Althouse: "I’m not going to expose myself. I’m not a pervert. I’m a transgender woman. I’m a girl."

September 2, 2015

"I’m not going to expose myself. I’m not a pervert. I’m a transgender woman. I’m a girl."

"I’m just in there to change, do my business, and... if they have any questions about being transgender, they are more than welcome to talk to me, and I’ll be happy to explain it."

And: "The girls have rights, and they shouldn’t have to share a bathroom with a boy."

ADDED: Elizabeth Price Foley has the nerve to say: "And I’m sorry, but 'Lila' is clearly just a dude with a wig, and I wouldn’t want my teenage daughter to share a locker room with him/her/it."

141 comments:

Curious George said...: Men, Women, Freaks; 9/2/15, 8:51 AM
tim maguire said...: The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many.; 9/2/15, 8:52 AM
Jaq said...: Fuck them. Those girls can deal with it or be sent to re-education camps.; 9/2/15, 8:52 AM
Scott said...: 71% of Americans think that political correctness is a problem in America, according to a Rasmussen poll released August 28.

Well, no shit.; 9/2/15, 8:58 AM
rhhardin said...: Systems designed to run downhill are the only ones that work.

The push through despite universal objection strategy doesn't work as well as the press makes it seem.; 9/2/15, 8:59 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Guy dressed as a woman in the girls' locker room.

One erection and he is out of there.

Unless it is a Woman Erection.

Of course.

I am Laslo.; 9/2/15, 9:05 AM
Bob Boyd said...: The headline seems to imply an equivalence between MEN and WOMEN markings on restroom doors and the WHITES and COLORED signs on drinking fountains in the Jim Crow south.; 9/2/15, 9:08 AM
Matt Sablan said...: I was confused; it keeps referring to the student as she/her, but it sounds like, genetically, physically and biologically, the student is male. Biologically/physically male or female seems to me to be what should be defining where someone gets changed.

Unless, you know, a perfect compromise has been reached that addresses everyone's wants and needs. This, for example: "Perry ... used to use a unisex facilities meant for staff" seemed to be a perfect compromise. I see no reason for us to change that.; 9/2/15, 9:10 AM
Anonymous said...: Bathrooms are segregated by sex, not by gender. It's not like there are toy trucks in the men's room and princess tiaras in the ladies rooms. If you can use a urinal, you belong in the men's room.; 9/2/15, 9:11 AM
Fernandinande said...: "I'm a girl" said the boy.; 9/2/15, 9:13 AM
Bobby said...: Nope, this was on South Park. Eric Cartman was tired of the smelly boys' room always being crowded, so he declared that he was transwoman "Erica" and started using the girls' bathroom. Stan knew it was BS and said so, and was immediately branded an intolerant bigot. But the girls were also extremely uncomfortable (Cartman was pretty, uh, foul in the stall), so they complained to the school administration. The principal reached the solution that there would be a cis-boys' room, cis-girls' room and a trans' room, the latter of which would accommodate Cartman as his own executive-like bathroom. Only Wendy decided that she was going to declare herself transman "Wendall," and started using Cartman's bathroom, which upset Cartman because he didn't want to have to share a bathroom with a "girl." In the end, they decided that the private bathroom would be for the bigots who weren't comfortable sharing the bathroom with trannies, so Stan got his own bathroom, until Cartman immediately changed back to Eric and denounced transpeople in principle, so that he could regain access to it.; 9/2/15, 9:15 AM
Deirdre Mundy said...: Private restroom/changing area seems to be the answer. When I was in Jr. High or High School, I would not have wanted a naked boy in the girls' locker room. And It was pretty clear that penis=boy. If you want to be a girl, don't have a penis.; 9/2/15, 9:16 AM
Deirdre Mundy said...: Reading the article, he's apparently decided he gets to be a girl and use the girls' bathroom because he has long hair and wears a skirt.

So.... at certain point in his life Mel Gibson should have been allowed to use the girls' room. I don't know WHY the girls feel unsafe and exposed!; 9/2/15, 9:19 AM
damikesc said...: Private restroom/changing area seems to be the answer. When I was in Jr. High or High School, I would not have wanted a naked boy in the girls' locker room. And It was pretty clear that penis=boy. If you want to be a girl, don't have a penis.

Humoring adults with mental issues is silly.

Humoring children with mental issues is cruel.; 9/2/15, 9:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Deirdre Mundy said...
Private restroom/changing area seems to be the answer. When I was in Jr. High or High School,

She had been using the Staff Unisex facility, but that wasn't good enough, she wanted to have it all and use the girls facilities and the actual you know, "girls" would have to suck it up, becuz you know, Lila has rights...; 9/2/15, 9:20 AM
Roughcoat said...: Laslo "raises" an interesting point!; 9/2/15, 9:21 AM
Roughcoat said...: This whole stupid issue makes me long for the days when there were lesbians and homos and that was the extent of it.; 9/2/15, 9:24 AM
Clayton Hennesey said...: Just cut it off, Lila.; 9/2/15, 9:25 AM
Michael K said...: The war on logic and common sense is going nicely.; 9/2/15, 9:29 AM
Wince said...: He looks like Adam Sandler as one of the "Gap Girls" from SNL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yErb0jzIPL8; 9/2/15, 9:29 AM
Brando said...: We're probably not going to be adding a third bathroom (for Men, Women, and Other) so pick one and use their stall. If you're convincingly feminine, no one will notice if you use the ladies' room. If you look like a man, use the men's.; 9/2/15, 9:36 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: I'd have more sympathy/interest if he/she didn't look like a high-school boy dressed n drag for a school play.; 9/2/15, 9:44 AM
clint said...: Put real doors on the stalls, put real stalls around the urinals, and leave the sink area open to the public hallway without a door that closes. Then let anybody use the restroom.

