王芳

Years ago， I went shopping for clothes with a friend and her mother. After trying on a few items， I walked out of the dressing room to find them waiting for me， laden with clothes， ready to check out.

“Arent you going to try any of them on first？” I asked.

“We dont do that，” my friend said. “Well try them on at home and return the ones we dont want. Were not comfortable doing it at the store.”

I was surprised. It was a nice enough store， and the ladies dressing rooms were on the other side of the building from the mens. But these two women were not about to remove their clothing in public， even with the partition1） walls and locking doors.

Theres a long history of women feeling ill at ease when expected to perform a private act in a public space， and this history is worth considering as the national debate rages over transgender2） individuals and bathroom laws. Comfort， privacy， and fear all played a part in creating our sex-segregated bathroom system， and will continue to influence whatever system we create going forward.

For Men Only

It took a really long time to convince women to pee in public. Mostly because， before the mid-1800s， the only public toilets were called “the street” and they were used almost exclusively by men. When ladies did go out， they didnt dawdle. There was nothing to linger for， really， outside of church or some other community meeting. Shopping wasnt fun. You handed the dry goods3） man your list of needed muslins and salt， he packed it up for you， and you headed home. If you had to go potty4）， you either held it， or found a nice grove of bushes or trees to relieve yourself， miles from anywhere public.

America was a nation of “Restrooms for customers ONLY！” And by restrooms， they meant holes dug in the ground to poop in. Saloons usually had privies5） out back， but ladies werent allowed in saloons. There were a handful of other “public” latrines6）， but they were usually built and maintained by local businesses solely to keep people from befouling7） their buildings.

Not Even with Mahogany Seats

In 1851， London held an enormous public fair called The Great Exhibition， where nations from all over the world displayed inventions and innovations. It was here that a plumber named George Jennings showed the world just how civilized public “retiring rooms” could be， even for ladies.

In Jennings exhibit， a woman first entered a reception area and paid a penny to view the loo8）. Then she entered into the lavatory9） and was greeted by a row of sinks， much like in todays bathrooms. A matron took the ticket， answered any questions， and kept things tidy. Beyond the lavatory was a row of lovely toilets known as “closet rooms.” They came with mahogany seats and seven-foot-high， floor-length partitions.

The exhibition was a hit. Thousands of women bought tickets to see these fancy new public toilets， to pull the cistern10） chain and watch the bowl be flushed clean by a crash of water. But there isnt any proof that the ladies used the toilets in their intended fashion. Because when Jennings later tried to take his retiring rooms mainstream， he failed. Women were curious about the concept， but not curious enough to relieve themselves in public just yet. They still felt vulnerable in these stalls. Naked， indecent， unsafe. Anyone who saw you entering the room would be free to imagine in great detail what you were doing in there， which was humiliating in an era where women were told that it was better to soil their skirts in mud than lift them and allow strangers to gawk11） at their shins. Womens bathrooms were not popular because society wasnt ready to accept them.

Indeed， we wouldnt be ready for the ladies room until it was absolutely necessary.

The Shopping Fad

By the beginning of the 20th century， ladies rooms were plentiful. But it wasnt that suddenly everyone became “tolerant” of the fact that women had digestive tracts. The entirety of the Industrial Revolution was called into play to make ladies rooms possible. More women were working， which familiarized society with the sight of decent women outside the home. But the real change occurred when women， for the first time in history， began to enjoy shopping.

Factories were producing more leisure goods—beautiful fabrics and confectioneries12） and stationary supplies—which drew a more wealthy class of women out of their homes. They wanted to shop， to perambulate13）， perhaps visit all the new parks that were springing up， or even go to a museum. The outside world， which had been pretty much a men-only cesspit14） （literally） was now a place a lady felt welcomed to enter.

Women left the home and hit the street， but they certainly werent about to pee in it. So， to attract the female money-spender， private businesses and even whole cities began building comfortable， secure areas where a woman could “retire.”

Thats not to say there werent agitators and campaigners who had no financial gains in mind. Institutions like the Ladies Sanitary Association were there， making noise. But it does seem that their message became easier to hear once it was harmonious with the sounds of cash registers.

The salient15） point is that it took decades for female bathrooms to become standard. Millions of people who might have been scandalized by women peeing in public had to be replaced by people who had never known anything else. It was those new women who agitated for change， and who felt comfortable doing something their grandmothers simply did not.

