In the summer, I was trying to describe to my cis male friend my favourite part of a washroom stall: the tiny sliver garbage bin that you put your ‘unmentionable’ garbage in. He looked at me with shock, like I was describing some strange alien technology.
If you, like my friend, are unaware — in nearly all women’s washroom stalls, there is a little bin where you can discreetly throw your garbage away. This lil’ can is a godsend. Mostly it’s used for trash relating to one’s menstrual cycle. You know, the things you learn about in health class: pads, tampons, pantyliners. Having to rrrrrrrrrip open a pad in a public washroom is a mortifying enough experience. At least I can have a little peace not having to carry my *cough* trash out into the public in order to throw it away.
I am saddened by how rarely I see the silver garbage cans in men’s washroom stalls. I understand that cis men probably don’t need them in the capacity that I do, but it’s a pretty high stakes game for me to be in the washroom. Any small thing that I can do to not out myself in an all-male space is good. And I feel like fellow men might catch on if they see me B-line for a stall and leave with a giant wad of toilet paper to throw in the garbage.
Plus they don’t have to be used just for menstrual waste! You could probably use them for other small garbage too, like gum or pieces of paper.