Bonus: I'd bet more teenage boys would wash their hands if girls might be watching.

Of course, the real controversy over private stalls (or private bathrooms) is that some adults are obsessed with what naughty teens might do with a modicum of privacy. I have no solution for this, except to suggest that adults who are obsessed with the sexuality of teens probably shouldn't be involved with our schools.; 9/2/15, 9:45 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: I'd like to point out the main issue was not the bathroom but the locker room.

I have no fantasies involving Cheerleaders in their stalls in the bathroom.

I have plenty of fantasies of Cheerleaders in the locker room, changing out of their clothes, massaging the cramps in their inner thighs and -- of course -- the shower.

I am Laslo.; 9/2/15, 9:48 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Which brings the point: does Lila not shower after gym class? I thought women were more sensitive to personal hygiene.

But then again, he doesn't have a sweaty vagina to wash out.

I am Laslo.; 9/2/15, 9:49 AM
jr565 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/2/15, 9:52 AM
JCC said...: This is ridiculous. If he has XY chromosones, he can use the boys' bathrooms and locker rooms. When his genes test out XX, then he is entitled to be called "she" and can use the girls' facilities.

Good enough for the Olympics, good enough for me.; 9/2/15, 9:57 AM
Anonymous said...: It looks like we were wrong to close all those mental hospitals.

It's time we started treating crazy people as if they are crazy, instead of trying to indulge them in their delusions.; 9/2/15, 10:06 AM
CJinPA said...: Our school district is trying to establish protocol for the 20-some students identifying as transgender out of 11,000. Doing it quietly, for now. Trying to avoid this kind of circus.

Any suggestion to hold off is met with "Well, there are now court cases...." Most policy enacted by schools now is tied to the threat of litigation. Not a great way to raise kids, but the reality.; 9/2/15, 10:18 AM
Sebastian said...: "decided for this academic year she wanted to be allowed in the girls' bathrooms"

And when a would-be tranny has "decided," the rest of us must fall in line.

Deviancy has been defined down, way down.

The war against bourgeois culture continues. Insanity rules.; 9/2/15, 10:19 AM
Dude1394 said...: The solution is to either tell the he/she to shut up and get into the boys bathroom until he/she cuts it off.

or Make all bathrooms unisex and be done with it. But no way that exceptions should be considered at all. It is just ridiculous.; 9/2/15, 10:19 AM
Jane the Actuary said...: So: a lot of comments so far on other websites have said, "let everyone change in private changing rooms and we're all fine." How much money would it cost to remodel all locker rooms into a large series of individual changing rooms? More than I want to spend my tax money on.

The demand that this individual be allowed to change in the girls' locker is presumably a purely "political" one of wanting acknowledgement as a girl, but it defies common sense. Otherwise, why not just have one large changing room for everyone? If a woman gets upset at being undressed around a penis-person, it's her problem for being overly-sensitive about her body.; 9/2/15, 10:24 AM
Jane the Actuary said...: Two odd things from the article: this individual wears a wig -- why? why not just grow out natural hair, like anyone else who wants long hair? Even men can have long hair, anyway. And skirts? Teenage girls wear skirts these days? The picture showed an individual who looked unnaturally skinny, besides.; 9/2/15, 10:30 AM
AlbertAnonymous said...: This stuff infuriates me. Because this ONE boy "identifies" as a girl and is uncomfortable in the boys bathroom, the school falls all over itself to "accommodate" this one person's feelings. Then when A WHOLE BUNCH of girls complain that they're uncomfortable with this person in the girls' bathroom, the school could care less. Here's the money quote:

"[S]chool officials pointed out that denying fair access to a transgender student could bring reprisals from the federal government"

Its like a LGBTQWERTY veto. Who cares about the girls.

Years ago my city made "accessible" modifications to the curbs on my street. Its a pretty steep hill, a whole series of courts coming off of it, and at each court, the city cut into the sidewalk (on each side of each court) to put in a ramp so now someone in a wheelchair can go up or down the steep hill and use ramp after ramp after ramp. Hey, I think accommodating people with mobility issues is great, but not at this kind of extreme. I have lived there over 20 years and have NEVER seen anyone in a wheelchair going up or down the street (either before or after the changes). Good use of money.; 9/2/15, 10:45 AM
Ben Morris said...: Big difference between bathrooms and locker rooms that this article obscures. Other stories suggest that people were pretty much OK with him/her using women's restrooms, but then he/she insisted on using the women's locker room for changing as well, leading to this brouhaha.; 9/2/15, 10:48 AM
Peter said...: "I’m not going to expose myself. I’m not a pervert. I’m a transgender woman. I’m a girl."

We don't know if you're going to expose yourself (although that's a normal, expected, and mostly unavoidable thing to do in a locker room). Whether or not you're a "pervert" depends on the definition, and thus is irrelevant. You may or may not be feminine, but you're obviously not a girl.

Part of the tyranny here is a demand that everyone acknowledge as true what is obviously not true.

And part of the tyranny here is demanding that girls must put up with your male presence, when they are obviously don't believe you are a girl. Should they be badgered until they publicly acknowledge as true what they know is not true, or must they be brainwashed until they actually believe that what is not true really is true?

Someone's being bullied here, but, it's not you.; 9/2/15, 10:50 AM
walter said...: Mary
"Children have always learned to survive being uncomfortable in the lockerroom getting changed with their "peers". This generation of kids will survive it too."

Jane
"If a woman gets upset at being undressed around a penis-person, it's her problem for being overly-sensitive about her body."

Riiiiight.

