Standing in long lines, missing the first act after intermission and crossing your legs while praying you’re next can be a painful experience.

Women know the pain of waiting to use the bathroom at sporting events, concerts, plays and practically any other public place.

But a formal complaint was filed in June on the issue of “potty parity” with the U.S. Department of Education against the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium.

The auditorium meets Michigan code but some say there is “a heavier burden” on women than men. The auditorium has 60 percent more male restrooms than the code requires, but the women’s restrooms have only 1 percent more than code.

If the complaint is upheld, the $38.6 million upgrade on the building could be halted.

U-M spokeswoman Julie Peterson refused to comment on the situation.

George Washington University law Professor John Banzhaf III is joining U-M alumna and Ann Arbor lawyer Jean King in filing the complaint.

“In some ways this is a much broader quest for equal protection in other issues,” Banzhaf said.

“The university does have an obligation to make lines more equal. It could be that this issue of potty parity may be a legal issue or it may be discrimination.”

Women take longer in bathrooms for reasons they cannot control biologically and logistically, Banzhaf said. Women have to sit down, a factor they cannot control.

But he also said women do occasionally wear tighter clothes and spend longer in front of the mirror, things they can control.

Space also becomes a factor in restroom equity.

More than 10 urinals can usually fit into the space of three stalls, leaving women with fewer places to use even if square footage is equal.

But not everyone believes potty parity is on the side of men.

Education graduate student Chris Shaltry thinks men are being unfairly treated.

“Women’s bathrooms are proportionally so much larger than men’s,” he said. “It’s like another world in there.

“If anything, the men should sue the university for sexual discrimination.”

Human biology senior Trisha Marsh said she believed long lines at bathrooms just can’t be helped for either sexes.

“Especially after football games, the lines are long,” she said. “But they’re long for both sexes, not just the women.”

Staff writer Antonio Planas contributed to this report.