Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Ever have the feeling that you just weren't where you were supposed to be?
I went to the bathroom on the first floor in Furman Hall the other day. I'd availed myself of those very facilities on numerous prior occasions.
On this day, I glided into the first space, with its gleaming white sinks, seagreen tiles and a strange, new white-painted large metal box. The box was a dispenser that gave out two things -- the icons indicated tampons and napkins (forgive me, I have no idea what "napkins" are and the image on the napkin seemed to be the male symbol). I thought, "I guess the napkins are for guys, but what's the use of a dispenser that sells tampons here? Seems wasteful."
I shrugged and passed through the next door into the room with stalls... and everything felt strange. The mirror wasn't on the back of the door as I recalled. All of the stalls were on the wrong side. I shrugged, "I guess maybe I haven't used this bathroom before." I went into a stall, picked up the loose roll of toilet paper, pulled off a few sheets, wiped off the seat, placed my backpack on the hook, and proceeded to unzip, when I looked down and noticed the most curious little box.
I'd seen that box before. Suddenly memories flooded back into my head, of painting a banner for homecoming or something similar in high school and, for space and clean up reasons, having to do it in the girl's bathroom. That was the first and only other time I'd ever seen that box.
With my pants half undone I dashed out of the stall and searched the room for a urinal. No urinal. I dashed back into the stall, zipped up, grabbed my backpack and sped out of there.
I got into the hallway just before another guy exited the men's room. I breathed a sigh of relief as no one has witnessed what had just taken place, when I realized I was still holding the roll of toilet paper. I pushed the door open, blindly tossed it back in and quickly walked away, refusing to look back.
promulgated by SWS2.1 at 20:42.
3 comments
3 Comments:
If you were older, you would think you were getting dementia. This happens more often than you'd imagine. At one law school I worked at, a female professor walked into the faculty/staff men's room, saw me washing my hands at the sink, and said, "What are YOU doing in here?" I pointed to the urinals, and she said, "Oh. It's been a long day."
There actually is a serious issue at some schools as to which bathroom transgender students could use. I recall in the early 90s, one law school tried to avoid problems by having the one transgender student use the dean's private bathroom.
I honestly do not get why we don't yet have unisex mass bathrooms widely. I mean, I do get it: because sex still holds value far greater than it ought to. And for that reason girls and boys may be uncomfortable going to the bathroom near one another, yet there is nothing inherently more odd about having to go to the bathroom next to someone of a different sex or gender than someone of the same. Ugh, the world is so stupid.
Also, I think something may actually be going bad in my brain. I don't think it was merely happenstance. I think I may go to a dr. to have my brain scanned or something.
Interesting to know.
By 
, at
11:21 PM
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