Do you two go to a gym? Let's try this out...with Laslo there.; 9/2/15, 10:52 AM
Jane the Actuary said...: Could a gay man demand to use a woman's locker room, on the basis that he's not sexually attracted to women?; 9/2/15, 10:52 AM
Geoff Matthews said...: LOOK AT ME! ACKNOWLEDGE ME! COMMEND ME!; 9/2/15, 10:54 AM
walter said...: In a couple years "she" can join FEMEN protests; 9/2/15, 10:58 AM
robinintn said...: Not worried about you exposing yourself asshole. Worried about the fact that our daughters are being FORCED to expose themselves to you.; 9/2/15, 11:20 AM
Unknown said...: The people who have brought this circumstance about will have not the slightest problem, should they find it expedient to their underlying purposes, declaring that this young fool is both a girl, because he says so, and not to be treated in every case just as though he is no different than any other girl, because fill in the blank. Once you've dispensed with standards for verifying the truth to this extent all possible internal logical conflicts are eliminated. True doublethink becomes automatic.

This is an awful power to be used for good or evil. No, wait. Good and evil. No, that's not right. Either or neither or both, depending. It's a neat trick if it lasts. I'm anxious, and afraid, to see it turned against them. They've almost got it made now but the hardest part remains. Reality still exists, 1 is not 0, and nearly everyone remains to be convinced to ignore their lying eyes.

We'll see. Or not. Or, oh fuck it....; 9/2/15, 11:22 AM
n.n said...: Feminine one day. Masculine another. Gender fluidity.

Why does the trans movement have to be so dense? Despite their preferred orientation, they will never change their sex.

That said, Planned Parenthood/Abortion, Planned Retirement/Euthanasia, Planned Intercourse/Prostitution, and now Planned Gender/Voyeur, where a "doctor" can sculpt your body to match your gender mood. The State-established pro-choice "church".; 9/2/15, 11:24 AM
Deirdre Mundy said...: Here's what really confuses me:

If a man exposes himself to a woman in a public area, or goes into a woman's restroom and exposes himself, or even drops his pants to take a leak not realizing that a woman is in the alley, it's indecent exposure and it's a crime.

If a man spreads his legs too widely on the subway, thus forcing women to see his crotch, it's agressive and chauvenist.

But if he puts on a wig and a skirt, suddenly we celebrate that behavior and tell the girls to man up and deal with it?

I don't see how feminists can reconcile the two positions. I also don't understand why, if he's not taking hormones and doesn't want surgery, the kid doesn't just grow out his hair and wear a utility kilt. Problem solved. (except for the access to the girls' lockerroom, of course!); 9/2/15, 11:27 AM
amielalune said...: For now, he's just a transvestite. When he has the actual sex change, then he shouldn't have any problems with bathrooms.; 9/2/15, 11:34 AM
LCB said...: Don't have time to read through the comments right now, so don't know if anyone has said this: in the end there won't be men's and women's restrooms in public places; ust restrooms. And...urinals and toilets will all be in stalls for privacy.

To me...no big deal. I have no problem with the thought of a woman in the stall next to me or sharing the sink. Would probably make public rest rooms better, because I think more attention is paid to making women's restrooms clean than the men's. Us men just don't care that much. :-); 9/2/15, 11:34 AM
walter said...: Deirdre,
There will be no reconciling. It's a disjointed, multi prong approach with minimal context.
But there's more..
In the age of affirmed consent and "micro-aggressions" (not judging!) some might feel this scenario is "kinda rapey".; 9/2/15, 11:40 AM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: I do like when memes collide: War on Women vs. War on Transpeople--who will win?!
(I think we already know who loses, really)>; 9/2/15, 11:41 AM
Todd said...: Hey Laslo, no way you can let this "gold" go to waste!

She said she objected to Perry being given what she asks for 'while the girls just have to suck it up'.; 9/2/15, 12:01 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Let me guess, all the restrooms will go unisex. Then women will have to be more vigilant about restrooms and, therefore, have less access to them.

This transgender accommodation push is, in more ways than this, hostile to women. The big hostility is the normalization of female stereotypes and the pretension that long hair, skirts, and makeup are the defining characteristics of women.; 9/2/15, 12:12 PM
damikesc said...: This is why, if I had daughters, I'd teach them to not meekly accept bullshit.

...I'd also recommend they make complaints anytime he looks at them in a restroom. After all, how would SHE know that he isn't looking for sexual reasons?; 9/2/15, 12:15 PM
Cynicus said...: I see a Title IX counter lawsuit. Women not playing sports because they are uncomfortable changing in the locker room. Law fare is fun.; 9/2/15, 12:23 PM
jeff said...: Wow, how much have high schools changed. The biggest thing I remember happening was the guy that played in a band and the school wouldn't let him attend because of his long hair. They even went to court, the compromise was he had to tuck the long hair under a short haired wig.; 9/2/15, 12:26 PM
Matt Sablan said...: "The big hostility is the normalization of female stereotypes and the pretension that long hair, skirts, and makeup are the defining characteristics of women."

-- I always wanted to ask a woman about this. Is it kind of... I don't know, marginalizing the whole idea of being a woman is a purely physical femininity?; 9/2/15, 12:28 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Now I'm kind of wondering if there are any transgendered lesbians.

Must be.

Hell, maybe they're all lesbians.

That would make a certain kind of sense, sort of.; 9/2/15, 12:29 PM
Matt Sablan said...: Have any female to male transgender stories made the news?; 9/2/15, 12:31 PM
Jaq said...: I am waiting for the first self consistent and logical argument why a genetic and intact male can't be a "Lesbian in a man's body" but this boy can be a girl.; 9/2/15, 12:31 PM
Matt Sablan said...: "Let me guess, all the restrooms will go unisex. Then women will have to be more vigilant about restrooms and, therefore, have less access to them."

-- Not being a woman, is this a real concern? Not to be facetious, but is that one of the reasons women don't go alone? It never even occurs to me that some places might be possibly dangerous, so when someone says something like this, it makes me wonder what blind spots I've got.; 9/2/15, 12:33 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: If I were a chick, I'd be really fucking ugly.