The Inherent Misery of Pioneering

So where does that leave the transgender woman who would much rather endure the dirty looks of the ladies room than the potential fists of the mens room？ In a brutally unfair position， unfortunately. They are pioneers， and pioneers have never had an easy time of it. They live in a society that hasnt yet grown to accommodate them， just as ladies bathrooms once didnt exist because society wasnt ready for women to pee in public. It sounds ridiculous， but thats how it is.

But it wont always be like this. The old ways die off， and new ideas spread to fit peoples needs.

If there is one thing history has shown it is that you cannot force the majority to embrace your ideals overnight. Change is all about patience. Having to wait for justice is intolerable， but absolutely unavoidable， as shown by the slow ascension of every minority and marginalized group to ever achieve equality. Like every outsider population that came before， there may be decades of battling， waiting， and great tribulation16） before society is ready. That isnt the work of evil people. Its the rhythm of the human species.

從無到有啟示錄

隨著社會文明程度的提高，公共場所的基本設施變得越來越方便、越來越人性化，女衛(wèi)生間就是其一。看到現(xiàn)在干凈衛(wèi)生的女衛(wèi)生間，你可能想象不到，在20世紀以前，公共場所幾乎沒有女衛(wèi)生間。那么，女衛(wèi)生間從無到有，期間經(jīng)歷了怎樣的變化和發(fā)展？讓我們一同來了解它的發(fā)展史。

幾年前，我和一個朋友還有她媽媽一起去買衣服。試了幾款衣服后，我走出試衣間，看到她們正在等我，手里拿著很多衣服，準備去結(jié)賬。

“你們不先試試嗎？”我問。

“不試了，”我朋友說，“我們回家試，不想要的我們再退回來。在商店里試衣服，我們覺得別扭。”

我大為震驚。這是一家足夠上檔次的商場，女試衣間和男試衣間分別在商場的兩頭。但這兩個女人卻不打算在公眾場合脫衣服，即使有墻隔開，門可以反鎖。

女性在公眾場合有私密行為時，總是感覺不自在，這種現(xiàn)象歷史悠久。隨著圍繞變性人和廁所規(guī)則的全國性辯論愈演愈烈，這一段歷史值得回顧。在促使男女隔離的廁所制度產(chǎn)生的過程中，舒適、隱私和恐懼都在其中起到了作用，而且會繼續(xù)影響我們今后制定的任何制度。

僅有男廁

說服女性在公共場所小便真的花費了很長時間。主要是因為19世紀中期以前，唯一的公廁叫作“街道”，幾乎僅供男性使用。女性真的外出時，從不閑逛。其實除了教堂或一些社區(qū)聚會外，也沒有什么可以流連的。購物毫無趣味。你把單子遞給店員，上面列出了你所需要的布料和食鹽，他為你打包，你上路回家。如果你必須上廁所的話，你要么忍著，要么跑到離公共場所有好幾里遠的地方，找一片茂密的灌木叢或小樹林去方便。

美國那時是一個“洗手間只供客戶！”的國家。所謂的洗手間也只是在地上挖的幾個洞，供排便用。酒吧后面通常有廁所，但女性是不允許進酒吧的。也有幾個公共廁所，但通常是由當?shù)氐赇佇藿ú⒐芾淼?，目的只是為了讓人們別弄臟他們的店鋪。

即使有紅木座位也不行

1851年，倫敦舉行了一場巨型展覽會，叫作萬國工業(yè)博覽會，世界各國都在展覽會上展示了他們的發(fā)明創(chuàng)造。在這次展覽會上，一位叫喬治·詹寧斯的管道工向世界展示了“公共廁所”可以多么文明，即使對女性來說也是如此。

在詹寧斯的展區(qū)里，一位女士先進入接待處，付上一便士，才可以參觀廁所。進入廁所后，看到一排水池，很像今天的盥洗室。一位中年婦女負責收票，回答任何疑問，同時保持廁所整潔。在廁所的另一邊是一排可愛的廁所，稱作“密室”。密室里有紅木座位，還有七英尺高的垂至地板的隔墻。

博覽會很成功。成千上萬的女性購票去參觀這些奇特的新公廁，拉水箱鏈，看到馬桶在一陣水聲后被沖得干干凈凈。不過，沒證據(jù)表明女性會按照當初設計的方式去使用這些廁所。因為后來詹寧斯設法讓自己設計的廁所成為主流時，卻失敗了。婦女們對這種想法很好奇，不過還沒有好奇到去公共廁所方便的地步。在這些小隔間里，她們還是覺得自己很脆弱——赤身裸體，有失體面，毫不安全。任何人只要看見你進入這個小隔間，就可以很詳細地想象你在里面的所作所為。在那個時代，這會讓人顏面盡失，因為那時女人被告知寧可讓泥濘弄臟裙子，也不要提起裙子讓陌生人瞅她們的小腿。女性衛(wèi)生間沒有得以普及，因為社會還沒有做好接受的準備。

