State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) on Sunday confirmed her commitment to “potty parity” for female lawmakers, with The Associated Press reporting that a journalist’s request for comment to the lawmaker prompted Behn to reconsider the bathroom arrangements at the Tennessee State Capitol, which she deemed biased in favor of men.
The outlet noted that the Capitol contains “a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers,” but that it is “in a cramped hall under a staircase,” and boasts just two stalls despite a nearby men’s room containing three stalls, plus two urinals.
Behn, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, linked the issue to the number of women in politics at the state level in Tennessee.
“I’ve apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job,” Behn told The Associated Press. “I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn’t exist — or at least didn’t have bladders.”
While The Associated Press reported the “potty parity” issue exists in Capitol buildings throughout the country, with Kentucky, Nebraska, Maryland, Colorado, and New Mexico named by the author, the outlet hinted toward the historic nature of Tennessee’s Capitol, which remains one of the oldest working capitols in the nation, as a partial explanation.
When completed in 1859, the outlet noted that Tennessee’s Capitol only held one bathroom. It was fed by a cistern that collected rainwater, providing sufficient pressure for the toilets to flush.
Tennessee Legislative Librarian Eddie Weeks noted during a presentation delivered last year that, by 1883, the rainwater toilet system was described as a “stench in the nostrils of decency,” and “declared a nuisance both by the State Board of Health and by the City Sanitary Officer,” citing reporting from the 19th century.
In the years that followed, government records made available on the internet by the Tennessee Secretary of State reveal that Tennessee collected bids to make improvements to its “water closets,” the term used for public bathrooms during that time, at least twice.
The first occurred in 1885, when two pairs of architects submitted plans for “water closets” and “plans and specifications for a water closet system.” Six years later, in 1891, more bids for “water closets” and “plumbing work” were submitted by two more companies.
It remains unclear whether these efforts were considered successful, as more bids to improve the Capitol’s bathrooms were collected in the early 20th century. For instance, in 1902, Tennessee received six bids from companies to complete additional plumbing work.
As with indoor plumbing, the Capitol was constructed before electricity or air conditioning were commonplace, and it required similar waves of updates to bring the building in line with modern standards. Electric lighting was only installed in 1895, while ducts for air ventilation were approved during renovations completed during the 1950s.
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) alluded to the years of updates in August 2023, during a period when temperatures in Davidson County repeatedly reached 100 degrees, prompting lawmakers to ask for answers about the state of the Capitol.
“We’ve been working with maintenance,” Sexton told lawmakers. An official later told WKRN, “The high ambient air temperature is pushing the capacity limits of the system. However, our team is doing everything they can to keep the space comfortable.” Officials were also working to install a new water fountain at the time.
Often compared to U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Behn has courted controversy, with the Democrat recently arguing the New York mayoral campaign of Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, will help her congressional bid.
Earlier this year, U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) accused Behn of obstructing law enforcement when she purportedly live-streamed herself during a traffic stop in May, during the period when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained nearly 200 illegal immigrants.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Aftyn Behn” by Aftyn Behn.