Frankly, I think I'm better off the way things are right now, being a really fucking ugly guy.

But I think maybe I'd empty out my bank account if I could buy a month's worth of being a super hot lesbian chick.; 9/2/15, 12:33 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: His parents are probably horrible, detached enablers. Probably, a leftist broken family breaking another kid. I feel kinda sad for him, but more importantly these girls should not have to put up with gender-bending nonsense.; 9/2/15, 12:33 PM
MayBee said...: I don't get it. Men are supposedly super rapey. They'll do all kinds of things to rape women, and women apparently are often so shocked by their rape they remain friendly with their rapist rather than tell people they've been raped. Women are at risk of being raped everywhere they go- especially in college!

But not, apparently, when men are in their bathroom. I guess it's either that men in high school are at the pre-rape age, or men at gyms wouldn't ever rape, or something.
In the bathroom, where women are naked, is when they are the most safe from the men in there with them.; 9/2/15, 12:35 PM
Jaq said...: Have any female to male transgender stories made the news?

I just remember reading a lament for the lack of good bull dykes since the craze began.; 9/2/15, 12:35 PM
Jaq said...: See, as usual MayBee gets it. Women are safest from rape naked in a locker room with a man.; 9/2/15, 12:36 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: There's this variant of computer animated porn where super hot chicks have enormous dicks.

Guys who whack off to that sort of stuff really ought to consider maybe getting some professional help.; 9/2/15, 12:37 PM
Michael said...: I belong to a club that was once for men only. In the 80s the force of the early PC movement descended on the club and we voted to admit women in lieu of having certain tax advantages removed from us. We built women's locker rooms. We build women's showers. We built women's restrooms. We spent a shitload of money to accommodate the impending throng of women being sponsored for and admitted to membership.

A few joined, a very few. And, lo!, they discovered that men went to the men's club not to make deals and conspire against women but to have lunch and to work out and have a few drinks at the end of the day.

At first they didn't believe that, they continued to believe that the men were sneaking deal making somewhere in the club, perhaps in the men's locker rooms.

Once they discovered the facts they moved on.; 9/2/15, 12:37 PM
Jaq said...: I think more attention is paid to making women's restrooms clean than the men's. Us men just don't care that much. :-)

Said somebody who has apparently never been in a public ladies room. Think about hovering over the seat because you don't want to touch it.; 9/2/15, 12:39 PM
jr565 said...: Can you serve as a transgender female in the military with women, if you still keep your junk?
Because that would make for some great porno scenarios.
Ha ha, I wasn't a transgeder at all, I was really a transvestite!; 9/2/15, 12:39 PM
Jaq said...: Guys who whack off to that sort of stuff really ought to consider maybe getting some professional help.

Careful, or it is off to the joycamp with you!; 9/2/15, 12:42 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Not being a woman, is this a real concern? Not to be facetious, but is that one of the reasons women don't go alone?

Yes. It's good to know that a man can't hang around the bathroom or follow a woman into the bathroom. In fact, one of the most common ways to get rid of someone who won't leave you alone is to head for the bathroom (if it's a large one with many people going in and out of it.)

Most people are perfectly nice, but there are a few creeps in most big places. As it is now, they can't do their creeping in the restroom without attracting attention and being removed. Allow them into the restrooms, and women often won't be able to use them, especially young women.; 9/2/15, 12:43 PM
Jaq said...: “There’s a lot of ignorance, they are claiming that they’re uncomfortable. I don’t believe for a second that they are. - Our Hero, Lila

It is amazing how they know what everybody else is thinking and how it is always down to bigotry and hate. I wish I was a liberal and could know everybody's soul just by looking at them, or even just by hearing about them. Wouldn't that be great? That's because they are so fair minded.; 9/2/15, 12:46 PM
Todd said...: tim in vermont said...
I am waiting for the first self consistent and logical argument why a genetic and intact male can't be a "Lesbian in a man's body" but this boy can be a girl.
9/2/15, 12:31 PM

I believe you just described Bruce Jenner!

One of the upsides is no need for a strap-on.; 9/2/15, 12:46 PM
Jaq said...: On the plus side, he could make a lot of money for a few years as a New Orleans hooker.; 9/2/15, 12:47 PM
Jaq said...: By the way, if he should read that comment of mine, I "don't believe for a second" that he is offended.; 9/2/15, 12:49 PM
sean said...: It's interesting to me, the transgender movement has acquired sufficient cultural power that Prof. Althouse posts this piece without comment. In years past, she used to complain about the idea of men using women's bathrooms, but now, obviously, she doesn't want to say something that would be unpopular on campus.; 9/2/15, 12:58 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Damn!!! And here I thought that so many of my dates were spending so much time in the ladies' room because they were all bulimic!; 9/2/15, 1:08 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: Needs #MenInSkirts hashtag.; 9/2/15, 1:29 PM
walter said...: As someone who worked cleaning both bathrooms at McDonald's as a kid, he might not want to "go there". Sugar and Spice..uh huh.; 9/2/15, 1:54 PM
Birches said...: Here's what really confuses me:

If a man exposes himself to a woman in a public area, or goes into a woman's restroom and exposes himself, or even drops his pants to take a leak not realizing that a woman is in the alley, it's indecent exposure and it's a crime.

If a man spreads his legs too widely on the subway, thus forcing women to see his crotch, it's agressive and chauvenist.

But if he puts on a wig and a skirt, suddenly we celebrate that behavior and tell the girls to man up and deal with it?

I don't see how feminists can reconcile the two positions. I also don't understand why, if he's not taking hormones and doesn't want surgery, the kid doesn't just grow out his hair and wear a utility kilt. Problem solved. (except for the access to the girls' lockerroom, of course!)

