Talking Points: should female toilets be twice as big as male toilets?

Published: 
Compiled by Jamie Lam
Listen to this article

Hate it when you can’t talk back? Well, you can with Young Post. Have your say and share with students around Hong Kong

Compiled by Jamie Lam |
Published: 
Comment

Latest Articles

UN World Food Program director rings the alarm about food shortage in Haiti

Hong Kong Ocean Park to be the new home for Passion, 2-metre-long crocodile

EU not ready to fight climate change dangers, warns environment agency

Local commute goes green: Hong Kong launches first hydrogen-powered bus

Marcus Chung, 14, S.K.H. Lam Kau Mow Secondary School

I always see long queues outside female toilets. This is a huge inconvenience. If we had bigger female toilets, it would shorten the waiting time for users, as well as their boyfriends, husbands, and other family members. However, if the only solution to this problem is for developers to make male toilets smaller, we would be back to square one: then there would be a long queue outside male toilets.

Tiffany Lau Tin-ching, 12, King Ling College

I think female toilets should be larger than male toilets because the two genders have different needs. Females tend to use the toilet for longer so the number of people outside a restroom can really build up. You see very long queues, especially in shopping malls, where most shoppers are females. Having larger toilets for females would easily fix this problem.

Kelly Wong, 15, Workers’ Children Secondary School

I think there should be bigger toilets for females than for males. For example, women who are having their periods would spend more time in the toilet. This can lead to long queues outside a female restroom. Also, some women do their make-up in the toilet. This can cause overcrowding, making life very uncomfortable for the users.

Compared to females, men spend much less time in the toilet. So having smaller restrooms won’t be a big problem for males.

Amy Lau Chau-wai, 14, S.K.H. Lam Kau Mou Secondary School

Yes, of course. Nowadays, we see a lot of women lining up outside toilets in shopping malls. Some of them have to wait for more than 20 minutes to use the facilities. This is a waste of time, and it can be easily avoided if female toilets are expanded. Such a move would benefit men, too, because it means a shorter waiting time for boyfriends, husbands, fathers, and brothers. I also think there are too many men’s restrooms so female toilets should be twice as big as male toilets.

Xu Chun-ying, 17, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School

I rarely see any queues outside male toilets, while female restrooms are always crowded. It’s not fair that females have to face such inconvenience in public places such as shopping malls and even restaurants. Research suggests that women take 2.3 times more time than men when using the toilet. So I believe female toilets should be double the size of male toilets. However, it may be difficult to implement this idea because of people’s traditional beliefs and business profitability.

In our next Talking Points, we'll discuss:

Should parents be forced to set aside money for their children’s education?

We are now accepting your answers for this topic. To take part, email your answer with your name, age, and school, along with a nice, clear selfie (make sure it’s not blurry), to [email protected] by lunchtime on Monday. Don’t forget to include “Talking Points” in the subject line.

Edited by M. J. Premaratne

Sign up for the YP Teachers Newsletter
Get updates for teachers sent directly to your inbox
By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy
Comment