Comfort room culture - part 2

Ladies, we have to reexamine our comfort room culture. Some time ago, I wrote about our local CR practices, and while I received positive feedback from those in agreement, sadly, even after the lapse of time and all sorts of building development, not much changed in practice. Old habits die hard. And they’re all the more diehard when we’re not willing to change them. I’m writing about our comfort room culture for the second time, in hopes that we could eventually respect each other in this accord.

The other day, I went to a comfort room of a mall and was pleasantly surprised to see a short line had formed at the entrance, applying the first come, first served rule that public comfort rooms in Manila and in other countries follow. What happens is that a single line is formed at the comfort room entrance and the first in line takes whichever stall is emptied, at any stall in the line of stalls. The line goes on this way, and whoever enters the comfort room, stands at the end of the single line. This system is development from our local comfort room practices. Locally, we form separate lines for each stall, creating a crowded, disorderly atmosphere in public comfort rooms in malls and other packed places. That is the only system we seem to accept, though it is definitely not the only system acceptable. Forming a single line at the entrance would be fairer, more organized system for comfort room-goers. First come, first served.

Going back to my incident at the mall…I was pleased that a single line had formed at the entrance. We have finally developed our etiquette, I thought to myself. But it was not taken well by newcomers. I remembered the reactions of the surprised women. Some wondered why we were forming a single line, and the rude thing was, even though we explained to them the system, they insisted on cutting to the front and forming a separate line to particular stalls. For a while, the single line stood its ground. But like witnessing people jump off a sinking ship, as more and more ladies refused to stand at the entrance, I was mortified to see – right before my eyes – that the line dismembered and the ladies went on to form separate lines at each stall. It was like going backwards, and reverting to old, bad habits.

It made me wonder, did they not see the sense in forming a single line and letting those who get in first, be served first? Who are we to say that one’s bladder is fuller than the other’s? Or that one’s relief is more urgent that the other lady’s? Must we settle for disorganization and rudeness when there is a fairer system we can follow? There can be a certain relief in change, and especially in changing this practice of ours.

This comfort room culture is definitely worth overhauling in the ladies comfort rooms because the CR is…well, it’s undoubtedly important in public places. Women arrive at toilets in groups, and they apparently need to relieve themselves more often than men do. A comfort room is also sanctuary for teary fits, bursts of emotion or immediate beautifying. As users, if we demand that the public comfort rooms be neat and clean, we ourselves should keep them neat and clean. We shouldn’t squat on toilet seats, leaving muddy prints for the next user, or worse, simply forget to flush. And it’s always best to bring your own tissue!

On that note of toilet sanitation, I just read online about World Toilet Day 2007, which was commemorated last November 19. Sounds like a joke, but it's serious. Over 2.6 billion people live without any form of toilet, and have to use fields, river-banks, beaches, rubbish dumps or city streets, says the World Toilet Organisation.

So let’s appreciate that here, we have access to modern, well-equipped toilets. We can begin by changing our comfort room culture. Finally.

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