A few weeks ago, after discovering that I’d be contributing to MSP, my mom came home with an odd surprise for me. She handed me a small blue cardboard box that boasted the title Urifemme. When I read the description on the box, biodegradable disposable urination funnel for women, I was a bit confused. My mom then explained to me that it is a device that allows women to urinate while standing up in order to avoid sitting on dirty toilet seats.
As soon as I saw them, I realized that they may also provide an easy bathroom experience for transmen. A device like this could allow pre-op transmen (and other people with nontraditional gender identities) to easily urinate at a urinal in the men’s room, as opposed to having to pick a stall and sit down. Although the product is being marketed towards cis-women (as shown in the advertisement here), it can really be used by anyone.
Talk about shaking up perceptions of gender...check out this picture that came with the instructions!
The product itself is a piece of white cardboard about the size and shape of an ice-cream cone. According to the directions, you are supposed to “place contoured cone firmly against genital region in front of urinary opening, stand facing the toilet, and empty bladder normally”. An opening at the end of the cone allows for a very, well, “male” bathroom experience.
What do you guys think? Feminine hygiene product or innovation in the world of gender identity?
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