Public stalls America vs. Europe

[acidnudy 97]

I remember on my honeymoon in the US of A i was baffled by the sight of the stalls in shopping malls, hotels...... 

They're not fully closed. I mean there are gaps between the walls & doors. Basically anyone standing in front of the stalls can look inside.

I went to three cities, and it was the same everywhere. Now, I'm not complaining, I wouldn't mind someone watching me.

 

But here in Europe I'm used to having stalls that are fully closed. So no one can watch in from outside.

 

Where do the open stalls in the States come from? 

And doesn't this lead to many people being afraid of going on them? Not everyone likes pee like we do, so for some it must be a put off i guess?

 

Just something that crossed my mind, and wanted to post it here.

[CON2H4 650]

6 minutes ago, acidnudy said:

Where do the open stalls in the States come from? 

I am to recall hearing it's so they can check for drugs. Stupid I know, but there we go

Reminds me of this sketch though. 

https://youtu.be/bLNnwN62_8w

[acidnudy 97]

7 minutes ago, CON2H4 said:

I am to recall hearing it's so they can check for drugs. Stupid I know, but there we go

Reminds me of this sketch though. 

https://youtu.be/bLNnwN62_8w

Thanks, does seem like an explanation that fits in with the States...

Well that sketch actually sums it up XD 

[esbatmad 24]

In Europe not only do they have open urinals in coed restrooms where the women just walk right by, but they also have open urinals right on the streets for everyone to see! Not sure why small gaps in our stalls would surprise you.

[acidnudy 97]

5 hours ago, esbatmad said:

In Europe not only do they have open urinals in coed restrooms where the women just walk right by, but they also have open urinals right on the streets for everyone to see! Not sure why small gaps in our stalls would surprise you.

Well, a urinal outside doesn't seem weird to me as it's used at parties and festivals, so using them in a city is the same in my opinion. 

And as your standing in front of them, as on your picture, bystanders don't really see anything...

As for colleges I have no idea. This doesn't seem like something that's common in my country. Everthing seperated in men's & women's toilets.

Stalls are most likely used for something else then peeing. As I'm going to the toilet to poo, I do like my privacy. 

Edited August 3, 2022 by acidnudy

[gldenwetgoose 21,498]

Just an observation- from experience in the UK and from everything seen on this site and other sources from around parts of Europe- I’ve never encountered any joint gender public bathrooms which are signed as open to both ladies and gents.

There are the cases of course where ladies may choose to enter the gents to use a cubicle due to excessive queues for the ladies. And I’ve been in places with gender neutral facilities- all have which have been a closed four-walled room with a single toilet in it.

And for info the term coed is totally meaningless anywhere outside the US. 

[acidnudy 97]

@gldenwetgoose thanks for describing what i meant to say in clear language 🙂 I've never been so good at actually getting to the point I mean when I have to write it down...

[Takashi96 1,077]

12 hours ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Just an observation- from experience in the UK and from everything seen on this site and other sources from around parts of Europe- I’ve never encountered any joint gender public bathrooms which are signed as open to both ladies and gents.

There are the cases of course where ladies may choose to enter the gents to use a cubicle due to excessive queues for the ladies. And I’ve been in places with gender neutral facilities- all have which have been a closed four-walled room with a single toilet in it.

And for info the term coed is totally meaningless anywhere outside the US. 

Coed is also pretty much meaningless outside of the 60s. 

[DoctorDoctor 1,391]

On 8/3/2022 at 4:40 AM, acidnudy said:

IWhere do the open stalls in the States come from? 

 

The most common explanation I hear is cleaning the floors.  It is far easier to mop the floor completely when there is a gap at the bottom of the doors and walls.  Cleaning the floor along the partition wall (both sides of each) is slow and much more difficult when it contacts the floor.

No a great situation for the user, but much easier (faster, inexpensive) to clean. (But that doesn't always mean they get cleaned well).

[Takashi96 1,077]

On 8/3/2022 at 4:48 AM, CON2H4 said:

I am to recall hearing it's so they can check for drugs. Stupid I know, but there we go

Reminds me of this sketch though. 

https://youtu.be/bLNnwN62_8w

That's the explanation I've heard as well. So you can watch for people congregating in the stalls to do drugs. They weren't always like that. It's more post 90s safety theater. 

[Alfresco 11,637]

On 8/3/2022 at 10:12 PM, gldenwetgoose said:

I’ve never encountered any joint gender public bathrooms which are signed as open to both ladies and gents.

In continental Europe, notably Italy and I think France, I have been in cafes which have one entrance to toilets which are not separated by gender.  In these, they had urinals and cubicles and the ladies were walking past men stood at urinals to reach the cubicles and everyone stood together at the sinks to wash their hands behind the urinals with mirrors facing to the urinals.  This was the way it was set up and was expected behaviour rather than women using the gents.   I thought that if they were going to do that, they would at least put the urinals beyond the cubicles so ladies didn’t have to pass the urinals, but no, in each case that I saw, the urinals were first.

On 8/3/2022 at 9:40 AM, acidnudy said:

They're not fully closed. I mean there are gaps between the walls & doors. Basically anyone standing in front of the stalls can look inside.

I had the same reaction as you when I found this.  The doors in some are basically a screen across the middle so that when stood you can see over them (well, certainly I can as I am over 6ft tall) If you walked close, you could choose to look in.  Also, the doors have gaps at each side and the partitions finish way above the floor.   I found it a bit weird definitely.

In the UK, it is common for the wall partitions to stop maybe 6 inches above the floor to facilitate cleaning, but you would have to get down low to see anything underneath and the doors generally meet the edges with an overlap. In the USA, they were way above the floor and even just walking into the room it was easy to see a row of feet with trousers around ankles.

Having said that, it is not so bad as some Asian countries where the doors don’t go to the floor and they have squat toilets, so if you were low enough you would see exposed anatomy.

[secretfan 106]

On 8/7/2022 at 2:54 AM, Alfresco said:

In continental Europe, notably Italy and I think France, I have been in cafes which have one entrance to toilets which are not separated by gender.  In these, they had urinals and cubicles and the ladies were walking past men stood at urinals to reach the cubicles and everyone stood together at the sinks to wash their hands behind the urinals with mirrors facing to the urinals.  This was the way it was set up and was expected behaviour rather than women using the gents.   I thought that if they were going to do that, they would at least put the urinals beyond the cubicles so ladies didn’t have to pass the urinals, but no, in each case that I saw, the urinals were first.

So the women could see the guys dicks out at the urinals too? Did they look?

[Alfresco 11,637]

9 hours ago, secretfan said:

So the women could see the guys dicks out at the urinals too? Did they look?

For the most part, men were stood facing the urinals so their backs were to the people passing behind them to the cubicles, but yes, if the ladies made the effort to look in the right direction then they could see the men's dicks.  Some probably did, but most just walked past and ignored the men.

It was quite nice to be stood at the urinal and listen to the ladies hissing and tinkling in the cubicles though.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Alfresco