Nailed it. Of course, this goes hand in hand with that Wapo Op-ed Althouse posted about a week ago about why there is a dearth of female to male transgendered people.

I can't believe this story is real. And that the girls are the ones who have a problem.; 9/2/15, 2:01 PM
Quaestor said...: Four sentences, three falsehoods.; 9/2/15, 2:08 PM
Quaestor said...: With a truth to lie ratio approaching 1.34 "Lila" is getting into Hillary territory.; 9/2/15, 2:12 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Aren't you stereotyping women as afraid, weak, or too incapable of going to the bathroom in public and being alert about their surroundings?

No, that's exactly what I'm not doing. I'm saying that because women are alert to their surroundings, if you make bathrooms unisex, women will often not want to use them.

Restrooms are different than other places because they're especially built for quiet and privacy. There's a much greater danger if you encounter a creep in a restroom than if you encounter one on the street or in a store.

So this:

Creeps can be anywhere.
Big girls learn how to identify and avoid them.

Doesn't make sense. It's difficult to avoid creeps if they can go everywhere you can go. And it's especially difficult to avoid them if you walk into a private, quiet space and one is already there.; 9/2/15, 2:36 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I think if you were in the everyday working world, you would have to learn to either adjust to things that perhaps make you uncomfortable, if you wanted to stay employed.

I think that if you interacted with any human beings face to face in real life, you would be less oddly hostile online.; 9/2/15, 2:37 PM
Delayna said...: Maybe we need to teach girls how to be bigger and stronger than men. That would work! Because a 98-lb. 15 year old girl should be able to take down a 250-lb fully grown rapist without breaking a nail.; 9/2/15, 2:48 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I understand when you stay home, and homeschool, it can be hard to adjust to life outside the home. But other women disagree with your stereotypes of how fearful of men we are.

I likely interact with as many people in an average day as you do in an average week.

So instead of attempting to attack me with assumptions, you'll have to offer actual arguments to support your point. Ready, set, go!

(You did learn how to do that in law school, yes? I'm sure Althouse tried to teach you how to do this. Maybe if you email her nicely, she'll quote you a rate for tutoring.); 9/2/15, 2:49 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Women cannot use the potty if someone else is in there?

As of now, if a man enters the women's restroom, he knows that if anyone sees him go in or finds him inside, he's going to attract attention and likely be removed. This is not the case if restrooms are unisex. In that case, a rapist can hang around until someone comes in who is to his liking. Or he can follow someone in without attracting attention. That's the difference. It would make many restrooms less safe, especially for young women.; 9/2/15, 2:55 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: You are afraid because you have little experience outside the home.

You have a bad habit of making incorrect assumptions about people. Your reasoning suffers for it.; 9/2/15, 2:58 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The 18-and-under set?
Or do you refer to grown women like Freeman as a "girl"?

I've been talking about women who are about 18 years old. Perhaps you missed that. Closer reading next time perhaps.; 9/2/15, 2:59 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: That's an unrealistic fear.

Yes. We both agree that this is an unrealistic fear for you. It's not a fear that I have for myself either.

But for a young, attractive woman? Whole different ballgame.; 9/2/15, 3:05 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Did your wealth insulate you from interacting with others?

And there's another incorrect one. Do you have a list of them or do you come up with them on your own?; 9/2/15, 3:06 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Do you find that this inclination to false assumptions hinders your ability as a reporter?; 9/2/15, 3:07 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: You haven't leaned the difference between an assumption and a question yet.

The assumption of wealth was in the question. I'm surprised you didn't see that.

That's likely why you choose to shelter your boys.

Look! Another one. Will she ever run out?; 9/2/15, 3:11 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: PS. Hate to fight like a girl but...

Bet I'm hotter than you bodywise today, and when we were both in our 20s.

Perfect. I'll take that as a "you win."; 9/2/15, 3:14 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Did you brag on your fathers pizza wealth before he passed? I think you did... and the fancy school and high PSAT test score?

Nope. And nope. And nope.

Memory going?; 9/2/15, 3:15 PM
Delayna said...: "Fighting would be dumb.

Run, scream, scratch, claw, kick... take a self-defense class, if needed.

Better yet. Learn assertiveness, because the odds of confronting a rapist are rare, but assertiveness training can be used in many forums."

Learning assertiveness is certainly a useful skill.
But you said fighting was dumb right before advising someone facing a larger and stronger attacker to scratch, claw and kick.
Are you sure you know what you said?

The running away and screaming part could work--assuming you don't get grabbed first. It all depends on circumstances, and a rest room is a potential trap, with a choke point at the entrance. Harder to run away, especially if you're alone but your attacker isn't.; 9/2/15, 3:20 PM
Real American said...: pretending you're a female doesn't make you a female, regardless of how much you believe it or want it to be so.; 9/2/15, 3:25 PM
damikesc said...: Because people often respond to cries of help in public.

Hint: It happens WAY less often than you'd like to believe.

And your advice to kick, bite, etc --- ends when the rapist decides to just punch you, really hard, once or twice.; 9/2/15, 3:29 PM
fivewheels said...: Geez, speaking of creepy stalkers ...

Or am I the only one who doesn't memorize all the minor details about the lives of our fellow posters? Do you know all the scuttlebutt? I'd love to hear about Laslo's background and childhood. I bet there's more grist for attack than eating pizza.; 9/2/15, 3:30 PM
damikesc said...: Oh, and kicking in the balls? Will do little more than infuriate the guy. A shot in the balls pain comes from the long ache afterwards. Most can shake off an initial shot pretty quickly.

...and when somebody is REALLY pissed off, the pain won't really be an issue for a while.

