This blog has been in the back of my mind for a long time . . . What is proper bathroom etiquette?
Based on what I've been told, guys have some strict bathroom policies. For example, if at all possible, you do not take the urinal next to another guy or next to the door. (For that matter, you don't sit next to a guy in a movie theatre if at all possible.)
Is the same true for women's bathrooms, even though we have stalls? Should a woman always pick a stall based on its location from other occupied stalls? I usually do. Do women have a favorite stall? My brain is programmed to always go into the 4th stall at work. I never use the handicapped stall, unless it is the only one available. However, I know some people only use the handicap stall.
And what about talking in the bathroom? Why do women have to have these long conversations in the bathroom? When I enter the bathroom, I dread getting caught up in a conversation. Usually by the time I go to the bathroom, it is kind of urgent. I don't have time for a long conversation. And what is the deal with talking to someone while they are going to the bathroom? That's just awkward too. My mom used to do that to me. She'd be talking to me on the phone while she was in the bathroom. Gross!
In my opinion, the only time talking is appropriate is when you are washing your hands at the sink. You are there for a couple of seconds and if someone is right next to you, it seems rude not to talk. But don't have an hour long conversation. It's the bathroom. Get it, get out. That's my philosophy.
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Yeah, there's a sort of unspoken bathroom etiquette for the men's room.
If you're familiar with Sniglets (a name coined by comedian Rich Hall describing any word that should be in the dictionary, but isn't), you might have heard one I always remember called the P-spot: the invisible spot on the wall in front of a urinal where a man stares when he pees so as to avoid accidentally looking at other guys peeing.
It's a weird phenomenon, but in a men's room, you almost always see the general "skip one" urinal rule demonstrated.
The "skip one" rule is not quite as common for theater seats, but it's almost always used when the movie-going party is composed of only males.
The guy seating code at movie theaters has changed (at least for me) as I've gotten older. In my teens, the primary reason for NOT sitting next to your guy friend is that you didn't want to give off the "wrong" impression to everyone else. ...not that anyone would think that anyway. So, you gave yourself one seat spacing. That more or less evolved into not sitting next to a guy friend because you wanted to be more comfy. Now that I'm older, I'm fairly indifferent. I enjoy having the little extra leg room a spare seat next to me provides but overall, it doesn't change my comfy level all that much. And I enjoy holding my guy friends hands throughout a movie (especially those really scary scenes), so I'm not worried about giving that "wrong" impression anymore.
My bathroom pet peeve is people who use cell phones in a public restroom. It's bad enough having to use a public restroom, but do we really have to share the fun with people who aren't even in there? And no offense, but if I'm the one on the other end of the line, please just tell me you'll call me back before entering (or don't pick up if you're already in there).
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