2.27.2009

the harris fine arts center.

I cannot stand the sexism of this building.
The floor where I reside for at least 8 hrs. everyday has one men's bathroom. The closest women's bathroom is down 2 flights of stairs where there are 4 tiny stalls that are usually a little untidy from overuse. Right next to that bathroom, across from the drinking fountain, lies another men's bathroom.

The reason this astounds me is because %70 of the Visual Arts department is composed of females. Usually you have to wait in line, navigate your way through large portfolios perched against the wall, and be careful not to bump the girls lined up in front of the mirror fixing their makeup in order to use the facilities at all.

Every once and a while, you'll see a male enter or exit the bathroom next door.

It just seems ironic that I'm supposed to learn about effective design here all day long. I always think about it as I'm making the trip downstairs to the bathroom.

5 comments:

T K Barlow said...

Ya, but the girls bathrooms in the library are WAY better than the men's bathrooms. You could almost take up residence in those.

GrittyPretty said...

umm...back in our hfac days my girlfriends and i would use the men's room all the time. and we only got caught once. =) hope this confession scares the powers that be into righting the situation!

Miriam said...

One of the science buildings at the U had no female restroom that I could ever find.

Marie said...

The most efficiently designed women's bathroom I have ever seen is at the conference center: multiple, fully stocked toilet paper rollers, 2 entryways, tons of sinks, and stalls as far as the eye can see. It brings a tear to my eyes just thinking about it.

Carroll said...

Hey,
I know at the Temple the women's bathrooms trump the men's, Not that the women's are designed better, but they are much cleaner. they both start out clean but by the end of the day there is a difference. Cleaning the men's is such a joy! If any man reads this I plead with you- Don't ever spit in the urinal. Some one has to clean it!