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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Social ScienceSociology · 2 weeks ago

Why aren't public restrooms fully enclosed?

Don't know why I thought of this recently, but isn't it weird that restroom stalls in America have a foot tall gap at the floor and ceiling? I mean, how many times has a single mom been caught with her pants down when their toddler decides to play hide and seek! Plus, I think that would help provide privacy when someone decides to answer the phone while we're peeing...

Also, if public bathrooms were fully enclosed locking stalls, would you feel comfy it being unisex? In my head, the only thing being shared in that case, are the sinks.

(I don't want to hear the argument about transgenders using whatever bathroom. You can never tell if the same gendered person in the stall beside you is homosexual or not. From my research, sexual preference and biological differences don't play a huge role in predatory behavior.)

Update:

When it comes to waiting for an empty stall, there are locks with an "occupied/unoccupied" sign switch on them. If that were also in use, what would you think?

3 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 week ago

    Allegedly that huge space at the bottom of the door is make the stalls easier to clean but I don't buy that. European restrooms are usually clean and they manage to provide privacy. Have no idea why there's always a big gap at the side of the door either. 

  • 2 weeks ago

    they dont seem to bother me any

  • Anonymous
    2 weeks ago

    One time at the louvre, a bunch of us were waiting to use the stall. We all thought there was someone in it because it was closed. So we waited about 10-15 minutes. Finally, I decided to see why it was taking a guy so long so I pushed the door open. Apparently, it was empty all this time. If there were gap, we wouldn’t have waited that long for an empty stall. 

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