This One's For The Ladies...

Every since I was a young boy, I have been told over and over that the downfall of my gender is a perceived inability to lower toilet seats. Leaving toilet seats up and refusing to ask for directions, those were always the hallmarks given of the masculine gender. I believe that the IOC still uses these criteria for gender testing athletes.

Now, I do not know when these beliefs became universal. I know that I, personally, have always lowered a toilet's seat, when my business in a bathroom is complete, and I come from an all male household where my mother was the odd-woman-out; even our pets were male. Still, the stereotype persits, and to a degree where it is just accepted as a universal truth. And all this in spite of the fact that studies have shown it to me more efficient for men to leave the seat as it is.

But I have observed through the years a counterbalance to the male stereotype, one which is never spoken of. Women never put the toilet lid down. Not all toilets have lids, of course, and where one is unavailable this is entirely understandable, but the vast majority of residential toilets that I have encountered in my life do indeed have lids attached. These lids, like the aforementioned seats, are hinged. And when the last occupant of the restroom in which said toilets reside has been of the female persuasion, almost invariably, these lids have been left in the "up" position.

I am not looking to start an incident here, but I believe it is about time that something was said. Toilet lids exist for a reason, and that reason is that a toilet is a silly looking thing, and that at least with the lid down, it has a bit of aesthetics to it. Maybe a fuzzy cozy on top. Whatever suits your fancy. It appears, though, the the female interest in this matter is not in "not falling in", as is the oft-stated motive, but rather, it is in never having to do the work of raising or lowering any hinge on a toilet ever. There, I've said it.

Whereas the system of leaving the seat as it is and allowing the next user to set-up for themselves is both the most efficient and the most fair of systems, I recognize that the ladies out there will never accept it. Rejection of this idea is far too ingrained in our culture. So here is my plea: let us reset the toilet to "lid down" status after ever use, regardless of our gender, in order to create a system that is both aesthetic as well as having some semblance of fairness to it.

Can't we all just get along?