Cultural commentary: Europeans and sex/gender

Every once in a while in Europe, one gets a not-subtle-reminder that one is not in Kansas anymore.

In France, it is the comfort with public nudity. Here is what you see plastered on the back of public buses:

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. 

In Switzerland, there is also a sort of "directness" or a desire to leave nothing open to interpretation. Here is what the sign for the bathrooms look like at the tram station:

They are clearly NOT using the rather boring international symbol of "male" and "female." Let's take a closer look.

The woman is squatting:

And the man is standing, probably talking about the football game with the guy next to him:

Your cultural correspondent will continue to be on the lookout and will report back with more later.