Female staff in men´s restrooms

[bengal-stripe]

Here in London almost all public restrooms have the notice that they might be attended by a person of either sex. Why have two attendants when one person is enough, sometimes an attendant will serve more than one restroom and drive from one to another. It will save taxpayer's money as well and that's good enough in my book.

 

[Just Me]

You're right in that if a man was in a femle restroom the women would most likely freak out and the man would risk being accused of something of a possible criminal nature.

I do not have a disagreement of having one gender clean both restrooms, though keep in mind that it is not "taxpayers" who pay their wages as they are employeed by a private company, unless it deals with rest stops on highways. What I do oppose is the notion that because they are women they are somehow entitled to special rights merely because of their gender of, which they would never permit men to exercise. Moreover, when we devalue a persons' right of privacy, where will it stop and who is to be the decision-maker of what further rights of privacy are to be dismissed? My right of privacy is no less just because I am a man than such would be for a women and each must be respectful to the other.

 

[LA Guy]

Moreover, when we devalue a persons' right of privacy, where will it stop and who is to be the decision-maker of what further rights of privacy are to be dismissed? My right of privacy is no less just because I am a man than such would be for a women and each must be respectful to the other.

Um, we're discussing *public* restrooms run by, in most cases, private parties for the convenience of their patrons, right, not the one in your house. You are not required to use them if they make you feel uncomfortable. In most cases, the facilities and running of the facilities conform to a community standard for decency. But if your ideas of decency differ, you are certainly free to not use the provided facilities (I personally don't use stalls where the doors have been removed to dissuade extra-toiletal activities.) It's a fact that the standards for women and men differ in this regard. An establishment could certainly have a man cleaning the women's washroom, but enough patrons would probably complain that this would change. Apparently, not enough guys are bothered enough by the presence of the cleaning lady, and the practice continues. As I see it, you have two courses of action: take it up with the cleaning lady, and make a fuss with her bosses if she continues to stay; or be a man, pull yourself together, and use the urinal directly in front of her.

 

[Just Me]

Oh? Well I am not sure where you come from, but last I checked the right of privacy is not automatically waved just because one is in a public facility (bathroom)...If that were the case it would be legal to put surveillance cameras in the restroom stalls, which it is not legal because the right of privacy is not waved.

Obviously you have no concern about your privacy and that cool...to each his own though something tells me you'd be singing a different tune if it were a gay guy standing there staring at you on the premise that you are in a "public facility and thus have no right of privacy"..... I however do have concern and believe that just because its a "cleaning person in a restroom" does not mean it is automatic concent to disrespect a person and their right of privacy.

 

[LA Guy]

Actually, that situation actually happened to me once. The guy actually approached me. I thought "Damn my luck. Why couldn't it be an attractive woman?" and said "Sorry, not interested."

Your comparison of this case to hidden cameras is misplaced though. It's more like the case of a topless beach. If you're offended, don't go. There must be other restrooms, right?

 

[Just Me]

My reference to cameras is not place... you presuppose that because a place is presumed to be "public" it voids the right of privacy a person may otherwise be entitled to have. Subsequently, on your premise, cameras would be allowed because the assertion you make is that no right of privacy exists in a "public place" be it presumed or actual. Fortunately however, the courts do no agree with your assertion and the people's protected right of privacy remains in tact.

Assuming that there is another restroom close by, why is it mine or any man's responsibility to use another restroom rather than the responsibility of the cleaning person to demonstrate professionalism and work ethics? The point I am making is that men consistently and enivetiably are forced to sacrifice a great number of things... sacrifices that need not be and do us no positive good in the end and this is just one example. Either we suck it up (no pun intended) and get over our [healthy pride] and right of privacy... or we cave in and give up. Where is the line drawn if we cannot have even the most basic respect in being able to use the restroom in private?

 

[LA Guy]

you presuppose that because a place is presumed to be "public" it voids the right of privacy a person may otherwise be entitled to have. Subsequently, on your premise, cameras would be allowed because the assertion you make is that no right of privacy exists in a "public place" be it presumed or actual.

No, you misinterpreted me. I wrote:

the facilities and running of the facilities conform to a community standard for decency.

thus, my counter-example of the topless beach (the norm in many European countries.) I've asked around, my office is adjacent to the Harvard Law school, and they love arcania like this over there, and it's pretty much the consensus that a constitutional challenge of the type you mention would be laughed out of court in this particular case. Oh, and laws do differ for private and public spaces. Washrooms open to the public fall under a wierd category, sort of like shopping malls and restaurants.

I'm not going to post to this thread anymore. It's getting absurd.

 

[Fernando]

Although I agree that the right of a cleaning lady in a men´s bathroom is something men don´t have the opposite way, I really don´t have a problem with it. Initially I had an etiquette decision problem. I didn´t want to be involved in a legal issue or in the best of cases I didn´t want to be rude to the cleaning lady. But personally, if the cleaning lady wants to stay inside that´s her problem. As someone in this forum said. Just hope she likes what she sees. In reality the embarrassing situation should be for the cleaning lady. That´s because ultimately I´m a guy using the guy´s restroom and I´m not doing something wrong, I´m just doing a natural biological function in the right place. But the cleaning lady is a women violating the guy´s privacy. And I think as "just me" said: she either should close the restroom completely so that nobody can use it, or she should leave. If she doesn´t leave then guys have the right to use the restroom. I mean, if we should accept the fact that we have less privacy than women, then at least we should exercise the right to use our own facilities when we want. It´s the cleaning lady the one who should decide either to leave or to stay. Not the guys.

 

[BigBear]

tell her to leave

 

[Bandwagonesque]

Originally Posted by BigBear

tell her to leave
Thread zombies and n00bs...

Usually it's diddy who does stuff like this...

 

[Connemara]

I'd curl a massive deuce and proceed to ask her for some Grey Poupon.

 

[Reggs]

She is working a horrible job that likely has horrible pay. Give her a break and wait until she is done, or find another bathroom.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Reggs

She is working a horrible job that likely has horrible pay. Give her a break and wait until she is done, or find another bathroom.

+100

This thread has some really ridiculous (and old) commentary.

 

[Toiletduck]

I actually discussed this w/ a lawyer uncle before, and in Hong Kong, women in men's restrooms are completely legal while men in womens bathrooms is can be sued for legal reasons.

 

[raley]

This is crazy, 4 years ago. Styleforum has been around a long time.