Men's Restroom Etiquette
It is commonly understood by most men, that while in public restrooms, one is expected to keep one's distance from other men, do not use a urinal directly next to another man when another is available, do not make eye contact, do not engage in conversation, and don’t spend more time than is necessary in the restroom.
The Rules
I decided to work with a very simple set of rules for my experiment; I had to be as close as possible to my subjects, make direct eye contact, and ask questions that normally would not be easily dismissed with a simple "yes" or "no" questions, that way people would feel more compelled to answer and more awkward when and if they ignored me. I planned on engaging as many people as possible before …show more content…
The Mint's environment tends to be very casual with an exceptionally diverse group of people that frequent it. I have seen drag queens, gang members, upper middle class white people, gay people, and goths in this particular bar, so it would be safe to say that it has a very welcoming atmosphere. The bathroom was what some would consider, disgusting. There is one traditional toilet and one urinal, neither of which is divided by any sort of wall or barrier. If one were to be sitting
down, they would be entirely visible by anyone who walked in. I decided that since this was my final venue, I would wait for someone to walk in, and then go in after them to sit down on the toilet as if I were defecating, and engage them in conversation. I did this three times; each one of my subjects appeared initially uncomfortable and surprised by the conversation, but each person was very engaging and relatively friendly. I decided to cut the experiment after three times because my posterior was getting sore and cold.
My findings and …show more content…
The venue choice made a huge difference. The mall seemed to be more subdued and passive with people's reactions. Chuy's atmosphere appeared to be more masculine and intense and the reactions (only one) were more hostile and aggressive. The Mint was by the far the most casual and engaging, I believe this to be primarily because of how intoxicated people were and the general "weird" atmosphere that the bar has become synonymous with. Overall, the reactions were varied enough to keep the experiment interesting, and predictable enough to be confident that the experiment would be successful. I enjoyed the experiment; I enjoy making people uncomfortable and aside from the one threat of violence it was an amusing experience. I violated all the norms, but mostly, I violated personal space the most. I would probably do it again. I do find it odd that in a culture that is typically encouraging of social, friendly behavior, we have decided to draw an arbitrary line when it comes to the
It is commonly understood by most men, that while in public restrooms, one is expected to keep one's distance from other men, do not use a urinal directly next to another man when another is available, do not make eye contact, do not engage in conversation, and don’t spend more time than is necessary in the restroom.
The Rules
I decided to work with a very simple set of rules for my experiment; I had to be as close as possible to my subjects, make direct eye contact, and ask questions that normally would not be easily dismissed with a simple "yes" or "no" questions, that way people would feel more compelled to answer and more awkward when and if they ignored me. I planned on engaging as many people as possible before …show more content…
The Mint's environment tends to be very casual with an exceptionally diverse group of people that frequent it. I have seen drag queens, gang members, upper middle class white people, gay people, and goths in this particular bar, so it would be safe to say that it has a very welcoming atmosphere. The bathroom was what some would consider, disgusting. There is one traditional toilet and one urinal, neither of which is divided by any sort of wall or barrier. If one were to be sitting
down, they would be entirely visible by anyone who walked in. I decided that since this was my final venue, I would wait for someone to walk in, and then go in after them to sit down on the toilet as if I were defecating, and engage them in conversation. I did this three times; each one of my subjects appeared initially uncomfortable and surprised by the conversation, but each person was very engaging and relatively friendly. I decided to cut the experiment after three times because my posterior was getting sore and cold.
My findings and …show more content…
The venue choice made a huge difference. The mall seemed to be more subdued and passive with people's reactions. Chuy's atmosphere appeared to be more masculine and intense and the reactions (only one) were more hostile and aggressive. The Mint was by the far the most casual and engaging, I believe this to be primarily because of how intoxicated people were and the general "weird" atmosphere that the bar has become synonymous with. Overall, the reactions were varied enough to keep the experiment interesting, and predictable enough to be confident that the experiment would be successful. I enjoyed the experiment; I enjoy making people uncomfortable and aside from the one threat of violence it was an amusing experience. I violated all the norms, but mostly, I violated personal space the most. I would probably do it again. I do find it odd that in a culture that is typically encouraging of social, friendly behavior, we have decided to draw an arbitrary line when it comes to the