Dear Alice,
I really enjoyed reading your answer to Hey, what's a bidet? However, in addition to using the bidet as a genital soaker, foot massage, water fountain, laundry washer, or toilet, I...
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Dear Alice,
What's a bidet?
Dear Reader,
Bidet (rhymes with "relay," "filet," and "hooray") is a French word and the
name of basin-like fixtures, or devices, that propel a gentle stream of water
toward your genitals and anal and peri-anal area for the purpose of cleaning
them. The water mostly wets external areas, and does not mimic douching
— an activity that's not recommended. Bidets sometimes look like young
toilets when situated next to slightly taller, more "developed" conventional
ones; you'll find this set-up in many European, Middle Eastern, Latin, and Asian
homes and hotels. Bidet equipment can also attach on and in toilets when space,
mobility, and price are issues.
Many readers reared outside of the United States might find your question amazing
and amusing as bidets are as standard as toilet paper in many other lands. And,
more than once, laughter could be heard across the Atlantic as yet another American
mistakes a genital soaker for a foot massage, water fountain, laundry washer,
or, yes, even a toilet. Why don't bidets grace most American bathrooms? Well,
bidets are dedicated solely to helping people better bathe their vulvas, anuses,
penises, and the regions around them. This requires paying close attention to,
and often touching, one's genitalia after urination, bowel movements, et. al.
— something many Americans find dirty, sinful, embarrassing, or just plain
weird.
"Get over it!," say health care providers who cheer that bidets clean better
than toilet paper; help prevent vaginitis, urinary tract infections, and other
ailments; and, leave things cleaner and fresher smelling down there after sex
and during menstruation. They are clearly a huge help for people with hemorrhoids,
diarrhea, rashes, and infections, which toilet tissue can aggravate, spread,
and add to already painful situations. Bidets help mentally challenged people,
the elderly, pregnant women, post-surgical patients, people who are paralyzed,
and others for whom standing, reaching, bending, and other movements are painful,
difficult, or impossible.
Times and toilet habits are a-changing; more new homes in the States come equipped
with bidets due to increased travel, immigration, and availability of information
about genital hygiene and the hardware that promotes it.
Have a nice (bi)det,
March 8, 2002
Dear Alice,
I really enjoyed reading your answer to Hey, what's a bidet? However, in addition to using the bidet as a genital soaker, foot massage, water fountain, laundry washer, or toilet, I would like to add a further innovative American usage of the bidet. My mom spent her junior year abroad in Spain, and she used the bidet as a helpful and convenient contraption to shave her legs. Since there are fewer bidets in America, I stick to waxing.
Yours,
M