Bathrooms. A space in which one releases the bladders and bowels. An inclosed area which generally includes toilets, sinks, and sometimes mirrors. A necessary facility for everyone. But they are also weirdly taboo realms segregated by "gender" and sexual anatomy.

But why?

As a place where one goes simply to perform basic human bodily functions, why is the area so taboo?

I remember in elementary school, first or second grade maybe, my music class had a break where we could get a snack or use the bathroom. I remember talking to my friend and not paying attention and accidentally walking into the boys' bathroom. Most of the boys from my class were in there, and, as a girl in the boys' bathroom, they immediately all turned around, pointed at me, and started laughing and mocking me. I was so embarrassed that I ran out and cried. What had I done to cause so much uproar and cause myself so much anguish? I simply walked into the "wrong" bathroom.

At an age when puberty is not even a relevant thought, elementary school children, aged eight or nine, are judging others based on their perceived gender and sex. The excuse of "sexual assault" should not apply to this demographic. That's not the reason those boys inherently knew that I wasn't allowed in their bathroom, and that's not the reason that I knew I was in the wrong place.

As children, we are taught to fear and keep a safe distance from the opposite sex, or any sex or gender that is different from our own. This fear of body parts, of which our society places sexual value on, is not inherent: it is learned. Other countries and cultures place sexual value on very different body parts than the United States and other Western societies. The mentality surrounding sexual organs and gender identity instilled in our culture is one of fear. I was ridiculed and ashamed when I went into the "wrong" bathroom because I was scared. I was scared of those boys because they were different than me. And I was different than them. But why are we taught that what is different is to be feared?

Waiting in line to use a single stall bathroom that correlates with your gender identity, when the other stall, that happens to have a sign which does not correlate to your gender identity, is empty, is just plain stupid. They have the same facilities on the inside: a toilet, a sink, a mirror, and a hand dryer. How do I know? I've been in them both. Why do women stand in line in pain, possibly damaging their bladders, when there is a perfectly fine unoccupied facility available? Because the sign on the door doesn't show the right stick figure. Because there is an instilled taboo surrounding those "sacred" facilities that will curse you to hell if you use the "wrong" one. And God forbid if you don't identify with either stick figure.

Bathroom laws dictating urinary facilities aren't about safety; they're about fear. We are afraid of difference, of what we don't understand or are unwilling to accept, of what is not "like us" or easy to define. Bathrooms are not a place to be feared. They are, quite literally, physical structures, built of sheetrock and tile and porcelain and steel, which include appliances that allow you to release pressure in your lower abdomen and sanitize your hands afterward. Maybe you can even check your appearance in the mirror before you leave. That. Is. All. They are not a breeding ground for sexual violence by individuals labeled "deviant" and they certainly shouldn't be a place of discrimination.

Let's all treat the bathroom as what it should be: a place where we can pee and shit. Regardless of our gender, sex, or sexual orientation, we all still need to do those things. And I'm pretty sure we'd all like to do them in peace.