Introduction
Differences between men and women in their social interactions indicate that some social behaviors are more aligned to gender affiliation. Women tend to favor group associations, specifically consisting of other female members whenever they are in social settings while men are noted to be more formal in their relations with other men and preferring individualism to group associations.
Women are more sociable than men in that they value the relationships they have with other people. They prefer to be involved in group activities to being by themselves. The differences in the two sexes in their approaches to solving problems also explain why women are inclined to act as groups. Moreover, women face dangers in a cautious way whereas men use the principle of either confrontation or freeing and since women seem to be an easy target to threats, a group provides a sense of security. For instance, women tend to flock the washrooms in groups other women unlike men who don’t seem to favor, consciously or unconsciously portray such behavior. This paper seeks to examine the reasons why women go to washrooms in groups, why men do not and the factors influencing these behaviors.
Why do women often go to the washroom in groups?
Sociology is the study of human behavior in the group context. It tries to understand and explain why human beings behave the way they do and what rules govern their interactions with other people. Men and women react differently to different situations either individually or as a group. There are socially accepted modes of behavior specific to each of the two sexes and are influenced by nature or nature (Livesey Para 5).
Reasons why women go to the washrooms in groups vary according to the situation at hand as explained below.
Women as social beings
Women are by nature social animals and they regard the opinions of other people highly. In a social environment, when women meet new people, they need to know how other people see the new “friends” before they commit themselves in relationships. Since the conditions in this meeting place are not private enough for a private talk, they result to going to the bathrooms to chat with their friends about the persons of interest.
This contrasts the men who, once they set their minds on something, they don’t let anything get in their way of getting it. They behave as the hunters; they are in a competitive jungle where weakness and indecision is a taboo.
Level of interactions
Women are gifted in the act of multitasking in that they can do many different thing simultaneous. This contrasts the men who handle a problem at a time and in a given logical sequence. When women are in social places with men, they feel the need to return to their real characters when they find the male conversations monotonous and this would be by finding another woman to chat with at their levels. This would appear rude if it was done in front of the other people and segregated them. The need for the washroom conferences therefore arises thus the reason why they frequent there in groups (Conner Para 4).
Due to the women view of the problems as interconnected and interdependent, they sometimes experience problems in their efforts to separate their personal experiences from the interconnected problems unlike men who separate the two. This makes the women view the problems as being of high consequence hence the need to share with persons with the same viewpoint (Assagioli Para 17).
Problem solving processes
The processes of problem solving between men and women are quite similar in terms of goals, but differ on how they approach the problems. This is because women like to share with others and discussing the problems. They are concerned with how the problems are solved as well as the actual act of solving the problems. Since men are only concerned with the results, women tend to find other ways of expressing themselves and in this case, through talking to their girlfriends. Since this is a personal matter, a private venue is needed and to them, the most logical one is the washroom since men are locked out. Basically, men view the problems as a chance to prove themselves by demonstrating their strength hence assume authority in these processes hence distracting them form their relations (Conner Para 10-12).
Security in numbers
Generally, when women are in social places, they tend to stick around the people they are familiar with. They prefer to be in a group especially if they sense a threat to them. Going to the washroom implies the lady in need disengaging herself from her group hence the need for accompaniment and the preferable escort of another female hence the group queues to the washrooms. This is a natural instinct by the females to avert dangers whether real or imagined (Leblanc Para 3).
Men are viewed as the natural defenders and protectors of the rest of the humanity. Having other men accompany you to the washroom would seem as a sign of weakness and a decline in masculinity. This would lead to him being considered weak and vulnerable.
Nature of relationships
Relationships between men are structured with well defined chains of commands. They establish hierarchies of authorities whose leaders are dominant. Women in a group on the other hand tend to remain bound by the dynamics of the group and therefore tend to view each other as equals. They tend to discuss and therefore use collective intellect in resolving issues among them or between them and the rest of the society. It’s therefore logical to infer that group washroom visits are efforts to resolve these issues
There are differences between the relationships among men and with women. This is because women speak most of the times in nonverbal means and these signs pass unnoticed or cannot be interpreted by the males hence the psychological need for the women to relate with the people who “understand them” – women (Hensley Para 2).
Socialization
This is an acquired characteristic for being a member of a certain group. Socialization is a process through which people especially children learn certain behaviors from the people they are associating with. In social setting, women find it as a norm to go to the washrooms as a group; a new mode of behavior is integrated into their rules of social engagement.
Hygiene issues
Women hygiene rituals are different to the men’s in that women are more conscious of their looks than men. They need to keep reassuring themselves of their looks on regular basis therefore carry with them beauty products to maintain the sharp looks. These accompaniments are usually carted in handbags and are regularly used in the washrooms. Women need an opinion on the results of their efforts to look good hence the group visits to the washrooms to ‘freshen up’ offers this support.
To the women therefore, the washrooms are safe havens where they can unload their problems to a handful of sympathetic women and its here where they get free counseling and therapy sessions from the sympathetic listeners. Opinions are voiced and courses of actions determined. Men on the other hand have inflexible rules on how to use the bathroom in a quick, efficient, and silent manner. Men in most cases have regulations set in place to guarantee consistent respect for personal space, as well as a set of laws of silence and the nature of their relationships with others when in the washrooms. To them, the bathroom visits are more of a business activity whereas women consider it a social event. When women go to the washroom as a group; they use the time to talk about different topics. (Leblanc Para 6).
What goes on in the washrooms has been a topic of interest to many scholars. They say that it is in the washrooms that women talk of the topics they would prefer not to be heard talking about. These are and not limited to their sex life, past and present and they rarely lie in these discussions. Indeed, things that cannot be discussed in front of the general public due to their potential to be offensive find an eager audience in the washrooms (Bätzler Para 32).
Recommendations and conclusion
Since women stick to the groups in order to reinstate their self worth by being treated as equals by other women, men should change in the way they relate with women especially when solving problems. Women see problems as opportunities to strengthen their relationships with their partners so men should refrain from dominating this.
Proper communication where each party articulates its grievances should be encouraged. Women may view men talks as monotonous and therefore dissociate themselves from such conversations. Men on the other hand are mostly accused of “not listening “ by women but the case is that they cant process what women are saying most of the times at the expected speeds due ton the variations in topics. A common ground can be found where each party is comfortable with.
Women group affiliation is a social thing that is influence by the nature and nurture. Some of the factors that make women behave in the certain ways are inborn while others are as a result of the environmental influence through the processes of socialization.
Works Cited
Assagioli, Roberto. “The Psychology of Woman and her Psychosynthesis.” The Psychology of Woman and her Psychosynthesis. 2010. Web.
Bätzler, Thomas. “Relationships: The Differences between Men and Women.” The Differences between Men and Women. N.d. 2010. Web.
Conner, Michael G. “Understanding the Difference between Men and Women.” Understanding the Difference between Men and Women. 2002. Web.
Hensley, Amber. “10 big differences between men’s and women’s brains.” Masters of Healthcare. 2009. Web.
Leblanc, Andre. “Washroom Break.” Relationship. 2010. Web.
Livesey, Chris. “Defining Sociology.” Defining Sociology. 2005. Web.