Why do girls always go to the bathroom in groups?

[gabeepperson]

Every day in school i see groups of girls going into the bathroom 5-8 at a time. but why?

[redeyemindtricks]

Ok, so, you've inspired me to think this through enough to give you a serious answer. (:

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You should START by understanding that... the whole experience of "going to the bathroom" is different for men and women.

• We have to sit down every time (... which includes not only the obvious stuff about inconvenience, cleanliness etc... but also we have to rig up somewhere to hang jackets, handbags, etc, if we happen to get stuck in a stall without a hook on the back of the door).

• A lot of our clothes are a big production to remove -- even just to the extent necessary to use the restroom.

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Because of those differences ^^ ... women, in general, start to deal with restroom trips -- in general -- in a fundamentally different way than boys do.

Specifically:

• Guys think of bathroom trips more in terms of NEED.

• We think of bathroom trips more in terms of CONVENIENCE.

Does that make sense?
Like... Because it's just a bigger "production" for us to go to the restroom in the first place, we just tend to think more (than men do) about "scheduling" restroom trips for maximum convenience and minimum disruption.
Tbh, this isn't even conscious. It's just... a thing.

I first noticed this when I was about yr age. I have 4 brothers, and I noticed that **I** would always do the "well, I'm just gna use the bathroom one more time before I go out" thing... and that my brothers wouldn't.
Like, the whole thought of using the restroom before they had an URGENT need to whiz... just wouldn't even have occurred to them.

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Now, combine that ^^ with (most likely) a greater sense of social awareness.

I mean... If there's a conversation going on, then, if 1 person gets up and leaves, there's always a certain amount of awkwardness.
(It's not the end of the world, obviously... but, there's a reason why there is etiquette around the idea of "excusing yourself".)

If 2 or 3 women can get up and use the restroom at the same time, then...
• ... there's less of THAT awkwardness (since they'll go and come back faster than if they went individually)
• ... THEIR conversation can keep happening, too.

If you think of this -- **AND** the fact that we are more accustomed to restroom trips as things to do at "convenient" times anyway -- then this should all make perfect sense.

(At restaurants/nightclubs/etc there's also the "checking out each other's makeup" thing, but... at 13? Probably not. And besides, random women are more than happy to help each other out with that stuff anyway.)

[gabeepperson]

okay thanks... I've never though it out like that
that was a huge help u should become an editor

[redeyemindtricks]

Yw. <3

Editor -- nah. I mostly post here just because it's a fun place to multitask while I'm doing other things online. I wouldn't write actual articles/takes on a consistent basis for free.

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I've also wondered about this, but in the other direction... like, why DON'T GUYS go to the bathroom at the same time?

Especially where there are urinals... so, if there was some sort of discussion happening, it could (theoretically) keep happening?

Like, I know boys have a weird hang-up with any sort of conversation/interaction happening in the bathroom -- and I'm just wondering why that is. I mean... If my girlfriends and I could whiz standing up, we would *absolutely* keep bantering while doing it.

Can you shed any light on the mysterious bro-code of not talking in the bathroom? I know that's a *thing* -- and it's also something that exists in other places (like no one ever talking or making eye contact in elevators) -- but, I don't really understand WHY it's a thing.

[gabeepperson]

true

[CheerGirl38139]

Hahaha it's "a thing" because "it's gay" unless you're drunk and at a sporting event. Etc. 😂😂

[redeyemindtricks]

@CheerGirl38139 Hahaha... yeah... I just wish someone could *explain* that to me. Like, what SPECIFICALLY feels "gay" about it?
Trying to tune up the empathy thing here... and that is one part I just do NOT get.

[gabeepperson]

I don't understand what you are talking about

[redeyemindtricks]

😂😂 hahah she means... if I asked a guy why you guys DON'T go to the bathroom at the same time -- and/or why you don't have conversations with each other in there (which I hear you generally don't) -- the response would probably just be "uhhh that'd be so gay".

That's actually the explanation I literally GOT from one guy I asked about this.
When I pointed out to him that **actual gay guys** don't go to the bathroom together EITHER... he was just kinda stuck, there. 😂😂

[gabeepperson]

it's just a double standard

[CheerGirl38139]

OP, but WHY is it a double standard? WHY can't guys talk to each other when you're taking a tinkle?

Is it "gay"? 😂😂

[gabeepperson]

yes very

[CheerGirl38139]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 phuck.

[gabeepperson]

why is it okay for girls to smack each other asses but when guys do it is "nasty"

[CheerGirl38139]

I've seen guys do that. More than girls actually. Never thought it was "nasty".

I think maybe it's your age.

[gabeepperson]

yeah but why is it okay for girls to smack each other asses but why a guy does it it's a crime (a better way to put it)

[CheerGirl38139]

What are you talking opposite gender ass smacks? I thought you meant same gender ass smacks.

That's a different story for obvious reasons.

[gabeepperson]

well I'm saying if a guy does it is a crime right

[gabeepperson]

but if a girl does it is all right

[CheerGirl38139]

No not true.

If a girl snacks a guys butt... especially at your age... in school... she's in just as much trouble as a guy would be for doing the same to her. That's considered sexual contact.

I guess eventually, the SJWs will want to prohibit same gender horsing around as well, and kids will start getting in trouble for that... I'm sure it alrwdy happens in some places

[gabeepperson]

not really the teachers just laugh

[gabeepperson]

well hours where I live it's just different

[redeyemindtricks]

Wow! all them upvotes <3 <3 Thank you, upvoters.

