In NY, men are advised not to stall too long

When I visit New York, I almost always find a new trend. Usually it has to do with art, fashion or food.

But not this time.

When I was in the Big Apple recently, I discovered that women were openly barging into the men's restrooms.

The reason, of course, was the women's lines In public rest rooms were impossibly long. The men's lines were nonexistent.

My first encounter with this was at the Broadway play Master Class. At intermission I came to the restroom area and found to my surprise the men's line was almost as long as the women's.

"I've never seen this before," I said to a friend. "I wonder why the men's line is so long?"

A man in the next line answered me.

"It's because the women are in there," he said, pointing to the door. "They started griping about the long women's line, and then all just rushed into the men's. Four men were in there, caught so to speak with their pants down. They were terribly embarrassed. The women didn't seem to mind. The men walked out and explained to the rest of the men. We formed a line.

Unrest rooms

"I'm not going in until the women come out. I'm all for women. But let them stay in their own restrooms."

He did admit, however, that it was not pleasant having to wait. He got a taste of how women feel when there are long lines for them.

I smiled at all this and didn't think much more about it. A few days later, I went to see The King and I, another Broadway play.

At intermission I was in another long ladies' room line. There was no line on the men's side. Two elegantly dressed women ahead of me looked at each other and said, "Shall We?"

Then they just walked over and went Into the men's room. A few women in my line looked surprised, but several more joined the other women in the men's room.

About a minute later, an elderly man wearing a skullcap worn by orthodox Jews walked rapidly out.

One of the women going into the men's room was a friend. She said she had never done anything like this before. But the pioneering women seemed to know what they were doing. She decided to just follow their lead.

"There was only one older man In there," she said. "I apologized for embarrassing him. He shrugged his shoulders and said it didn't matter to him. But then he rushed right out."

What's at Issue here?

One more time during my New York trip, I also saw women going into the men's room. This time it was in a busy restaurant. One man who was in the bathroom when three women came in was quite mad. He complained to the manager and caused a minor scene.

I asked several people in New York about this, and they said they were seeing it happen more and more often.

"It's just what my Aunt Anne always swore would happen," said Josh Gold after going to a musical event with his aunt. He says she went to the restroom and saw women going into the men's side. She hasn't stopped talking about it. She swore this was all a result of women's lib and told her nephew it's no wonder there is a breakdown in the American family.

When I returned to Dallas, I asked around to see if this is happening here. A few people said they've seen it in isolated Incidents. But It's happening blatantly in Los Angeles.

There Is a law in Texas now that more women's toilets have to be installed in public places than men's because it takes women much longer.

Until this comes to pass, I asked women if they would resort to using the men's room In protest.

Allison Street had the best answer.

"It would all depend," she said, "on how desperate my need is. If men think that's too aggressive, just let them try waiting."