Saturday 4 August 2007

Whoo hoo the official 100th!

Yay me! 100 posts!

Ok, now that that is out of the way again, on to more interesting news. I know I said I had a big announcement to make but I also have something way more interesting than that news.

I peed standing up last night! It was a brand new experience for me and one of the strangest things I've ever done (yes, I've lived a fairly tame life). It was the assist of the P-Mate that made this bizarre experience possible.


It is a disposable "funnel" that allows women the freedom to pee standing up. A friend of ours works at the company that is marketing the P-Mate and they held a 'guerrilla media event' at a local pub last night. My sister and I went along for the fun and support of it all.

I wasn't so sure I'd try it out though. It wasn't until I was on my way to the toilet and walked past my sister who grabbed my arm and said "I tried it! It was totally trippy!" that I really considered that I might try it. If she could do it, I could do it too!

I walked toward the washrooms thinking, "Well, I am here to support the P-Mate...I suppose I should try it."

They had switched the men's and women's washrooms to give us ladies the choice and full experience of a urinal if we were so inclined. There was only one stall and someone in it already. She began to pee just as I walked in. I stood in there, looking around at the alien territory that is a men's washroom, waiting my turn for the privacy of a stall and the security of a little metal lock. There was no way I was using a urinal. There were no speakers in the bathroom and the only sound was the girl ahead of me peeing. And she was totally standing (you can tell - it's a completely different sound).

It was then that I truly thought I could give it a try....but only if nobody came into the bathroom before I started...I didn't want to stand there unable to pee, making some other girl wait and then have to listen to me. I'm told this type of pee-fright is common among men at urinals.
The girl ahead of me finished peeing and came out of the stall looking somewhat sheepish. We made oddly un-awkward small talk about this crazy experience as I backed into the stall and she washed her hands. I was surprised to find myself unwrapping a P-Mate and facing the toilet as I unzipped my pants. Was I seriously about to do this?

Yes, I was!

It was wild!
I don't think it's something that I'd like to do all the time. I have a lot more practice and years of experience sitting down to pee or squatting when I have to and while peeing standing up was a fascinating novelty, I think I prefer sitting down.
I think if one of the goals is to level the peeing field for the sexes, this doesn't really do that. Women would have to practice and get used to it first. Plus, even with the P-Mate, we can't just unzip, whip it out, pee and be done. Ladies would still need to unzip and lower their pants a bit, get the 'funnel' ready, put it in place, pee, figure out how to remove the P-Mate without dripping pee everywhere and then figure out how and where to get rid of it. Until you get the hang of it (pun intended) it's not entirely tidy and then there's the environmental aspect. For every pee you'd be using and discarding a cardboard 'boat'.
Having said all of that I could see where I'd like to use this thing...traveling in less developed countries for one. Outhouses and port-a-potties for another. Camping, maybe. At home when I am bored or want to feel powerful like a man! And I thought penis envy was a fantasy myth made up by men, to make themselves feel better for having their junk all on the outside and not neatly tucked away like girls.
Who knows if the P-Mate will find it's market. I almost think that the people most likely to use it are also the people least likely to use it. Travellers and campers seem to be pretty environmentally friendly and the P-Mate might not be worth the waste (again, pun intended).

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