Since ancient times, it has been an indisputable fact that men and women are different. The ancients said: "A woman is virtuous if she is not talented", which shows that in feudal society, the status of women is low. However, with the progress of the times, women have stepped out of the home and joined the society, becoming an important force in promoting social development. However, when they walk down the street in high spirits, ready to make a big difference, they are often plagued by a real problem: long queues to go to the toilet! Why is it that there are always long queues in the women's restrooms, while the men's restrooms are often crowded? Are women really so "grinding"? Or is there a deeper reason behind this? Let's find out.
If you want to talk about the history of the women's toilet, it's really not long. Before the 19th century, there was no concept of public toilets in cities. At that time, the streets were full of garbage, the stench was stinking, and people were "convenient" everywhere. As for the women, they basically stay at home as housewives, and they have to go home quickly to buy vegetables on the street, so how can they have the leisure to wander outside.
However, as the Industrial Revolution progressed, the city took on a new look. In 1851, at the Universal Exposition in London, an Englishman named George Jennings showed the world's first public toilet. For a penny, people can experience this novelty. It is said that more than 800,000 people queued up to pay just to find out, including curious ladies.
However, women are still skeptical of this "new invention". Lifting up one's skirt in front of the public? This was simply unimaginable "deviance" for women at that time! Therefore, the public women's toilet was almost unpopular at that time.
It was not until the 20th century, as more and more women went out of the house to work, and "shopping" became a fashionable pastime for women, that public women's toilets gradually became popular. It's just that, with it, is a long line at the door of the women's restroom.
According to some statistics, women spend 1.5 to 2 times more time in the toilet than men. Why is that? Just think about it: the man walks to the urinal and pours thousands of miles, very chic; As for women, they have to go into the cubicle and close the door, take off their clothes, wipe the toilet seat, and then put on their clothes and open the door and come out.
In addition to physiological factors, in large shopping malls, department stores and other places where women gather, the pressure on the women's toilet is even greater. The girls also like to go to the toilet together, chatting while queuing, and this team is even better. But in the final analysis, it is because most public places have the same size of toilets for men and women, which is obviously unreasonable. As far as the picture is taken, for the same size of space, the men's toilet can hold 12 urinals plus 2 pits, while the women's toilet can only put 10 pits. Most people go to the public toilet to relieve their small hands, so if you calculate it, the queue time for the women's toilet will naturally be long.
In order to solve the problem of "out of the queue" in the women's toilet, people from all walks of life are also racking their brains. For example, in 2010, a university in Shaanxi Province launched a "female standing urinal", which is said to save water and electricity in addition to alleviating the queue in the women's toilet. Unfortunately, female compatriots said that they were not used to this "standing posture" at all, so it did not become popular. There are also "gentlemen's toilets" designed to allow women to enter the men's toilet from the other end and use the middle compartment to improve space utilization. There have even been attempts at "genderless toilets", but they have not solved the problem well.
In fact, to cure the root cause, we have to start by increasing the number of women's toilets. In the last century, the United States began to implement the "Toilet Equality" law, requiring public buildings to add women's toilets. The famous Grand Central Terminal in New York has converted a men's restroom near the waiting hall into a women's restroom. Countries such as Singapore have also begun to build more women's toilets in densely populated parks and convention centers. In China, several female college students in Guangzhou have also launched a performance art campaign of "occupying men's toilets", calling for the ratio of male and female toilets to be adjusted to 1:2.
Thankfully, at the end of 2016, China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a new version of the Design Standards for Urban Public Toilets, which stipulates that the ratio of male to female toilets in crowded places should be 1:2 or larger. This has undoubtedly brought good news to countless women who have suffered from "toilet difficulties".
However, due to the fact that women take a long time to go to the toilet, I hope that in the near future, the long queue at the door of the women's toilet will gradually be "shortened", so that female compatriots will no longer be "so difficult" to go to the toilet!
If you think about it carefully, a small toilet problem actually reflects the many inequalities in the development of social civilization. From not having a women's toilet to having one, from being as big as a men's and women's toilet to beginning to realize that there should be more women's toilets, which condenses the unremitting efforts of women to fight for their rights and interests, and also witnesses the continuous progress of social civilization.
Going to the toilet may seem like a trivial matter, but it is very important for everyone. It can be said that the "toilet revolution" is not only to alleviate queues, but also to allow everyone to enjoy public resources equally and promote social fairness and progress.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and toilet parity couldn't be achieved overnight. It requires the joint attention and efforts of the whole society. As Mr. Lu Xun said: "May the young people of China get rid of the cold air, just go upward, and do not have to listen to the words of those who give up on themselves." Those who can do things do things, and those who can speak up can speak up. There is a point of heat, and a point of light. Let us go hand in hand, start from the small things around us, make unremitting efforts for the simple desire of "going to the toilet is no longer difficult", and contribute to the promotion of social civilization and progress! Maybe one day, when we look back on the past, we will be sincerely proud and proud of these efforts.