A kick in the balls is not a terribly successful self defense tactic.; 9/2/15, 3:31 PM
damikesc said...: You assume you can just fumble around in a purse for a weapon. The slowest, fattest man you'd ever meet would be able to deal with that issue before anything was pulled out. Much less a guy in any semblance of physical condition.

Did you miss the story of the trainful of onlookers watching a guy stab another dude to death? It would've been quite easy to restrain him (double digits vs one dude is a poor fight for the most skilled fighter) but none did.; 9/2/15, 3:34 PM
damikesc said...: Yes, whack a guy with a purse. Solid strategy.

If your bites and kicks aren't going to a damned thing, what do you think the purse will do except give the guy a strap to grab and simply pull you into him?

You seem to mistaking "Hollywood movies" for "survival thinking". Not the same thing.

Women seldom appreciate how really mean men can be when we are incensed enough to REALLY be angry. There is always this subconscious belief that men will abide by chivalrous standards, which a rapist is simply going to ignore.

And virtually no man will attempt to stop it because that's a whole ball of wax you don't want to get involved in.; 9/2/15, 3:40 PM
damikesc said...: Man has you in a stall and you lack the room for a good kick. By the time the man has you in the stall, your options for escape are virtually nil. I don't know where you're expecting to generate enough force to actually do a "hard" kick. And knees? It's not terribly challenging to simply step to the side slightly.

Your ideas might sound solid in your head, but in the real world, your ideas are God awful.

Want a successful self-defense strategy? Have your keys in your hand and one key poking up between your knuckles. That'll cause enough damage to help you.

I'll note that you didn't mention that in several attempts when it is actually one of the more basic recommended methods of self-defense.; 9/2/15, 3:42 PM
n.n said...: The psychologists who believe trans orientations are stable should adopt this boy and introduce him to their daughters. Obama should host pajama parties for transgendered boys and his daughters. Step forward.; 9/2/15, 3:43 PM
damikesc said...: And "jack off fantasies"?

Well, about you, guilty. Constantly do it. Woops, just finished again.

*snicker*

I didn't expect you to handle your assumptions getting shredded with class or dignity.

So, is it ALWAYS sexual stuff when you disagree with somebody?; 9/2/15, 3:45 PM
Scott said...: Don't feed the trolls, please.; 9/2/15, 3:50 PM
Big Mike said...: @Althouse, I don't get why you write that Elizabeth Price Foley "has the nerve" to write what she wrote. I can only conclude that you see the issue differently because you have two grown-up sons instead of two teenaged daughters.; 9/2/15, 3:52 PM
damikesc said...: As a hint, when the guy is in the stall with you, you've already lost. You can fight all you wish, but your odds of escape are tragically small. By all means one should try, but to expect success is an awful stretch (especially when your plans for "escape" seem more designed to just further piss off the attacker with no real serious damage done).

Which means your BEST defense is the guy not being there.

...you know, the POINT of the article in question.

...that you mocked Freeman for. She hardly needs my defending, but her worldview would be a far lower risk than your worldview would be. And for what?

To humor a dude who wants to pretend he's a girl.

Kinda pathetic, isn't it? Adding in needless risk to not hurt the feelings of some clown is an exceptionally silly idea.

As for the sex comment, it was your oh-so-witty "jackoff fantasies" line. I am aware that sex is a major motivator in rape --- which is why the risk for somebody like you is miniscule when compared to, say, a pretty, younger girl. Easy to be cavalier when you're not the one who will be facing the ramifications.

And, agreed Althouse, there is no "nerve" in EPF's comment. The little useless douchebag wants to be a whiny bitch and expects the world to succumb to his will. Fuck him. When he chops his penis off, then we can talk. Until then, he's only a whiny little bitch.; 9/2/15, 4:08 PM
Birches said...: @Althouse, I don't get why you write that Elizabeth Price Foley "has the nerve" to write what she wrote. I can only conclude that you see the issue differently because you have two grown-up sons instead of two teenaged daughters.

I believe it's the he/she/it comment. Though I in no way agree with this kid or the transgendered movement as a whole, labeling someone it is intended to be insulting. I wouldn't go there and find it distasteful.; 9/2/15, 5:03 PM
mikee said...: At Texas A&M in the 1980s, an article in the student paper reported on a young male student who was arrested for hanging out in the women's locker room of the gym, disguised as a female.

What is the law, as opposed to the school's practices, on male use of female facilities? Would that have been too hard to determine and report?; 9/2/15, 5:05 PM
Joe said...: The guy is also anorexic. Isn't is abundantly clear that he has serious psychological issues?; 9/2/15, 6:08 PM
BN said...: Was it Solzhenitsyn who said that the purpose of Soviet propaganda was not to persuade or educate, but rather to humiliate you by forcing you to proclaim as truth what were obviously lies? The despair of knowing that resistance is futile quickly results in a very compliant populace. We are being conditioned as we sit by ancient Olympic athletes who miss the lime light and by warped teenage boys. I am not worried though. When the Great Collapse comes, I am going to be fine. I will just kick the cannibals in the nuts. No problem.; 9/2/15, 6:40 PM
walter said...: I'll try this again...since it "somehow" disappeared. Did Mary delete her comment or did our mod delete it? Usually there's a remnant left.; 9/2/15, 7:24 PM
walter said...: Well..maybe the specter of a leering, soapy, wigged Laslo made her reconsider.
Here's a quote from IBtimes:

"It wasn't too long ago white people were saying I don't feel comfortable sharing a bathroom with a black person, and history repeats itself," Perry told KTVI.

Maybe he also identifies as black.
Resist we much.; 9/2/15, 8:07 PM
Big Mike said...: @Birches, some people would go there because they want to express contempt for a transparent ploy. I suspect a woman with one or more teenaged daughters is apt to be in that group. I don't think less of Foley; I think Althouse should make more effort to put herself in another woman's shoes.; 9/2/15, 8:09 PM
Sabinal said...: I say he's faking it for attention.
Because if he really was a girl, "she" would have understood their discomfort and come up with a third way.

