At first when I read the "Go Where?: Sex, Gender, and Toilets" blog, I felt like I was reading an article about inequality among genders or the unfairness that women face. Regardless, I kept on reading mainly because of the images of the different bathroom signs for men and women of all over the world. It was interesting to see how other countries viewed men and women. It was like a cultural experience through toilets. Although, I was annoyed by the little remarks that were italicized and below the images. Ironically, those little remarks caught my attention the most, simply because I wanted an explanation for how restaurants choose their men and women bathroom designs and why? But I was really disappointed to find out that they were just "clever" remarks from the writer. I also felt uncomfortable reading this blog, because it felt like I was targeted just for being a guy. The tone also enhanced how I read this article. The way she wrote "male as the universal and the female as the variation" was a bit chilling. Its as if she's saying that men had this unnecessary power over women and that it was not right.
But all and all I do agree with some of what Marissa wrote, which is how differently men, women and trans genders are viewed. To start with, some of the signs didn't really make sense and some were a bit offensive. To me, the apples were the ones that didn't make sense at all. But before we get to that, there was this one sign that had a red apple and the other with a yellow apple, I mean since when do apples have genders? The most offensive sign has a man "in a mobile position" and a woman who "looks like she's pinned against the wall". The man looks so free when the woman looks like she is about to get raped, or at the very least, held against her will. But if you're optimistic, you can say that she's just getting ready for a different sexual position.
For the most part, these signs were really creative! I was annoyed by her because she never said anything good about some of these signs, she never judged them for their creativity. It's obvious that there has always been status differences between men and women in the world. History has filled our schema with stereotypical materials or symbols relating to each gender. It's common to see these differences, but what's important is how we understand them and how we deal with them. I wouldn't blame most of the owners for what they did, because most of these signs we could tell which restroom belongs to which gender without thinking twice about it. So before we can change restroom sign, you should change our own perspective of each gender. But then again, if men and women were to reach perfect equality, then how are we to tell the difference between bathrooms? Maybe we should just have a unisex bathroom, that way problems for trans genders would disappear! But that's just ludicrous, for safety reasons obviously. So what should we do? Well just sit back and enjoy the signs or question them. I mean they don't bite, they're there to help you with your bladder emergency right? On and my favorite sign are the kids crossing their legs with eager looking faces. And the one with the blue guy climbing over to peep at the girl was hysterical!
I do agree with the point you made about the author being a little too passionate about women being a variation of men. It isn't really fair to almost blame all men for some of society's views. But she did mention some ways men are generalized. Like that they are all seen as predatory. There are some good points about that, so it's not all about women! :)
ReplyDeleteNice post. It makes sense that in a post abut stereotypes, you may feel stereotyped against, especially as a male. But put yourself in a woman's shoes. If you were using the restroom, and you looked up to find a guy hanging over the edge, smirking at you, obvious that he's aroused by you doing something as common and natural as relieving yourself, how would you feel? I'd venture to guess you wouldn't be amused. She's not asking for attention, and she's not in a sexually charged position. But she gets put in one, against her will or desire, based on a lewd, selfish male who doesn't care about her privacy. Maybe that perspective helps you to understand the issues with that last sign you mention, as well as the author's anger at some of the pairs of signs. What does it mean that a red apple = female? Are we defining women by their menstruation? By their use of makeup to appear more attractive? What are the assumptions driving these stereotypes?
ReplyDeleteGood post! It was interesting for me to read about how the article is seen from a guy's point of view. I don't blame you for feeling targeted, I didn't particularly like the author either.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way when i started reading, like it was just a post about gender inequality. I found your light hearted approach very refreshing. I agree that some of the signs were offensive but i also agree that they are just signs, there to help you in a time of need. The authors clever comments at times annoyed me but overall your response to her was equally witty and appropriate.
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