[gabeepperson]

your welcome

[redeyemindtricks]

Incidentally... In clubs and (to a lesser extent) bars, there's also the "fake going-to-the-bathroom to help our friends score" thing.
Like... Say we're on our way into the place, and one of us spots a cute guy. But, given these types of environments, we can't really be sure if the guy actually WAS cute... so, we have to go back and do reconnaissance, right?

One of the most common ways to do that is for 2-3 of us to head back where the guy was, and scope him out. If he really *is* cute, then, we're like "ok, WE're going to the bathroom" [everyone except the friend who has the guy in her sights] ... thus giving her the opportunity to plant herself in front of him.
If he just doesn't take the hint, then, *she* can head to the bathroom, too. (Hint for yr future: If a girl is "on her way to the bathroom" and... lingers, near you... then, you are probably the point of that whole expedition.)

Also, if there is something we just MUST talk about (especially away from guys), then, sometimes

[redeyemindtricks]

fake bathroom trips are organized for *that* purpose, too.

These 2 situations aren't totally relevant to yr question -- since these wouldn't be groups as big as 5-8 women -- but... those are totally things.
This should also help explain the eternal mystery of why we have to go to the restroom so often *when we go out* -- because, for the most part, those aren't even restroom trips at all! lol it's the truth dude.

[gabeepperson]

okay

[gabeepperson]

thanks

[redeyemindtricks]

Tx for the MHLuv <3

[gabeepperson]

Luv U 2 4 dis reply

[lizzie1999]

A lot of girls don't like the awkwardness of going into a bathroom alone and not having anyone to associate with if other girls are in there. Its a way to make yourself look more popular and of course your friend can always hold your belongings for you.

[gabeepperson]

but why r the other girls talking in the bathroom in the first place

[johanmdsn]

I'm a girl and I sometimes go to the bathroom with my friendship groups. I think we go in large groups to check ourselves out, fix our hair or do our makeup. We also talk about things that we don't want guys to hear.

[CheerGirl38139]

I've never gone in groups of that size but 2 or 3 yesh

[CheerGirl38139]

Well at school... I see now you're 13... isn't that normal between classes and such at your school?

[redeyemindtricks]

Right? Pretty sure the breaks between class periods are the same for boys and girls...

[gabeepperson]

no like during lunch all 5 ask 2 leave in a huge group

[gabeepperson]

but during class change there are like twenty book bags outside the bathroom no exaggeration

[redeyemindtricks]

The only reason you see more backpacks outside the girls' restroom is because we have to sit down.
Think about it...
(:

The "leaving at lunch" thing should be explained adequately by the stuff I wrote in my opinion. Give it a look.

@CheerGirl38139 this is another one of those "hey, I never consciously thought this through until rn" questions... ahah. neat.

[CheerGirl38139]

@redeyemindtricks Stop... he's 13yo... you're going to make his brain start smoking.

[redeyemindtricks]

oh crap yeah... for some reason I was thinking 16 (?) lmao.

[Meggygirl]

I've never understood this. I'm a girl and I don't do it because all it does is create a long line

[gabeepperson]

oh okay

[Cerate]

haha common, qns, i go tgt so they help me out with zipping the back of my dress sometimes, gossip maybe? tie each other's hair, i do these when i was 13 by the way HAHA

[CottonSocks]

So they can all chat, check their appearance, gossip and so on.

[Triss]

Cause that's the #SisCode. I gather my 35 sisters of my class and we go to the bathroom together. We mostly talk about guys and stuff it's not that we need necessarily to go to the bathroom

[adele_m]

It is a girl secret we can't tell you.

[gabeepperson]

okay

[Anonymous]

You'll understand when your wife wants to go to the bathroom with her & sit on the toilet while she bathes!!! We don't like being alone!!!

[gabeepperson]

okay thanks

[gabeepperson]

but are groups that big really nessacry, it understand 1 or 2 friends but not 5 or 6

[Opinion Owner]

Obviously they are all equals to eachother, & none of them want to miss out on the girl talk in there that no boys or teachers can hear.

[gabeepperson]

oh thanks it all makes sense now

[gabeepperson]

you will be my mho

[Opinion Owner]

What?

[gabeepperson]

mho is most helpful opinon

[redeyemindtricks]

"You'll understand when your wife wants to go to the bathroom with her & sit on the toilet while she bathes"

^^ Uh... speak for yrself? This is definitely not a universal thing.
For those of us who shave in the shower, especially... that's just not the kind of thing we want to make the man watch every time. (We have clear glass shower doors, in this house.)

It's actually weird enough that our dogs always come in and watch me shower. It'd be even weirder to have my husband randomly in there. Esp because conversations are hard to have with the water running anyway.

"the girl talk in there that no boys or teachers can hear"
^^ In my experience, this was only a thing when it was just 2 (or *maybe* 3) of us. I mean... The physical layout of a bathroom wouldn't even LET five or six girls do this (not to mention pissing off the other girls who were in a hurry... school periods are short!)
Plus now that there are group chat apps and smartphones, there's even less of a reason for this.

[TheLawProf]

Socialize. We don't just pee and leave.

[gabeepperson]

why don't they socialize in the hallways like guys

[Zozzita]

Cuz we aren't guys

[TheLawProf]

Because it's just girls in there.

[gabeepperson]

okay thanks

[Itismeagain]

No idea. I usually go alone. The only time I go with someone is with my one friend and that's only if we are leaving the school