Any douche can wear a wig and a dress.; 9/2/15, 8:39 PM
Phil 314 said...: I see he has anorexia nervosa.

Funny since some adolescent girls starve themselves to suppress the development of female attributes (i.e. hips, breasts and periods); 9/2/15, 8:41 PM
joeknows said...: All Lila needs to do is leave the seat up just once and he will have his ass booted out of there in no time.; 9/2/15, 8:59 PM
Big Mike said...: Lots of hate here.
Expect it to turn up even hotter as the elction [sic] year nears. The white fellas (and some of their wives) oddly seem to get angrier and angrier.

You meant to use the Obama administration's favorite word" unexpectedly seem to get angrier and angrier.

You also might want to revisit your affection for the neverending culture war, particularly including your suggestion that females at the gun range suffer from too much testosterone.

Just sayin'; 9/2/15, 9:34 PM
BN said...: "they spook me."

Enjoy that feeling while you can. It will soon be like a dream.

You live in a broke and broken/splintered country. Nobody has a solution. And if they did, they couldn't get it implemented.

And we're in good shape compared to the rest of the world! So... Oh, and Iran's getting the bomb.

Being spooked is good. Enjoy it while you can.; 9/2/15, 9:48 PM
Be said...: Elizabeth Price Foley:

Thankz Instapunditz! I can writes like One of Teh Guys!1! N I can shootz! Alsos, I's Thins like the Instapunditz Luvz Lookit Alls Ma Wordz!"

(Which is why there is most likely a recruiting crisis in law schools nowadays.)

***

This all said: This has been subject on your site for ages, and has been hashed back and forth for some time. What new stuff is she adding?; 9/2/15, 10:13 PM
Clyde said...: People with penises have no business in a locker room intended for teenage girls. Let "her" continue to use the unisex bathroom and stop disturbing the real girls.; 9/2/15, 10:36 PM
Anonymous said...: So let me get this straight. If Liam sends a picture of his penis to a girl in his high school, that's sexting and possibly a sex crime, but it's okay to have a guy with a penis change clothes with the high school girls just because he's got gender identity issues? I don't really care if he's not particularly attracted to the girls, what about the girls' reactions to what is physically a male body?

Functionally, communal facilities for same-gendered people have reached the end of the road if people with functioning genitalia of the opposite gender can't be kept out. It seems society needs to switch to individual, private changing facilities and restrooms even in public places.; 9/2/15, 10:48 PM
jr565 said...: "

ADDED: Elizabeth Price Foley has the nerve to say: "And I’m sorry, but 'Lila' is clearly just a dude with a wig, and I wouldn’t want my teenage daughter to share a locker room with him/her/it.""
Yeah, the nerve. It's impolite. But it's true. The girl still has a penis. Other than her saying she is a girl where is the proof? I could similarly say I'm a girl and lurk in women's rooms. I'm not a girl, but if I said I was, how are your proving me wrong?; 9/3/15, 12:05 AM
jr565 said...: "For now, he's just a transvestite. When he has the actual sex change, then he shouldn't have any problems with bathrooms."
even then he's still a man. A transgendered female is simply a transvestite with his balls cut off.
I have to laugh at the outrage to the Caitlyn Jenner outfit. Somehow it's offensive if a man wore the caitlyn outfit. Even though transvestites wear women's clothing all the time. And even though drag queens wear women's clothing all the time. Couldn't a transvestite wear the Caitlyn outfit? Couldn't a drag queen wear it?
To outside observers it's simply a dude wearing a woman's bathing suit. If we don't have problems with transvestits, why would it matter if the person wearing the outfit weren't a genuine transgender?; 9/3/15, 12:11 AM
john marzan said...: "Elizabeth Price Foley has the nerve to say: "And I’m sorry, but 'Lila' is clearly just a dude with a wig, and I wouldn’t want my teenage daughter to share a locker room with him/her/it."

is she the only one who feels this way? I myself would be unconfortable doing group showers or sharing a locker room with openly gay men.; 9/3/15, 12:53 AM
averagejoe said...: Peter said...
Part of the tyranny here is a demand that everyone acknowledge as true what is obviously not true. And part of the tyranny here is demanding that girls must put up with your male presence, when they obviously don't believe you are a girl. Should they be badgered until they publicly acknowledge as true what they know is not true, or must they be brainwashed until they actually believe that what is not true really is true?

9/2/15, 10:50 AM

BN said...
Was it Solzhenitsyn who said that the purpose of Soviet propaganda was not to persuade or educate, but rather to humiliate you by forcing you to proclaim as truth what were obviously lies?
9/2/15, 6:40 PM

Peter and BN here both hitting on the fundamental absurdity and outrage of this, and similar (Refer to Bruce as Caitlyn, or be harmed) situations. BN nicely ties it to the tyranny of Soviet Communist ideology, which dovetails seamlessly with progressive democrat ideology and tactics. Yes, progressive democrat party members, you are the children of Stalin. Orwell saw it and tried to warn us. McCarthy was right, and tried to save us. They ran him out of town on a rail, and the commies settled in for the Long March. Well here we are in Stalinist Fantasy Land and ain't it grand. From the abuses and crimes of the IRS against their political opponents, to the imperial presidency complete with rubber stamp democrat duma and failure theater subservient republican opposition, to the class, race and gender warfare tactics of the progressive democrats, to the public attacks to destroy those who deny the progressive propaganda, to the career party members enriching themselves at the people's expense and committing crimes with impunity, America is being fundamentally transformed into Stalin-era Soviet Union. Next come the purges...; 9/3/15, 4:07 AM
MaxedOutMama said...: I have known two women who were raped in public restrooms, and at least three who have been robbed.

