Kuo’s family has come up with a halfway solution for their Chinese American household. “What all Chinese parents will tell you is: don’t read on the toilet. There’s a large market for books to read while sitting on the toilet, which generally involves trivia, short stories or jokes. This doesn’t even get into the many health benefits of squatting in general – a practice (and display) of strength and flexibility where elderly Chinese generally put young white folks to shame.Īmericans have turned this longer toilet time into a form of leisure. Bowel movements are faster and less straining is involved. The squat toilet neatly avoids excessive bum-to-seat intimacy.Īnatomically, squatting is the better posture too, as the angle allows for smoother passage. Consider that a majority of British women have admitted to crouching or hovering in public toilets in order to avoid direct contact with the seats. Yet many Westerners remain resistant to a model that’s arguably more logical and more convenient than the porcelain throne. “Whenever visiting an Indian friend in the US, I can almost always count on them having a plastic water bottle or a mug beside the toilet.”Įven today, it’s estimated that two-thirds of the world squats. “Some Indians do adapt to toilet paper, but a lot of us like to stick to water whenever possible,” she comments. (To the uninitiated, this resembles a plastic measuring jug used for baking, with a handle and a spout for pouring water onto one’s nether regions.) Eventually she had to go to an Indian-owned store. Astha Garg, a data scientist from Navi, Mumbai who has been working in the San Francisco Bay area for the last two years, says she looked high and low for a bath mug for her toilet. This is the case for people of non-Islamic religious backgrounds too. As Othman’s research shows, some Muslim Australians have adapted to Western-style bathrooms by using both toilet paper and then showering, filling a jug of water, or installing handheld bidets next to their toilets. One person who’s been interested in the water-or-paper debate is Zul Othman, a project officer for the Australian government who has researched cultural and historical attitudes towards toilet facilities. Maps have ‘north’ at the top, but it could have been different.How East and West think in profoundly different ways.(Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs did however issue a fatwa in 2015 specifying that Muslims can use toilet paper if water isn’t available.) And the famously whiz-bang modern Japanese toilets, which simultaneously reflect technological ingenuity and shame about bodily functions, offer both wetting and drying options. Water is preferred, for example, in a number of majority-Muslim countries, as Islamic teachings include the use of water for cleaning. In fact, Anglo-American bathroom trends became so widespread that, in the 1920s, they were even dubbed “sanitary imperialism”.Įven so, those trends didn’t penetrate everywhere. And compared to anywhere else in the world, these two nations have had the greatest influence on modern bathroom culture, notes architectural historian Barbara Penner in her book Bathroom. Still, much of the West relies on toilet tissue – including the UK and US. Meanwhile, Youssef’s beloved “bum gun” is commonly found in Finland. The French of course gave the world the word bidet, and even though the devices are fading away from France, they remain standard in Italy, Argentina, and many other places. And that isn’t just true of the non-Western world. Residents of many nations have long been ending a toilet visit with water. Plus, while toilet tissue may not be as harsh as pieces of ceramic (used by ancient Greeks) or corn cobs (used by colonial Americans), we can all agree that water is less abrasive than even the softest five-ply. Water cleans more neatly than paper: at the risk of inspiring an “ew!”, imagine trying to remove chocolate pudding from your skin with tissue alone. The penchant in many Western countries for wiping after using the toilet – rather than rinsing off – is a source of puzzlement around the world. Plenty of people would agree with Youssef. But when it comes to the behind, you’re behind.” “I don’t get it: you guys are one of the most advanced countries in the world. He waved around a portable spray hose, also known as a shattaf or “bum gun”, as a prop. “As Arabs we have to make sure we have three things when we pack: our passports, a bunch of cash, and a handheld portable bidet,” joked Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef during his debut UK performance in June.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |