The Power Room

Hello High Heelers,

I elegantly slipped into the ‘ladies’ a little earlier today to touch up my lipstick. Did you know that the women of my grannies’ era used to call it ‘the powder room’ back in their day? One of my uncles tells a very cute story about how he once snuck into the deceptively named room to find out what women really did in there. He was hugely disappointed to find out that there were no powder machines and that women basically did what men do in bathrooms, just without the urinals.

For some of us the bathroom is a bit of a ‘power room’ of sorts. We sneak in there to get our groove back. When tears are close, we can shut the door, roll the waterworks, compose ourselves, fix the mascara and move on without batting an imperfect eyelash publically. I have found many a spluttering girl tucked up in the tight space of a bathroom stall using tissues generously. Somehow, being in the bathroom makes it ok. We have removed ourselves from general eyes and are in a private space to regain the girl power.

I have met chicks in the ‘ladies’ to gossip about hot dates and serious crushes, to skinner about the latest Grey’s episode and about what Alicia did in ‘The Good Wife’, to cry about a broken heart, to laugh about an embarrassing experience, to explode over the insensitive thing that the neighbour did and to just have a girly moment with a special lady. There is something sacred about the ‘ladies’ room.’ It’s our place where we can be ourselves. We can recharge, pull up our stockings and check our reflections.

Now, having said all that, I was horrified when I visited a sacred woman space near my office this evening. Horrified. I get that ‘the loo’ is a place where ‘unclean’ things are done too. I really do. But really. These places are equipped with everything you need to keep the area clean, comfortable and as ‘woman friendly’ as possible. My gag reflex hit a high note and I had to think about butterflies and candy floss for a good ten minutes to regain my happy mindset. As I pulled out the lipstick and checked myself in the mirror, I thought – if your bathroom is a reflection of you, then what is this space reflecting about the women who had been in before me?

The green folk tell us to leave nothing but our footprints behind when we leave natural spaces. When it comes to public spaces, I’d like to suggest that we follow the same principle – just without the footprints. Just because people are paid to clean up afterwards, we shouldn’t think it’s right to leave a mess. It’s disrespectful and it’s unkind. We don’t expect our colleagues to hand over their mess to us at work, so why should we ever do that to other women?

This week, let’s flush away our messy bits. Let’s bury our unattractive insecurities. Let’s cover up the imperfections and put our best heels forward. Let’s power up and be people of integrity and respect.

Have a wonderful week.

Cheers,
Jo

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