The thing about smashing glass ceilings is that once you’ve done it, you’re still left with a load of glass to clean up. Men have done such a good job of shaping the world in our image that any time a woman comes along and asks to be accommodated, it becomes such a huge hassle to change things that we often find it easier to just leave things as they are. That’s just clever forward planning. Well done us.
Nowhere is this more true than in the political sphere, where women are still bumping their heads up against that ceiling and being yelled at for trying to make a mess. Kamala Harris is already experiencing this in the US as she looks set to become America’s first female president – and our own chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has encountered a physical manifestation of this exact phenomenon as she grapples with a urinal in the bathroom of her new digs at No 11 Downing Street .
Prior to Reeves being sworn in as the UK’s first female chancellor , Treasury officials had already discussed whether it was appropriate for the residence’s bathroom to contain a urinal, with Reeves herself telling the Spectator that she’s “not really” comfortable with one being in there. While early plans seemed to be in place to remove the offending receptacle, Reeves revealed on a recent episode of the News Agents podcast that it was still firmly in situ.
“I am the first female chancellor of the exchequer , the post has existed for between 800 and 1,000 years, depending on who you listen to,” Reeves told host Emily Maitlis. “I was wondering, Emily, whether you would like to, on the way out, come and have a look at the chancellor’s toilet to see the urinal that still is in there”.
To be fair, who could possibly have known that a woman would one day be chancellor of the Exchequer ? I’m not even sure women had been invented 1,000 years ago.
Of course, there are some who think that the row is overblown; with many rightly pointing out that the bathroom still contains a sit-down toilet, which can be used by both men and women. It also doesn’t feel particularly dignified getting upset about a stranger’s toilet, no matter how esteemed their cheeks may be.
But there is something to be said for the symbolic value of removing a facility that can only be used by half of the population – specifically, the half that have exclusively dominated the role for the past millennium. Having a permanent fixture in place that caters to the office’s previous holders implies that only people who resemble those holders will have need for it in the future.
There’s just something very on-the-nose about having a physical manifestation of male-ness in a space that has historically been dominated by men. They may as well put a “no girls allowed” sign in there and screen Top Gear clips 24/7. Maybe throw in a pool table and a couple of minifridges to really complete the man cave aesthetic. I’m sorry if I’m making this sound cooler than it actually is.
As it stands, it looks like the chancellor’s urinal is here to stay. No 11 is a listed building , with a listed bathroom, which means that alterations on that scale cannot be made. Reeves will just have to live with it for the time being – perhaps rather than being a symbol of her predecessor’s sex , it can be a reminder of how he flushed all the country’s money down the toilet, and a stark warning for her not to do the same.
I’m sure she’ll get by. Is having a urinal in the chancellor’s bathroom the worst thing in the world? Not really. But it does take the p***.
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