Roll on, big mama

[ornoth]

Ladies… I don’t mean to pick on you exclusively, but sometimes you are such hypocrites.

Let’s talk about the toilet seat, shall we? You expect male visitors to leave the toilet seat the way they found it: down, right? And woe to the hapless man who forgets even once!

Well, now let’s talk about the grim reality. The protocol in my house is that both the toilet seat and the toilet lid stay down. Yet how many times has a female guest left the seat down, but the lid up? Just about every one.

It’s common courtesy for a visitor to leave your house in the same state it was in before you arrived. So why is it so difficult for most women to honor the same rule you so vocally demand that men live by?

Let’s take another example: the Brita. In some houses, the Brita pitcher stays on the counter, full of room-temperature water; in others, it is found inside the fridge, where the water stays cold. I don’t go around putting your pitcher in your fridge, so why do some of my female friends self-righteously insist upon always leaving the damned thing out on the counter?

And the toilet paper… Given that the 51 percent of America that is female uses 87 percent of the nation’s toilet paper, one might expect them to predictably replace the roll in the same orientation they found it. Results indicate otherwise.

How about the shower head? Do you leave it pointed in the same direction it was when you arrived? And on the same spray vs. stream setting? And did you remember to set the tub/shower toggle back to the setting it was on before you arrived?

Really? You know what? Your sistren don’t.

I guess I’m beginning to see the value in having a guest bathroom. But irrespective of that, can we lose the double standard? You’re not gaining my respect by falsely accusing me of thoughtlessness, then turning around and engaging in the very behavior you condemn all of mankind for.

Comments

[awfief.livejournal.com]

My experiences:

1) The toilet seat. I don't care, really, although when having guests or a party I'll keep the lid down due to general ick factors (We keep it clean, but it's still a toilet!). If the lid and seat were down, I close both when I'm done. If the lid was up and the seat was up or down, I leave the seat down, how I used it. Mostly because it's very odd to walk into a bathroom where a woman just walked out of and see the seat up. "how did she go?" you wonder. *shrug* It's just a toilet seat, I don't see why guys don't just pee with the seat down, since after about age 6 y'all have pretty good aim.

Have you actually met someone who complains about the seat being down? I haven't. I think that's an artifact, really, something only comedi-Annes joke about.

2) The Brita is weird. Sometimes I'll leave a drink out if I'm going to have more, but usually not at someone's house, and certainly not without asking! And that only goes for things like soda, not milk.

3) As for toilet paper, your guests should not have to change your toilet paper. In my experience, men don't change the toilet paper (obviously those that live alone do!) so I don't pay too much attention. Generally, though, I'd reach for toilet paper and finish the roll. If I don't have enough (and I don't use that much!) then I'm more concerned about finding the stuff and using it than what direction it goes in. If I do, I finish, flush, wash my hands, and then replace the roll. In that case, it's been so long since I used the toilet paper that I have no idea what direction it was in the first place.

4) I don't leave the shower head in the same direction as when I arrived. I think your height has you on this one -- I could never get it properly because I can't see where it was. If it was pointed to a corner, though, I'd do it, because it would be obvious that the person wanted it in the corner, probably due to leakage or something. I definitely leave it on the same spray/stream setting. And the tub/shower toggle too (though Tony doesn't, for the record).

Can you recall when you've had someone complain about these things? A real person, not a jokester....

I get annoyed often when someone doesn't put something away, such as when they borrow a pen or scissors and don't put it back.

[dafyddcyhoeddwr.livejournal.com]

Toilet seat: My personal toilet default is close it. This developed from having a cat and not wanting said cat to drink from it, especially when I use some kind of tablet in there, especially when it doesn' turn the water blue (or green - I think I had a green one once). As usual, the habit has become ingrained, and it seems like a good one to keep that way.

Sadly, I've not had the opportunity to deal with the whole "relationship" issue with respect to toilets, or much of anything else, really. Or even guests ...

Brita: I don't drink water, filtered or not.

TP: Again, no experience. Personally, I believe that end-over is the proper way but it's not something I've much dealt with in other houses.