Life Women: Lean In and Poop at the Office, Already - Page 3

siberian khatru · 05-01-2013, 07:32 AM

http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/04/lean...e-already.html

Lean In and Poop at the Office, Already
BY MAUREEN O'CONNOR

Public restrooms induce a certain low-level anxiety in users. There are etiquettes to observe; puddles to dodge; sounds to ignore; dilemmas surrounding flushing. But the anxieties of the public restroom need not induce shame, because they are also universal. We are all at the mercy of public restrooms — supermodels, world leaders, regular gals. Shared toilets are equalizers. Sit or squat, we do it in solidarity.

Nonetheless, the Daily Beast's Laura Dimon (daughter of Jamie) reports that "the last office taboo for women" is "doing your business at work." Really?

[W]omen report going to different floors, or walking roundabout routes from their desk to the bathroom. And some say they’ve experienced the “standoff,” when two or more women are in the bathroom, but all decline to do their business until the others leave — instead waiting awkwardly, in silence, writhing in emotional and physical discomfort, until someone surrenders.

These anxieties are not exclusive to females. In seminal guide "How to Poop at Work," Brian Moylan, a man, also describes the "unspoken shitting toilet" phenomenon. Still, women are widely believed to experience greater pooping anxiety than men. Dimon continues with the sad story of one such woman:

Jill, 28, a Vancouver native now working at an insurance company in New York City, said that if she absolutely can’t avoid the act entirely, she lifts her feet off the ground and props them up against the side of the stall to avoid the “chance that the person next to me would recognize my shoes and forever hold in their heads that I was the girl” defecating in the ladies’ room.

How is that even possible? Wouldn't the angle and leverage be all wrong? I'm picturing Jill pooping like a ping-pong show. Her effort is unnecessary: Nobody peeks under the edge of a stall to identify a pooping woman by her shoes. Nobody. (Several Cut staffers note actively avoiding identifying details in that context.) If anything, Jill's actions are counterproductive: If I had reason to believe a woman was pooping in a contorted pretzel position like Jill's, I would stick around to ask for yoga tips. But back to Dimon:

The office environment takes this anxiety and kicks it up a notch. “The workplace still remains men’s space. Women may be more hypervigilant of not breaking rules of gender by monitoring their femininity even more,” [sociologist Samantha] Kwan says. Harvard anthropologist Kimberly Theidon agrees. “Office space is already pre-determined as a masculine space and women enter it,” she says, adding that there is a “long history of women trying to manage their bodies in their workplace,” and a struggle to not be identified with or associated solely with their bodies.

This logic doesn't make a lot of sense, because the workplace that requires a woman to poop right in front of a man is pretty rare. (Ally McBeal's co-ed bathroom notwithstanding.) But since Dimon managed to find a few neurotic females terrified to the point of contortion at the prospect of pooping at work, let's make sure we make this really clear: It is okay to poop at work. Nobody is judging you. Nobody cares. Nobody gives a shit about your shits — we're too busy shitting in our own stalls.

Go poop in your office bathrooms, everyone. It's what our feminist foremothers would have wanted. Every woman deserves a poop of her own.

(more poop links at the original)

Beef Supreme · 05-01-2013, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

No doors on the stalls when I was in Basic either. I'd get up at 2 am to take a shit.

Hell when I was in High School the locker room didn't even have stalls, much less doors. Just three shitters in the same room with the showers out in the open for all to see. You just had to get over it.

mikey23545 · 05-01-2013, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

I'm ok with killing a man.

I don't think I could push one out in public though.

Nope.

I've consulted with myself and I'm sure of it.

I'm a no-go on the public grunt-n-push...

This.

I think I cause intestinal disorders in myself by holding in shits that simply must be set free, but I have to wait until I am in the cozy constraints of my own homey shitter.

Then, often, I can't coax the snarling beast from its lair by waiting so long to try and free it from its foul constraints.

Fish · 05-01-2013, 08:41 AM

The average person shits out 410lbs of feces every year.

**ptlyon** · 05-01-2013, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

The average person shits out 410lbs of feces every year.

No shit?

Steron · 05-01-2013, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooge

When I poop in public, I try to make as big a splash as possible. I'm talkin the sound of dumping a sack of potatoes into a toilet while yelling out "mother of all that is not holy!"
Usually gets a chuckle or two, especially if I'm in the women's restroom.

Fritz88 · 05-01-2013, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefGator

I poop in the ladies restroom to try and help them become more comfortable with it.

Posted via Mobile Device

**HemiEd** · 05-01-2013, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

The average person shits out 410lbs of feces every year.

Holy shit that is over a pound a day.

Fairplay · 05-01-2013, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

[W]omen report going to different floors, or walking roundabout routes from their desk to the bathroom. And some say they’ve experienced the “standoff,” when two or more women are in the bathroom, but all decline to do their business until the others leave — instead waiting awkwardly, in silence, writhing in emotional and physical discomfort, until someone surrenders.

Fish · 05-01-2013, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Holy shit that is over a pound a day.

Actually, I was a little off. It's more like 360lbs per year...

Quote:

According to the book The Truth About Poop, people produce one ounce of poop for each 12 pounds of their body weight.

