first come, first serve, next available opening type of arrangement.  When I came out of the bathroom, the line had grown to five men  who all were grousing because they had to stand in line.  They kept looking at the unmarked doors as if there must be some mistake–one of those doors had to be the men’s room.  Sorry gents, it was strictly next in line has dibs on the first open can.

It’s not often I see potty parity but today I did and it was a fine sight to see.