If you want to allow men to use women's facilities, then the restrooms MUST all be individual, with doors that can be locked.

It's safe to use women's restrooms during times of high activity, but every woman I know won't use a woman's multi-stall restroom during times of very low traffic.

Driving, late at night, I find a gas station so I can go into a singleton, rather than being able to use those big convenient facilities at public rest stops.; 9/3/15, 6:00 AM
damikesc said...: The story is being reported incorrectly.

The walk-out wasn't over bathrooms (they already gave it a unisex bathroom)

It wanted to use the GIRLS LOCKER ROOM to dress for P.E.

THAT was the final straw, as it should be.

Humoring the insane isn't going to end well. The students were right to walk out. The parents are right to lash out. This is absurdity.; 9/3/15, 6:35 AM
damikesc said...: Who's calling for violence?

If the little shit wants to use the girls' facilities, then slice your balls off and make the change.

Otherwise, your "self identity" means nothing.; 9/3/15, 6:36 AM
Badger said...: The girls who walked out are heroines. Sorry, but a man has no place in a women's locker room or a women's bathroom.

Why is it that people who buy into this transgender nonsense have no respect or consideration for girls?; 9/3/15, 7:53 AM
Jaq said...: If "Lila" can't understand what the girls are feeling, it is just one further piece of evidence that he is not a girl.; 9/3/15, 8:05 AM
Michael Fitzgerald said...: Tim in Vermont @ 8:05 with a succinct and trenchant observation which will fly over the heads of the LBGTPDQETC crowd and their histrionic enablers.; 9/3/15, 8:21 AM
walter said...: "There is such a fear stated here, and the strong need to PROTECT the white woman, like ann, freeman hunt, and those who "fear" not being protected in their bathrooms, that the hate takes over."

Mary,
I know Lila "appropriated"/referenced the civil rights movement of the past, but are you seeing anyone here bringing race into this but yourself?
Also..the temptation to classify disagreement as "hate" is a bit much...and manipulative.
That type of ongoing diminishing of dissent (see broadening definitions of "hate speech") is actually partly to blame for "tone" of dissent online. People feel common sense..and even well reasoned sense is under assault.
And the larger attempt infantilize/coddle women (yes means whatever they want..can be revised later) comes primarily from the left..not the folks that "seem" to you like they are "hating" on this issue.; 9/3/15, 8:49 AM
damikesc said...: The girls who walked out are heroines. Sorry, but a man has no place in a women's locker room or a women's bathroom.

Why is it that people who buy into this transgender nonsense have no respect or consideration for girls?

Most are also "all in" on the "date rape" porgrom on college campuses.

And, not many women are raped in bathrooms or locker rooms by men. Largely because men aren't allowed in there and tend to cause problems when they are in there if the woman isn't alone.

So, sure, let's make it EASIER for men to be in a locker room or bathroom when women are alone. No POSSIBLE harm can come out of that.

You seem to be somebody caught totally surprised by "unintended consequences" a lot.; 9/3/15, 9:08 AM
walter said...: "Mary puhleeze",
Sure.
That was a pretty needless rant by Nichevo...trying to suss out what background brought you to your position...involving irrelevant, insulting assumptions. If that type of over the top rant is what you are talking about..fine. I just wonder when your scale switches from disagreement to hate,
But did someone bring up "white women" vs girls in general? Girls in a school..not adults in a more voluntary/consensual situation. Girls whose parents are responsible for their upbringing yet have social engineers/educators imposing dubious rules upon.
You do get that almost no girls would be comfortable with this? Regardless of race.
But if Lila wants to go there, I suggest he try this at a school in a predominantly black area.
But tortured dragging in of race memes is no accident. Like the term "hate", it's a contemporary strategy to disarm dissent without addressing the real concerns.; 9/3/15, 9:26 AM
Jupiter said...: "If a man exposes himself to a woman in a public area, or goes into a woman's restroom and exposes himself, or even drops his pants to take a leak not realizing that a woman is in the alley, it's indecent exposure and it's a crime."

Which is the crux of the matter. Do the school authorities claim the right/ability to override the laws of the state? Is it their position, that what would surely be a crime if it occurred without their consent, ceases to be a crime if they approve it? Exactly how many boys do they claim the right to make an adolescent girl shower with?; 9/3/15, 12:52 PM
Gahrie said...: I could similarly say I'm a girl and lurk in women's rooms. I'm not a girl, but if I said I was, how are your proving me wrong?

An attempt to prove you wrong could quickly be called a hate crime.; 9/3/15, 1:24 PM
Jupiter said...: Thinking back on the lad I was, back in 1971, I am fairly sure that, had I encountered this set of facts, I would have bought a skirt and a wig, and presented myself at the girls' showers after PE class. I had never heard of Alinski Rules, but I was adept at making life hard for the poor bastards running the schools.; 9/3/15, 1:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Elizabeth Price Foley has the nerve to say the truth, and not bow to PC bullshit.

FIFY; 9/3/15, 4:54 PM
RonF said...: Ann, I find your comment "Foley has the nerve to say ..." ambiguous. Did you mean that you think it was an outrageous or erroneous thing to say, or that it took courage to say it?; 9/4/15, 3:06 PM
RonF said...: damikesc:

"If the little shit wants to use the girls' facilities, then slice your balls off and make the change."

Despite Bruce/Caitlin Jenner and his ilk -

Surgeons and endocrinologists can do marvels. But they cannot make a man into a woman. All they can do is make a horribly mutilated man.; 9/4/15, 3:09 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ann, I find your comment "Foley has the nerve to say ..." ambiguous. Did you mean that you think it was an outrageous or erroneous thing to say, or that it took courage to say it?"

I meant to say it exactly as I said it.; 9/5/15, 5:03 AM