Read more at Men's Health: http://blogs.menshealth.com/health-h...#ixzz2S3MrMBsz

**notorious** · 05-01-2013, 09:03 AM

Some people are more full of shit than others.

**Mr. Flopnuts** · 05-01-2013, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dartgod

I see what you did there.

**Mr. Flopnuts** · 05-01-2013, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooge

When I poop in public, I try to make as big a splash as possible. I'm talkin the sound of dumping a sack of potatoes into a toilet while yelling out "mother of all that is not holy!"
Usually gets a chuckle or two, especially if I'm in the women's restroom.

****, that's nice, but I go for the assplosion. I want it to sound like Hiroshima up in that mutha****a.

listopencil · 05-01-2013, 09:14 AM

I look forward to weighing myself before and after a poop. If it happens to be a big poop I can estimate the weight. That's how I keep score.

BlackHelicopters · 05-01-2013, 09:15 AM

Haven't taken a dump at work in 15 months.

listopencil · 05-01-2013, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theelusiveeightrop

Haven't taken a dump at work in 15 months.

The elusive deuce drop?

05-01-2013, 07:32 AM
siberian khatru 21st Century Schizoid Fan Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Gates of Delirium Casino cash: $2634950	Women: Lean In and Poop at the Office, Already http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/04/lean...e-already.html Lean In and Poop at the Office, Already BY MAUREEN O'CONNOR Public restrooms induce a certain low-level anxiety in users. There are etiquettes to observe; puddles to dodge; sounds to ignore; dilemmas surrounding flushing. But the anxieties of the public restroom need not induce shame, because they are also universal. We are all at the mercy of public restrooms — supermodels, world leaders, regular gals. Shared toilets are equalizers. Sit or squat, we do it in solidarity. Nonetheless, the Daily Beast's Laura Dimon (daughter of Jamie) reports that "the last office taboo for women" is "doing your business at work." Really? [W]omen report going to different floors, or walking roundabout routes from their desk to the bathroom. And some say they’ve experienced the “standoff,” when two or more women are in the bathroom, but all decline to do their business until the others leave — instead waiting awkwardly, in silence, writhing in emotional and physical discomfort, until someone surrenders. These anxieties are not exclusive to females. In seminal guide "How to Poop at Work," Brian Moylan, a man, also describes the "unspoken shitting toilet" phenomenon. Still, women are widely believed to experience greater pooping anxiety than men. Dimon continues with the sad story of one such woman: Jill, 28, a Vancouver native now working at an insurance company in New York City, said that if she absolutely can’t avoid the act entirely, she lifts her feet off the ground and props them up against the side of the stall to avoid the “chance that the person next to me would recognize my shoes and forever hold in their heads that I was the girl” defecating in the ladies’ room. How is that even possible? Wouldn't the angle and leverage be all wrong? I'm picturing Jill pooping like a ping-pong show. Her effort is unnecessary: Nobody peeks under the edge of a stall to identify a pooping woman by her shoes. Nobody. (Several Cut staffers note actively avoiding identifying details in that context.) If anything, Jill's actions are counterproductive: If I had reason to believe a woman was pooping in a contorted pretzel position like Jill's, I would stick around to ask for yoga tips. But back to Dimon: The office environment takes this anxiety and kicks it up a notch. “The workplace still remains men’s space. Women may be more hypervigilant of not breaking rules of gender by monitoring their femininity even more,” [sociologist Samantha] Kwan says. Harvard anthropologist Kimberly Theidon agrees. “Office space is already pre-determined as a masculine space and women enter it,” she says, adding that there is a “long history of women trying to manage their bodies in their workplace,” and a struggle to not be identified with or associated solely with their bodies. This logic doesn't make a lot of sense, because the workplace that requires a woman to poop right in front of a man is pretty rare. (Ally McBeal's co-ed bathroom notwithstanding.) But since Dimon managed to find a few neurotic females terrified to the point of contortion at the prospect of pooping at work, let's make sure we make this really clear: It is okay to poop at work. Nobody is judging you. Nobody cares. Nobody gives a shit about your shits — we're too busy shitting in our own stalls. Go poop in your office bathrooms, everyone. It's what our feminist foremothers would have wanted. Every woman deserves a poop of her own. (more poop links at the original)
Posts: 69,116

05-01-2013, 08:41 AM	#33
Fish Ain't no relax! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2368919	The average person shits out 410lbs of feces every year. __________________
Posts: 47,456

05-01-2013, 09:03 AM	#40
notorious Supporter Join Date: May 2005 Location: Who knows? Casino cash: $3015884	Some people are more full of shit than others.
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05-01-2013, 09:14 AM	#43
listopencil Immanentize The Eschaton Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In Partibus Infidelium Casino cash: $2315880	I look forward to weighing myself before and after a poop. If it happens to be a big poop I can estimate the weight. That's how I keep score. __________________ Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has...it has stolen.
Posts: 55,889

05-01-2013, 09:15 AM	#44
BlackHelicopters Spiraling down the Drain Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dante's Ninth Circle Casino cash: $2800588	Haven't taken a dump at work in 15 months. __________________ "We're both part of the same hypocrisy, Senator, but never think it applies to my family." "Fredo. You are my brother, and I love you. But never take sides against the Family again. Ever." 2019 Adopt a Chief - Travis Kelce #87
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