The Never-Ending Bathroom Debate

[BullDog]

OK, well I have never heard of the right wing positing that all rapes occur in the washroom. I do think it's quite clear the right wing doesn't have women's safety as a top priority given what they are trying to get passed through the U.S. Congress right now.

[Linus]

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/...n-bathroom-ads

[BullDog]

Ok thanks Linus. The logic of the commercials don't make sense of course. The man going into the bathroom after the child goes in would not be "legal." That's absurd.

Also what if they show a boy going into a men's bathroom instead of a girl, and show the scary looking dude going in after him? That was already "legal."

I don't think a child that age should be going into a bathroom alone, and I don't think the children should be playing unsupervised.

[Linus]

Yup. That's what I was trying to point out. Florida's attempt (I think this was attempted in 2007/2008) at a gender neutral law in regards to washroom shows a lot of what the right seem to think of washroom neutrality and, in particular, the "threat" of transwomen in the woman's washroom.

[BullDog]

Ok, got it. Trans people are not the threat and rapists and child molesters are not going to change their ways based on any laws.

[Linus]

Originally Posted by BullDog

Ok, got it. Trans people are not the threat and rapists and child molesters are not going to change their ways based on any laws.

Yup. But at the same time, to suggest that behind every door is a rapist is a bit extreme (which is what the ads that ran in Florida and elsewhere suggested).

[Medusa]

I'm glad you mentioned this June. I actually had a conversation with someone a couple years back about the whole "male child" issue in restrooms, branching off from a larger conversation about Michigan Women's Fest and how male children have to stay in a completely different camp.

If I had a boy child? There is NO way I'd let him go in a public restroom alone in this day and age. I'd be terrified of something happening.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by June

I did not let my son go to public bathrooms unattended until he was almost 10 years old, and then I stood outside the door and waited.

Up until then, I took him into the "Ladies" room with me. He was my child and I didn't care if it made people uncomfortable.

You were right on to do this. Other people can just deal with it!

[Gayla]

I understand how scary "different" can be. Whether it should or shouldn't be scary isn't the issue for me with this situation. If someone is uncomfortable by my presence, my first thought is not about educating them or asserting my rights, it's about defusing the situation to make them less frightened. I can usually do that with a smile, a nod and a simple, "Hello" while I make my way in or out or am washing my hands. It may take a second for it to register in their mind but once it does, I'd like to think it has a more positive affect, in the long run, than being confrontational.

I would much rather someone, in a restaurant for example, walk back to their table and maybe tell an amusing story about incorrectly thinking a man had walked into the ladies room rather than go back to their table all pissed off because someone berated them in the restroom when they were just confused and may have stared a moment longer than necessary.