Maybe it’s different in the women’s restroom, but I see attendants while the restroom is open all the time- and not in fancy restaurants. Casinos, Shea Stadium, airports, catering halls and highway rest areas. Some of them do the lotion and cologne thing, but all of them do light cleaning (wiping up spills, sweeping) and restocking paper products.
I actually just witnessed this same thing in a London public bathroom across from Westminster Abby. I was doing my thing at the urinal when this old woman jumped out from a door right behind me in order to stop someone from sneaking in without paying. Then she just causally walked back to her room. I am now scared for life! :eek:
Its not a matter of privacy per se, its just a matter of patient prefrence. People have some GLARING double standards when it comes to medical staff. Many people who wouldn’t bat an eye at a male obsterician for example get all freaked out over a male labor & delivery RN. I have seen more than my fair share of people getting squicked out about the gender of care providers. As I understand it there is pretty much zero permission in medical fields to discriminate on the basis of gender just because there is pretty much zero reason why anyone of any gender cannot understand the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc behind a given problem.
Also, performers can be gender specific even when it does not always call for it because entertainment venues often fall under the same sets of employment laws regardless of their entertainment value. Amusment parks for example can only hire a certain gender for certain areas of the park because they want things themed that way.
And I’d always thought it would be cool to visit Egypt until the moment I read this…
Oh, and it seems that I regularly encounter bathroom attendants in the Strip casinos in Vegas. Doesn’t strike me as unusual.
The only place I recall seeing bathroom attendants is at the House of Blues concert venue in Orlando. I assume their primary function is to keep people from lighting up or getting lucky in there, but they are nattily dressed and I’m sure that they’d accept tips. I’m male and so are they btw.
Cable Guy- “you’ve been working hard, take a break”
Once in Bangkok, there was a place near the train station that was a pay toilet/shower type thing- 2 baht or whatever. The lady taking the baht outside the entrance came into the men’s room while I was at the urinal and started cleaning the one two urinals away from me like it was no big deal- and the thing is it WAS no big deal at all- to me anyway, or to her.
The only place in the US I have seen an attendant is at a concert at the Tabernacle in Atlanta GA- a cool place with history, but kind of a dive, and seeing an attendant was a definite shock.
What was the original topic again?
When casting a show you are allowed to “discriminate” based on the role requirements, such as gender. Some employers, notably Disney Theme Parks, have taken the idea of “casting” further than employment regulators would like, but you get the idea.
Whats a Baht? You used the word twice so I’m assuming its not a spelling error. Or is it?
A Baht is the official currency of Thailand. According to Currency Exchange Table (Thai Baht - THB) - X-Rates there are 31.95 Baht to a U.S. Dollar.
Google was mine–then I checked out the page Si Amigo linked to–and decided against linking to it myself. Although, I was pretty sure what a Baht was from context.
Actually, it’s now about 35 baht to the US dollar. We’ve been having some monetary problems, and so ever since about last December, the offshore and onshore rates have diverged. All of the currency calculators will calculate the offshore rate, which is what you pay when you buy baht outside of Thailand. The real rate is 35, and that’s what you’ll get right now if you buy baht in-country.
Just like there are 100 cents to the dollar, there are 100 satang to a baht, but satang coins come only in denominations of 25 and 50 satang.
How about a place like Hooters? Could a guy apply there to be a waiter and then claim he was dicriminated against?
Read above, already mentioned the lawsuit involving Hooters. They settled.
I’ve never seen a female cab driver in NYC. Out in the boonies I saw one once, but that was more of a car service. It might be more of a self-selection thing than gender discrimination, though – I know I wouldn’t feel exactly safe working as a female cab driver.
They say cab driving is one of the more dangerous professions out there, so yeah that’s probably a self-selection issue.
I’ve seen that guy. I think I tipped him a buck. By the way, it’s Trumpps, with two P’s.
In my experience, it’s generally clubs of various sorts (dance, strip, etc.) that employ bathroom attendants, because otherwise they tend to have problems with illicit activity in the bathrooms. And illicit activity in the bathrooms means frequent raids by the cops. I’ve also seen unofficial attendants at sports arenas, usually in the form of a stadium employee who just kinda hangs around and watches for trouble.
I visited NYC with an ex-boyfriend and his rich parents a few years ago. There were restroom attendants in nearly all of the high-class places. It was totally bizarre to me. I thought “How stupid. I can get my own paper towel.” If I walked into a restroom with a male attendant I’d find another restroom.
Aside from an emergency, I wouldn’t visit a male gyno. That’s weird to me. If it is an emergency, I don’t care what gender the doctor is - just save me!
I heard that in some countries it’s common for female attendants in men’s bathrooms/lockerrooms/baths, but never the reverse.