Along with those tough questions in life like, “Does GOD exist?” or “Are we here as a result of evolution or Adam and Eve?” or “Why do young famous people keep dying?” or “Is Sarah Palin’s slutty daughter really trying to open her own PR firm?,” is another unanswered age-old question that plagues me: Is it ok for women to pee outdoors?
Thoughts on this topic are mixed. I have many friends who will say, “Yes, absolutely! When nature calls you do what you gotta do.” And then there are women, like me, who believe in cleanliness and self-respect, and feel that peeing should only happen indoors. However, there are exceptions. For instance, if you are at a crowded frat party where the bathroom line is ridiculously long and the bathroom doesn’t have toilet paper anyway and there is vomit on the floor, then it’s ok to pee outside (yes, this was the one time I caved and actually peed outside). But, as a general rule, I think that women should pee indoors. And yes, I realize this many seem sexist to some since men pee outside all the time and no one scoffs at them, but that’s because of two important reasons – 1. Men have genitalia which makes peeing outside quite easy and convenient for them and 2. Society has come to expect this type of animalistic behavior from most men (sorry male readers!). And even if women peeing outside was an accepted practice, ladies, why would you want to do it? Unless you bring your own toilet paper with you, you have to drip-dry. And if you don’t carry around hand sanitizer, how do you clean your hands??? A women’s private parts are sacred and sensitive and need to be taken care of properly. Preferably in an enclosed, clean, private room.
Some may also argue that holding in your urine is bad for you and can sometimes cause UTIs, so if you have to go you should, no matter where you are. However, I think it is ok, and downright necessary, sometimes to hold it in. I’ve held it in during long car trips, while waiting on an impossibly long line at a bar, and when I’m “in the zone” at work and don’t want to get up and break my concentration. Besides, how many times are you in a situation where you really need to get to a bathroom and can’t? I’m betting, not often.
If we don’t nip this practice of women peeing outside in the bud, soon we are all going to be popping squats on the sidewalk or on our neighbors lawn like it’s no big deal and before you know it, we are living in a toilet! So ladies, next time you’ve gotta go and you don’t want to wait for a toilet, ask yourself, is a toilet really the type of world you want to live in?
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January 6th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
haha I will admit after a night of drinking I will pretty much pop a squat anywhere…behind a baseball stadium, near a stop sign, behind a 5th avenue street sign…..really after a night of beers it is either that or accident time…and no I refuse to use the ones in Starbucks…have you seeen the people who walk in there?
January 6th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
What’s the big deal? It’s a necessary body function. Probably shouldn’t do it on someone’s lawn, wouldn’t let the poodle do it there, after all, but in a public area, but not in a crowd, it’s OK with me. And what about on camping trips or really long wilderness hikes?
January 7th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
That’s one of the reasons I don’t camp, Tom. No bathrooms. I can’t handle it.
January 7th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
i have peed outside aaaa lot. i used to camp a lot and worked doing outside woods stuff so i didn’t have a choice. the actual pee part doesn’t matter as much to me as the fear that someone is gonna sneak up behind me and catch my ass all willy nilly in the air. oh and doing it on a windy day on top of Loveland pass in CO isn’t recommended. just sayin’.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
i had to pee SOOO bad one night waiting for my ex to pick me up at the subway stop at 95th in Chicago late one night that i just went behind a trash can. and let me tell you that area is scary in the daytime…even worse at night…i just knew i was going to be shot at
January 27th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
It happens. What you are writing about is extremely sexist, and although you acknowledge that, I still can’t understand your other reasoning. The reason that men can do it easily and conveniently? Well that is clothing, honey– put on a loose skirt, trapdoor flap, or even pull-apart crotch type pants (lots of Asian children wear these) and it is no problem. Otherwise, it is society’s acceptance. Why should men get away with it and not women? Both human genders have the same urgencies; especially women who are pregnant or have given birth and have difficulty “holding it in” for long periods. If it is declasse for one gender, then it is also for the other gender. In both cases, to be respectful it should be emergencies-only when public.
My feminine “parts” might be delicate but they aren’t that sensitive and I don’t need a toilet to be able to pee (etc).
Women limit themselves to things (like you & camping) because of this, so I don’t believe it to be a small issue. It prevents women from going out and being adventurous—hiking,biking,dry scuba diving,climbing. I have to work outdoors a lot and it is not a “choice” unless I want to be miserable everyday and get UTIs. Therefore, sexism here better not apply.
Dripping dry is of no major consequence, sometimes it happens to men too. Most of the times my hands stay clean because I don’t have to touch anything.
As for a great, modest alternative, try a SheWee or a Freshette or P-mate paper funnel. No clothing is removed, stand up if you want, and don’t have to wipe– simple, cheap, awesome– I love it.
–Girlie who will go outdoors today, just for you!