My gym does not allow me to throw Silas’ dirty diapers in their bathroom trashcan. There is a sign above the changing table that tells me this.
Let me start this post by saying that I’m still a little confused about how I feel about this. When I first saw the sign posted above the changing table, I was in shock. I actually had a moment of “Wait, what? Did I miss that baby etiquette lesson in my Baby 101 class?? I didn’t know I should’ve been hauling my kid’s dirty diapers OUT of the room specifically devoted to excrement and INTO the wide wide world for everyone else to smell.” Then I realized that this is dumb. Why on earth should I have to carry around a diaper and bring it outside the building to throw away? It’s a BATHROOM. If they don’t like the smell, they should empty their trash cans more frequently or buy a diaper trash can, like every other store owner in the entire world. What’s next? A sign saying “Dear women, we’re sorry that you are on your period. But we kindly request that you take your used sanitary products with you when you leave the restroom and dispose of them outside.” I know, eww. I’m sorry, but I feel the two circumstances are very similar.
Never, in my 19 months of being a mother, have I come across a sign hanging over a changing table that asked me to take my child’s poop with me when I leave. This gym has a child care room and a changing table, it’s not like it’s an “adults only” kind of place.
I’m not one to cry “Discrimination against women!” The lens through which I view the world has not been colored by a “the boys are out to get the girls” mentality. So when I experience something like this, I’m a little caught off guard. I’ve been digesting this (and avoiding changing Silas’ diaper at the gym) for a couple of months now, and I’m no closer to a conclusion about what I think this sign is truly saying to all moms out there.
I know many men’s restrooms still don’t even have changing tables in them. While I find this frustrating and annoying, I would not call that discrimination. I would call it unfair. Many of these stores are probably just being cheap, and they don’t want to pay the insurance that goes along with agreeing to let someone lay their child on a shelf over a tile floor. But I don’t think it’s categorically discriminating. I’m sure there are many single dads out there that feel it’s definitely discrimination. But I’m at a loss in my particular circumstance. What do you think?
Is this discrimination?
Or is this just unfair?
If you choose to answer one of those questions, be careful. Discrimination is a flat-out wrong thing to do, but being unfair is just poor customer/client service. You be the judge.
burningsugarcane 