This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, September 2, 2010
SEX Where Do You Pee?
Posted by Ned Lannamann on Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 3:40 PM
Washroom signs are very telling of the way societies construct gender. They identify the male as the universal and the female as the variation. They express expectations of gender performance. And they conflate gender with sex.
It also got me thinking about local bathroom signs. It seems like we're a city of unisex bathrooms—almost every place I can think of has a unisex room. What are some of the more interesting men's/women's room signs around town? I'm coming up blank.
1
I llke Dots' three bathroom signs: It. Doesn't. Matter.
I've also spent some enjoyable evenings watching people try to remember which symbol they are (circle with arrow or circle with cross) at the Aalto Lounge. Good times.
...yeah, I don't get out much.
I've also spent some enjoyable evenings watching people try to remember which symbol they are (circle with arrow or circle with cross) at the Aalto Lounge. Good times.
...yeah, I don't get out much.
2
I don't understand their first complaint: "They identify the male as the universal and the female as the variation."
The icons are the same size and right next to each other. How can they claim one has greater emphasis?
The icons are the same size and right next to each other. How can they claim one has greater emphasis?
3
Oh, and - the popular dance club in Killeen, Texas, back when I was in the Army, had the male and female symbols on their bathroom doors. And NO ONE THERE KNEW WHAT THEY MEANT. There was always a small crowd outside of the restrooms, giggling nervously while they waited for someone to come out, so they'd know which meant "men" and which meant "women."
4
I'm a fan of the vaguely feminist implications of the signs at Mayas Taqueria (where there are steps at the door of both bathrooms):
MEN
STEP DOWN
WOMEN
STEP UP
MEN
STEP DOWN
WOMEN
STEP UP
6
Ah, pac beat me to it! I've always thought the signs at Dots were clever.
The Maiden has (had? Someone told me they closed and I haven't been able to over and confirm) a mermaid and a merman on theirs.
The Maiden has (had? Someone told me they closed and I haven't been able to over and confirm) a mermaid and a merman on theirs.
8
@Reymont The standard dude symbol is a stick figure. The standard dame symbol is a stick figure in a dress. They're not really complaining about the semiotic efficiency of the arrangement, just the idea that the dude symbol is the baseline.
10
The Side Street's on 34th and Belmont say "both" and "either" which prompted this very Portland bit of chalk graffiti: "*HEART* the co-ed bathrooms. Unfortunately, they still prop up the idea of a gender binary." (or something to that effect).
Sometimes I wish my neighborhood would just chill the fuck out.
Sometimes I wish my neighborhood would just chill the fuck out.
11
@Carl
Yes! You're right! The only reason I remember which one I am consistently is because when I was a nursing major, I memorized it by telling myself the Y was like an X with a penis dangling down. I passed Anatomy and Physiology with an A average... And then became a food critic. Go figure.
Yes! You're right! The only reason I remember which one I am consistently is because when I was a nursing major, I memorized it by telling myself the Y was like an X with a penis dangling down. I passed Anatomy and Physiology with an A average... And then became a food critic. Go figure.
13
Unisex bathrooms are always the way to go. Separating bathrooms by gender will always end up alienating people who fall outside of the gender binary. And since, like the bathrooms at Dots point out, it doesn't matter, why bother?
16
@Bruce Wang
Yes, it doesn't matter. But obviously "matter" is the best bathroom at Dots:
1. It has an awesome mirror.
2. It the only one big enough to have sex in.
3. Those two seem related and, no, I've never had sex there.
Yes, it doesn't matter. But obviously "matter" is the best bathroom at Dots:
1. It has an awesome mirror.
2. It the only one big enough to have sex in.
3. Those two seem related and, no, I've never had sex there.
17
@Bruce Wang -
Well, the answer to your question seems simple, so I'll try to post it?
Because more customers would be offended at sharing the restroom with someone of the wrong gender than would be offended at being forced to conform to only two genders.
I should admit that I am baffled by the concept of more than two genders. Just look down, people.
Well, the answer to your question seems simple, so I'll try to post it?
Because more customers would be offended at sharing the restroom with someone of the wrong gender than would be offended at being forced to conform to only two genders.
I should admit that I am baffled by the concept of more than two genders. Just look down, people.
18
@ Reymont - there's many people who consider themselves somewhere along a spectrum of genders; some even feel gender neutral. Which bathroom should a pre-op transwoman use? What about a man who identifies (and dresses) as a woman?
I'm glad you know what's between your legs, though.
I'm glad you know what's between your legs, though.
19
"I should admit that I am baffled by the concept of more than two genders. Just look down, people."
Looking down'll help you figure out your sex (male, female, hermaphrodite...), but gender refers to social roles and doesn't necessarily correspond with anatomy.
Looking down'll help you figure out your sex (male, female, hermaphrodite...), but gender refers to social roles and doesn't necessarily correspond with anatomy.
20
I ate at the Rogue Brewery in Newport a couple of years ago and found the restrooms labeled "barley" and "hops". I don't recall if there were icons as well, but I do know I couldn't tell which was which. I had to ask the bartender.
21
Rogue in NW Portland also has "barley" and "hops". It's always amusing to get a seat where you can see people going in and out of the bathrooms, wondering where the hell they're meant to go. Of course, anywhere else in town if you were watching that, people would think you were a pervert...
22
@ Patrick A. Coleman
I agree! But I like 'matter' because I am made of matter! Maybe a 'matter' and 'anti-matter' would be funny washroom signs. And then I can call the toilets 'reaction chambers'?
I agree! But I like 'matter' because I am made of matter! Maybe a 'matter' and 'anti-matter' would be funny washroom signs. And then I can call the toilets 'reaction chambers'?
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