June 06, 2020
If parks and open spaces are beacons of nature’s abundant beauty, their toilets are always an unworldly hideous mess. Blue-lit, mud-strewn and barely plumbed, they’re a means to a very necessary ending. Most people prefer to use the loos at pubs or nearby cafes, with all their fancy mod-cons, like toilet paper, doors that lock and dry toilet seats. Indeed, some councils, such as my own, have long relied on private toilets to fill the u-bends in their own provision.
Public Toilets Are An Equalities Issue. Why Dont We Care?
During lockdown, though, cafes are closed, pubs are shuttered and public facilities have been entirely bolted shut, boarded up and clo….no. No, they haven’t. From May 13, English councils have been allowed by the government to open their public toilets.Related... Is It Okay To Pee In A Park During Lockdown? You Can Meet In The Garden, But What Happens When You Need The Loo? The caveat was that the councils provided stricter cleaning regimens and enforced two-metre queues. That isn’t happening, though, because too many local authorities can’t see sense. The Local Government Association (LGA), which acts on behalf of all councils, makes no promises either. “People should not assume toilets will be open and plan their outdoor activities accordingly,” a spokesperson told The Times.
And I wonder if the LGA has equalities impact-assessed this indecision? Or weighed up the public health issue a lack of toilets presents? Or even taken into account the needs of councils’ lowest-paid workers? 
Toilet provision is a feminist issue. Due to menstruation, bladder issues brought on by pregnancy and childbirth and, really simply, the way we wee, Women require more toilet access than men. Lack of adequate toilet provision in the past meant women couldn’t leave their homes for long, something which campaigners in the Victorian era called the “urinary leash”. Its effects live on, thanks to architects and town planners forgetting women’s needs.
This is also an issue for disabled people, 250,000 of whom cannot use standard accessible toilets. Disabled women have undergone medically unnecessary surgery simply to be able to leave their homes. And as Dame Tanni Grey Thompson, a wheelchair user who is incontinent, put it in a Lords debate in February: “I am in a vulnerable position when I catheterise myself. I need to wash my hands before and straight afterwards; it is even more difficult when I have my period.” Flaws in the accessible toilet scheme mean that anyone with a disabled-access-only key can enter, regardless of whether the toilet is vacant or engaged.Unlimited time outdoors is one of the few pleasures we have right now and the public – all of the public – deserves this time.And this was before lockdown. Women are now facing the brunt of the lockdown’s economic impacts. Disabled people have now been treated to the insensitivity of a suggestion that their disability could de-prioritise them for potential Covid-19 treatment. And now both groups share the indignity of being cut off from the outside world.
As ever, though, women’s and minorities’ concerns are the majority’s issue. Any implication that most people aren’t bothered by the lack of toilets is a load of crap. Everyone wees and poos, and if they can’t find a urinal or toilet to do it in, they’ll either have to head home or make do with what’s there.
Some are more up for heading home. Anecdotally, I’ve not seen one woman go public in her ablutions this lockdown. From personal experience, when I’ve been caught short on country walks and festival sites, stage fright ensues; the bleak embarrassment of showing your entire bum to a tree’s judgmental bark is enough to put anyone off. It’s also worth remembering that when catcalling is on the rise, what risk might onlookers present to half-nude women? Sexual predators get off on this stuff.
As for all the men emptying their bladders and shaking off the hose in full sight of any and all passersby, I don’t want to think, for one second, that the majority actually enjoy debasing themselves and BREAKING indecent exposure laws in the process. I’d also prefer to live in a world where using the nooks and crannies of our parks as number-2 drop-off points is beyond any human desire. Yet, that’s our world now. In the new normal, residents next to areas of otherwise natural beauty shouldn’t have to put up with an influx of daytrippers’ waste. But what else was going to happen when the public was given the paradoxical command? Go outdoors as much as you like, we’re told, but don’t count on the toilets being open. 
One almost-impressive workaround, fly-weeing, is where a bottle is used to decant a man’s urine. These were once the preserve of low-paid Uber drivers on non-stop shifts around unfamiliar cities, or festival revellers too drunk to negotiate staticky portaloos in the dead of night. Now these last-ditch, chucked-in-a-ditch options punctuate the streets closest to our parks, to be cleaned up by low-paid council workers. I’d wager that, between these hot bottles of yellow waste and the mounds of faeces in the parks, these workers would rather be spraying down toilet locks and enforcing queues. 
Councils refusing to re-open public toilets – and acquisitioning the private ones they’ve outsourced their responsibilities to – is an equalities issue. It’s also becoming a public health issue. Unlimited time outdoors is one of the few pleasures we have right now and the public – all of the public – deserves this time. Our green parks and open spaces deserve to grow unpestered by booze-soaked manure and, most importantly, those who have the unenviable task of cleaning up all the muck and dross deserve better. Sophie Wilkinson is a freelance journalist.Related... Yes, Coronavirus-Related Fraud Is A Thing. Steer Clear. Why People Love Ikea Enough To Queue. And Queue. And Queue. Is It Okay To Pee In A Park During Lockdown?
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.