The World According to Nick
My take on Software, Technology, Politics, and anything else I feel like talking about.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Do They All Have to Have Couches Too? 

New York City has passed a law requiring public venues to have more women's bathrooms (H/T to The Agitator):

To the women of New York City, who like many of their sex in so many places have suffered long lines to answer nature's call, relief is on the way. To the women who have ducked into the men's restroom to avoid embarrassment, the City Council has heard your woes and acted.

The council this week unanimously passed legislation -- dubbed Potty Parity by New York's ever-vivid tabloids -- that establishes a 2-to-1 ratio for women's restrooms in new public venues including, bars, restaurants and concert halls.
...
"It's a women's rights accomplishment," said council member Yvette D. Clarke (D), the bill's chief sponsor. "It goes to the quality of life that we are able to enjoy in the city."
...
The "bathroom equality" bill brings New York City in step with Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania and California, which have adopted similar laws over the years.

First of all, I find it interesting that having twice as many women's restrooms as men's is considered to provide equality. Maybe it's the fact that I had to take 7 trimesters of math at MSOE... but I would think equality would mean a 1-1 ratio. At least a few New Yorker's are sensible:

This being New York, some women were less than impressed. "It's ridiculous they had to pass a law," said Veronica Castro, a regular club-goer who works in the financial industry in Midtown. "It's something they [venue owners] should have done out of consideration for the customer."
...
Robert Bookman, a lobbyist for the New York Nightlife Association, which represents bars and clubs, said the legislation targeted too many locations. "No one has reported to us any complaints, from bars or even clubs," he said.

Maybe if women didn't go to the bathroom in packs, then this could be avoided. It's not a social occasion ladies... it's a bodily function. You don't see couches in a men's room do you?

Comments:

Is it so much a question of our "going to the ladies' room in packs" as it is one of our not being able to pee standing up (on the sides of buildings, in bushes, whereever) so that we need different facilities to accomodate us than males? That minor difference aside, I don't know that this sort of legislation's going to be anything more than a drain on businesses - much like the ADA regs that were required on a federal level years ago.

  Posted at May 31, 2005 10:58 AM by Blogger Be  
Aah, well - I'm from Boston where guys very rarely buy drinks for girls. I guess the pack mentality thing must be a regional thing based on that.

  Posted at May 31, 2005 2:49 PM by Blogger Be  
I believe that, traditionally, the couches in women's restrooms were to accomodate breast-feeding mothers.

  Posted at June 03, 2005 2:18 PM by Anonymous Anonymous  
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Name: Nick
Home: Wauwatosa, WI, United States

I'm a Software Consultant in the Milwaukee area. Among various geeky pursuits, I'm also an amateur triathlete, and enjoy rock climbing. I also like to think I'm a political pundit.


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