# Why gender-separate single-occupancy public restrooms?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 4, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125 "2011-04-04T07:01:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/41 "2011-04-06T16:16:53Z")
How come you can see into the cubicle easily in US public restrooms? It’s very disconcerting. I mean they tend to be kept better than their Irish equivalents but I like a bit of privacy.
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### Author:  [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/42 "2011-04-06T16:29:03Z")
> [@missred](#):
>
> Get with the times, **Bob-O**. The ladies’ room has those too. 😃
And in Scotland there are whisky-flavoured McCondoms.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/43 "2011-04-06T16:33:51Z")
> [@LouisB](#):
>
> INow the men’s room had the old trough type urinals which were lined shoulder to shoulder by urinating men while the stalls were mostly unused. I happened to be standing at the trough when the door opened and a woman called out, “Close your eyes, guys; we’re coming in.”
Am I the only one who doesn’t want to be shoulder to shoulder to two guys pissing with their eyes closed?
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### Author:  [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/44 "2011-04-06T19:23:36Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> How come you can see into the cubicle easily in US public restrooms? It’s very disconcerting.
No idea, but I agree wholeheartedly. The first time I stepped into a bathroom in Ireland I almost squealed with glee. See also: locks that indicate when they’re locked, so you don’t have to play guessing games about whether or not a stall is occupied.
> [@Darth\_Panda](#):
>
> Am I the only one who doesn’t want to be shoulder to shoulder to two guys pissing with their eyes closed?
Personally, I was amused by the fact that it was the men, in the men’s bathroom, with their penises exposed, who were being instructed to close their eyes.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [April 6, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/45 "2011-04-06T22:26:37Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#):
>
> Personally, I was amused by the fact that it was the men, in the men’s bathroom, with their penises exposed, who were being instructed to close their eyes.
This. But hey, what do I know? :dubious:
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/46 "2011-04-07T07:11:17Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> How come you can see into the cubicle easily in US public restrooms? It’s very disconcerting. I mean they tend to be kept better than their Irish equivalents but I like a bit of privacy.
Just to assure you a bit: we’ve been conditioned not to look. It’s not that easy unless you are specifically trying.
I don’t know why they build the way they do unless it’s cheaper. In school, I used to think it was for supervisory purposes (as you could be doing something you’re not supposed to by hiding), but that doesn’t hold for anywhere else.
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### Author:  [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/47 "2011-04-07T07:19:13Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> Just to assure you a bit: we’ve been conditioned not to look. It’s not that easy unless you are specifically trying.
Hmmm, I dunno, seemed like quite a salient gap to me.
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### Author:  [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/48 "2011-04-07T13:41:37Z")
I was in a store recently, I think it was a Sams Club, that had three bathrooms. They were labeled Men, Women and Family.
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/49 "2011-04-07T13:46:26Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#):
>
> I was in a store recently, I think it was a Sams Club, that had three bathrooms. They were labeled Men, Women and Family.
The family that shits together, fits together.
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### Author:  [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/50 "2011-04-07T14:41:47Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#):
>
> How come you can see into the cubicle easily in US public restrooms? It’s very disconcerting. I mean they tend to be kept better than their Irish equivalents but I like a bit of privacy.
Better ventilation?
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### Author:  [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/51 "2011-04-07T14:53:09Z")
I think the less than completely closed in stalls are to discourage people from gay sex, homeless people from squatting, etc in the stalls in places where that is a problem.
When I cleaned the bathrooms at a fast food restaurant off the interstate, the Mens room generally had more piss on the floor but not normally trash of any kind, while the womens room always seems to have trash on the floor -bits of toilet paper, tampon and gum wrappers, etc. We did have garbage cans in each stall for tampons/pads, and air hand dryers instead of paper towels.
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### Author:  [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/52 "2011-04-07T16:00:12Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> Just to assure you a bit: we’ve been conditioned not to look. It’s not that easy unless you are specifically trying.
No, not that men were being instructed not to look at each other–that they were instructed to close their eyes because women were coming in to use the stalls in the men’s bathroom.
> [@JoelUpchurch](#):
>
> I was in a store recently, I think it was a Sams Club, that had three bathrooms. They were labeled Men, Women and Family.
“Family” bathrooms are generally designed for parents of any gender with babies or young children who need to be accompanied. They’re usually roomier, to accommodate one or more people standing around, and include a changing table.
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/53 "2011-04-07T16:37:50Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#):
>
> Cite that most women hover instead of sitting on the seat?
Not most, but from what I’m gleaning from [these Google search results](http://www.google.com/search?q=women+hovering+over+toilets), it’s certainly a lot.
[Here’s a poll](http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-toilets-sit-or-hover) with a lot of women responding “hover”.
[And, in the UK](http://www.cleanseats.com.au/stop-squatting-over-toilets.html):
> [@](#):
>
> Experts say 85 per cent of British women squat or hover over toilet seats when using public conveniences, as opposed to sitting down.
[Also:](http://books.google.com/books?id=MQq_V6I8B6oC&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=majority+women+women+hover+toilet&source=bl&ots=okDr9cDABT&sig=xxNwv3DEdBJ6geObGLvhz-iHW90&hl=en&ei=2uedTbv-LMrpgAeZkbG8BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=majority%20women%20women%20hover%20toilet&f=false)
> [@](#):
>
> Surveys suggest a majority of women “hover” …
>
> [snip]
>
> … around 80% of women hover …
**THERE’S YOUR CITE. BOOYAH!**
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### Author:  [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/54 "2011-04-07T17:38:06Z")
> [@elmwood](#):
>
> [Here’s a poll](http://www.yelp.com/topic/san-francisco-toilets-sit-or-hover) with a lot of women responding “hover”.
1.) Informal polls like that are notoriously unreliable. There are also a number of people who (I hope) are answering facetiously, e.g. “I hover over public toilet seats. I’ve heard the horror stories about catching things like herpes and crabs and pregnancy!” (Poe’s Law and all that.)
2.) Your SaniSeat quote is from a company that markets seat covers. Not exactly an impartial source, and their stat is completely unsourced. (Just “experts say.”)
3.) In the anecdata department, I know a lot of women, and to the best of my knowledge none of them hover. When seeing feet in a stall next to me, or looking under doors to see which stalls are occupied, I’ve also never spotted anyone whose feet suggest they’re squatting instead of sitting.
> [@](#):
>
> **THERE’S YOUR CITE. BOOYAH!**
4.) Regardless, this is hilarious.
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### Author:  [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/55 "2011-04-07T20:23:31Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> …I don’t know why they build the way they do unless it’s cheaper. In school, I used to think it was for supervisory purposes (as you could be doing something you’re not supposed to by hiding), but that doesn’t hold for anywhere else.
For some reasons the toilet stalls in the boys’ lockerroom (& _only_ the ones in the lockerroom) lacked _doors_ :eek:. Every other set of toilet stalls had doors, including the ones in the girls’ lockerroom (or at least that’s what the girls said, I never saw for myself). It wasn’t that the doors were removed, by looking at the dividers you could tell they never had doors attached in the first place. I’ve been in other mens’ restrooms that lacked toilet stall doors. Usually at places like public parks, beachs, and the odd rest stop.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-gender-separate-single-occupancy-public-restrooms/577125/56 "2011-04-07T20:28:27Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#):
>
> 3.) In the anecdata department, I know a lot of women, and to the best of my knowledge none of them hover. When seeing feet in a stall next to me, or looking under doors to see which stalls are occupied, I’ve also never spotted anyone whose feet suggest they’re squatting instead of sitting.
>
> .
Lesbian politicans with a wide stance might be throwing off your observations 🙂
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