確實，除非女衛(wèi)生間絕對必不可少，否則我們就不準備用。

20世紀初，女衛(wèi)生間已有很多。但并不是大家突然一下子就接受了女性有消化道這一事實。女衛(wèi)生間之所以出現(xiàn)，要歸功于整個工業(yè)革命。更多的女性參加工作，對于社會大眾來說，在家庭之外見到體面的女性變得司空見慣。但真正的變化發(fā)生于女性在歷史上第一次開始享受購物之際。

工廠生產(chǎn)了更多的休閑產(chǎn)品——漂亮的布料、甜食及文具——這些都吸引了較富裕階層的女性走出家門。她們想去購物、閑逛，也許想去參觀正涌現(xiàn)出來的所有的新公園，甚至想去博物館。外面的世界，以前基本上是只有男性的糞坑（并非比喻），如今卻成了女性感到受歡迎的地方。

女性離開家門，出去逛街，但她們肯定不打算在街上小便。所以，為吸引女金主，私人企業(yè)甚至整個城市都開始建造舒適安全的區(qū)域，在那里女性可以“休息一下”。

但這并不是說沒有鼓動者和活動家想有財務收益。像婦女衛(wèi)生協(xié)會這樣的機構(gòu)就一直在發(fā)聲呼吁。但是，的確，當他們的聲音和收銀機的聲音相協(xié)調(diào)時，他們的想法似乎才變得易于接受了。

最顯著的一點是，又過了好幾十年，女衛(wèi)生間才成為標配。數(shù)以百萬計的人們曾對女性在公共場所小便感到驚駭憤慨，他們只能被另外一些人所取代，這些人對此不覺得有任何不妥。積極鼓吹新變化的正是那些新女性，她們在做她們祖母們根本不敢做的事情時沒有任何不適。

先鋒者固有的痛苦

如此說來，變性為女性的人又該何去何從呢？她們現(xiàn)在寧愿忍受女衛(wèi)生間里鄙視的臉色，也不愿去男衛(wèi)生間挨可能的拳頭。她們很不幸，處在一個極端不公平的處境中。她們是先鋒，而先鋒從來沒有輕松過。她們生活在一個還不能接納她們的社會里，就像女衛(wèi)生間曾經(jīng)根本不存在，是因為社會還沒做好準備讓女性在公眾場所小便。這聽起來很荒謬，但事實如此。

但事情不會永遠這樣。舊的思想逐漸消失，新的思想不斷擴散以滿足人們的需求。

如果歷史曾證明過一件事，那就是你不能迫使大多數(shù)人一夜之間就贊同你的想法。變化需要耐心。必須等待才能迎來公正，這令人無法容忍，但又絕對不可避免。所有的少數(shù)派和邊緣群體都是經(jīng)過緩慢的地位上升，最后才爭取到公平，這一現(xiàn)象就反映了這一點。就像之前的所有外來人口一樣，在被社會接受之前，可能要有好幾十年的斗爭、等待和巨大的痛苦。這不是惡人們造成的，而是人類社會的節(jié)奏。

1. partition [pɑ?（r）?t??（?）n] n. 隔墻；隔板

2. transgender

[tr?ns?d?end?（r）]

adj. 變性的

3. dry goods：干貨（如咖啡、面粉等）；紡織品

4. potty [?p?ti] n. 廁所

5. privy [&apos；pr?v?] n. （無沖洗設施的）廁所（尤指戶外廁所）

6. latrine [l??tri?n] n. 簡易廁所，茅坑

7. befoul [b?&apos；fa?l] vt. 弄臟

8. loo [lu?] n. 廁所，洗手間

9. lavatory [?l?v?tri] n. 廁所，盥洗室

10. cistern [?s?st?（r）n] n. 蓄水池；尤指（抽水馬桶的）水箱

11. gawk [ɡ??k] vi. 呆呆地看著

12. confectionery [k?n?fek?（?）n?ri] n. 甜食；糖果

13. perambulate [p??r?mbj?le?t] vi. 漫步；溜彎

14. cesspit [?ses?p?t]

n. 污水坑；糞坑

15. salient [?se?li?nt] adj. 顯著的；突出的

16. tribulation

[?tr?bj??le??（?）n]

n. 苦難；艱難