OPINION & EDITORIAL
Flushing out testosterone
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Also by Lindsay Mosher:
- Bucky says vote (October 25, 2004)
- Going that extra 26.2 miles (October 18, 2004)
- Behind a 'horrible' fixation (October 7, 2004)
- Technology takes odiferous route (September 27, 2004)
Related Stories:
- The problem with "America's pastime" (October 21, 2003)
- Entitlement Town (December 4, 2007)
- Why I love the Packers (January 19, 2004)
- Thumbs up to nukes (September 27, 2004)
- Time to watch your television habits (October 31, 2005)
by Lindsay Mosher
Monday, September 13, 2004
Of no interest to me, and much of the female population, are video games. Sitting in front of the television exercising my thumbs in a game of “Madden NFL” football just has no appeal. I couldn’t care less about making sure the virtual Packers record on Playstation matches up with the actual NFL season. Yet for guys it seems as though video games are one of the few things that can keep their attention for more than thirty minutes.
Not to mention, I could probably think of three hundred other things to spend my money on before dropping one hundred dollars on a hand of cards in a poker game.
Likewise, sitting around on the couch with a case of beer watching basketball is not on my A-list of Saturday night activities.
Not often will you find a group of girls lounging around trying to one-up each other in an argument over who can throw a better game of darts.
Despite my distaste for these noted activities, it is this undying desire for competition that seems to bring men together.
But just as you do not often see girls reveling in a sports game, it is pretty rare to see men going to the bathroom in groups. In fact, this is probably the last place you would see a group of guys mingling amongst one another.
It is telling that social norms vary between men and women because one sure place to find a group of nice ladies is in none other than the restroom. Although men think this strange, we women think little of our unusual habit. Never the less, it is an integral part of each and every one of our lives.
This is because for women, the bathroom goes beyond serving its purpose of necessity. It is not only a place to go and find that extra blush brush you have been hunting down or to check if you have food in your teeth, it is a place where women can come together without being weighed down by the confinements of testosterone.
For those of you who do not know, entering a women’s restroom can be an enlightening experience. As the saying goes, “everything is different behind close doors,” it can also be claimed that everything is different in the women’s bathroom.
Similar to a clubhouse, it is the place we can go to analyze and re-analyze without our male counterparts telling us we are over thinking the situation. We can gossip, we can laugh, we can cry, and no one can judge because we are all doing it together.
For all intents and purposes, the pettiness of girlhood is set aside. Here, random strangers can become the voice of wisdom. When we are upset, it is a place we can always find someone to listen and quite often we discover there are many other women who have braved a very similar experience to our own and are ready and willing to help us out.
It is in the comforts of the bathroom a girl can wear her heart on her sleeve and talk freely amongst others who understand exactly where she is coming from. It is a place where women can be women and no one can tell us otherwise.
Thus, it may be competition amongst one another that keeps men tied to their masculinity, a woman’s group trip to the bathroom is a perfect place for her to get in touch with her deep-rooted femininity.
In addition, just as a man’s instinct draws him to compete and win a video game, a woman’s desire is to vent her emotions. While games allow men to compete, the restroom is a woman’s perfect outlet.
Lindsay Mosher (lmosher@badgerherald.com) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.
Anonymous (September 13, 2004 @ 8:17am):
Actually, Lindsay, competition is not instinct, nor is it entirely male. It is merely a perceived necessity rooted in social give and take. If we were all loners, then there would be no motivation to compete against one another.
You'd be disappointed to learn that the overwhelming majority of research on human behavior is done by observing laboratory mice. Mice! Rodents! We are honestly and erroneously being compared to a intellectually lesser species, all in a vain attempt to gain "valuable" insight into our own world.
Seriously, if men weren't so pressured by society's unfair demands and expectations, they wouldn't feel the need to be competitive. I suck at throwing darts. I also suck at getting up the courage to drive 500 mph in a circle for an hour or so in a large Indiana city that probably doesn't have a single Starbucks. I simply feel no need to risk slamming into a wall and bursting into flames while other men who were also dumb enough to do this for a living just whiz on by.
To make a long story short, it's Monday, I'm bored, so I wrote this pap.
