The construction within culture of man and woman is nothing to grow offended by or defensive about. The bathroom sign is simply a sign hanging on a door to mark costumers into the right facility. If the author was arguing that we should have bathrooms that both men and women use than so be it, but I found her argument to be that these markers are in fact discrimination, which I find overdramatic and absurd.
There are in fact, two and only two, genders in the world: man or woman. Now if you are confused because you were born a woman but later felt/became a man or vise versa than simply plan accordingly. If you were born into this world as a women but “became” a man or feel like you are a man than stick up for you intense convictions and go into the men’s restroom and that’s that. If you are so bold to walk around acting and proclaiming your manhood (but really were born a woman) then why in the world does your boldness stop at the bathroom door?
I have found plenty of locations offer a family restrooms, open to anyone who may need it, thus providing a safe place for any confused distraught persons looking for a bathroom.
Now as far as the pictures themselves on the doors: what would you suggest? Seriously, there are only so many options of indentifying which facility is for which gender. Sectioning the facilities into gender is by no means wrong or discriminating it is only a bathroom stall with a toilet that you spend literally seconds in to relieve your body. If for some reason you are so offended by the signs themselves then I suppose you can either shake the system and use opposite stalls or just never relieve yourself.
Men no doubt dictate society, and although that is changing every passing day, it nonetheless is a well observable fact. Why must women take offense to that? Women, you have the full right and ability to achieve anything you desire especially here in America so just shut up and go where men go if you so feel the need. Women are naturally physically weaker than man, NEWSFLASH that is just reality, if you are so “offended” by that… then waste your life trying for some pointless reason to be the strongest woman in the world. Or just accept you are a woman and that society may classify you differently, because you are different than a man, and move on with life, just use the bathroom and move on.
So what they put a dress on the women’s bathroom sign and not one on the men’s?? it is just a sign and it is just a dress. It does not mean that we, as women, are stupid, incompetent worthless dolls because we are portrayed with a dress.
Culture manipulates the roles of women and men through countless ways but to go as far as depicting a bathroom sign as a secret force of cultural manipulation is just silly. These signs, none of them, are hurtful or detrimental. They are reality so just go to the bathroom.
I don't think the author is claiming that you necessarily need to come up with new words to replace "men" and "women," or that "men" should be written in pink and "women" in blue, or that we should see signs with men in dresses and women in tuxedos. I think the point, here, is that gender stereotypes pervade American culture. Stereotypes are when an assumption about a particular group of people gets applied to the entire group, based on a few individuals. Not all men like football, and not all women like shopping. These stereotypes aren't so detrimental in themselves, but when you prescribe assumed actions and outcomes to them is when you run into problems. Football is thus equated with a certain type of man, who thinks beer and yelling and chest-bumping his buddies are the only meaningful parts of life. Shopping is equated with the type of woman who only cares about pretty pink sparkly things, squealing over cute shoes, and talking loud and fast over all her girlfriends. You see what I'm getting at? Stereotypes are never just about the one thing they target. They imply a perceived sense of being that is often offensive. A man can enjoy football and enjoy cooking dinner with his wife. A woman can enjoy shopping and enjoy her job as a litigator. But the complicated, nuanced version of people's likes, dislikes, and hobbies are never coupled with stereotypes; stereotypes stand alone to make a broad assumption about a whole group of similar people (men, women, Christians, Muslims, black, whites, and so on.)
ReplyDeleteI hope that helps you understand a little more where I see the blog author is coming from.
Thank you for taking the time to write all that.
ReplyDeleteI do completely understand where your coming from and do know what exactly stereotypes are. It was late when i initially wrote the blog and my lack of politeness may have come across uneducated. But i just got a little worked up because i have been hearing alot of women complain about how we are "discriminated" against, which i do no disagree with in some aspects but i simply was not in the mood to truly put for a large heart felt effort into a blog about bathroom signs. Although i do COMPLETELY realize it was far more about just bathroom signs and it was more about society and the detriment in may cause to genders by simple signs like these.
I understand that there are only two genders, I just think some bathroom signs (especially the ones featured on the blog) could be less stereotypical. Writing 'men' and 'women' on the doors is fine, but hanging a thong or showing a woman pinned against the door is a bit much.
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