So early this morning, I was freezing my butt off with my step sister in front of Khole's (or however you spell it) waiting for it to open at 1 a.m. We had no money and no motive for doing it. We're weird like that. So anyways, we waited for three hours in the cold, and then finally got let in. I was binding with suspenders, but was still not confident in my passing, though I had been called Sir and young man earlier in the evening.

I went to the women's room and did my business and was waiting for Kiley to be done when these two ladies came in.

women 1: This is the WOMEN'S room I hope. *looking at me*

women 2: Yes this is the WOMEN'S ROOM.

me: *blushing furiously, but not wanting to leave so it seemed like I was being a creep that knew they were doing something wrong*

Both women got done with the bathroom and walked out, and one said this "You shouldn't be in here unless you're under 3." Obviously directed at me.

That's the last time I'm using a lady's bathroom in public. Most awkward experience of my life.

I'd call that an EPIC WIN! and yea, i can imagine how awkward that would feel.

A similar thing happened to me when I had to use the women's room in America.  Here in Adelaide, most places have disabled toilets so I use those or the men's room.  Of course, you can also get looks for using the disabled toilet when you're not in a wheelchair, but it's better than getting remarks from ladies in the women's!  Sorry you got groused at, mate.  Not fun.

Epic win for sure. Does make it hard when you're younger tho to feel ok to use the mens room. I would think its time to switch. I did when I started getting strange looks and comments. I still would rather use a neutral bathroom if I can. Mostly cause my son has to pick the worst times to yell mom at me.

I've never seen a gender neutral bathroom in public. We don't have them where I live. Instead, all men's and women's restrooms have a stall for disabled people as well as a diaper change area. I'm androgynous enough that I'll get strange looks from women no matter which I go in. I seriously had a woman make snide comments at me the last time I went in a men's room. None of the men cared, just some lady who observed me walking in there.

This past week I was on a road trip with my mom. We stopped at a fast food place in Texas. The majority of the time we were in the place, no one was in either restroom. Being paranoid, I still went ahead and went in the women's room. Just my luck, two women had walked in right after me. One went 'oh my god!' when I turned around to close the stall door. The whole rest of the time, she kept shooting glances at me and then whispering to her friend. They'll probably just think that I was some weird lesbian, but that doesn't matter, because I'll never see them again. And you know what, you'll probably never see those women again either. In the brief moment that you saw them, they confirmed that you pass perfectly. Their discomfort was your gain. Good job! 

haha, that's a cool way to put it. There aren't a lot of gender neutral bathrooms around here either. :/ Women always seem to be the ones talking crap when it comes to clothes, bathrooms, or generally caring about one's gender.

It is usually the women. I wonder why that is? It might have some to do with the guy code of not talking or making eye contact kinda thing in the men's room.

Now that you're not just a man, but a manly man, it's time to move on to mens room basics.

That video was hilarious. xD

But they do apply to the real world. Mostly. It all goes to crap in the movie theatre as 60 guys rush to the 5 urinals and 4 stalls after a movie. in which case, your best bet is to just wait outside until the rush does down. way less chance of some perv trying to take a peek at your junk too. And men are really paranoid about that.
But i hope it helps you out. ^_^

So guys only use the stalls if they're taking a dump?

Quote from: Wesley_33 on November 25, 2011, 10:11:23 PM
It is usually the women. I wonder why that is? It might have some to do with the guy code of not talking or making eye contact kinda thing in the men's room.

I think it has something to do with the perceived threat of a man in such a private place as a bathroom. Women learn in this society to be hyper-aware of the danger men pose and the ->-bleeped-<- they can do (rape, etc). At least, that's what I learned.

I get looks when I go into women's bathrooms sometimes. It sucks, but I don't really blame them. I just wish more places had gender-neutral restrooms.

EDIT: also, I meant to add -- congrats on passing, dude. that's horribly awkward, but it's also a success~

Quote from: Bradd on November 25, 2011, 10:52:22 PM
So guys only use the stalls if they're taking a dump?

I wondered about this too, actually

Quote from: Bradd on November 25, 2011, 10:52:22 PM
So guys only use the stalls if they're taking a dump?

Usually. but  if the urinals are full, you use a stall. But if you just have to pee, stand, dont sit, unless you are going to do more than pee. Then its ok to pee while sitting. I've seen guys close the stall door or leave them open  while they do their business. Must be a comfort/cultural thing.

Mmmhmm, Thats right Boys, there's more to using a restroom than  "p***ing in a pot." 

I get the feeling I started something here... Has no one ever wondered about bathroom ettiquete on here? I mean I didnt mean to hijack your thread and I'm certainly not trying to. But if I can help you guys pass better then I'm always willing to help.

I used a men's room when I guess I wasn't really passing (although wearing the same stuff, I'd gotten The Look in a women's room), because the women's room had a really huge line.  Found a small line in the men's, too, and the guy waiting in front of me looked at me and asked something like was I sure I got the right one?  I just turned and looked at the wall, not wanting to look at anyone else whether they were using a urinal or not, certainly wasn't going to say anything back, until something was free and ran into the stall - it was a pretty small bathroom.  Only time I've ever run into a talking man that wasn't my gay co-worker that recognized my shoes when the women's was out of order one night, but that may be because I tend to only go in when they're completely unoccupied.

Quote from: Keaira on November 25, 2011, 11:16:18 PM
Usually. but  if the urinals are full, you use a stall. But if you just have to pee, stand, dont sit, unless you are going to do more than pee. Then its ok to pee while sitting. I've seen guys close the stall door or leave them open  while they do their business. Must be a comfort/cultural thing.

Mmmhmm, Thats right Boys, there's more to using a restroom than  "p***ing in a pot." 

I get the feeling I started something here... Has no one ever wondered about bathroom ettiquete on here? I mean I didnt mean to hijack your thread and I'm certainly not trying to. But if I can help you guys pass better then I'm always willing to help.

haha I don't mind it got a little off topic. I've wondered about bathroom etiquette but I could never find anything but "Don't look people in the eye blah blah blah"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had these type of experiences, now I know I'm not alone on this. There seems to be plenty of awkward to go around. When I was in an airport after being on a long flight I needed to use the bathroom, but being with my family who aren't accepting at all I had to use the women's restroom, in any other case I would have searched for a gender neutral one. As soon as I walked in a lady started telling me "this is the women's room" and trying to indicate that I did in fact require something other than a urinal in order to pee, I said "Yes ma'am." She then continued to explain to me that the men's restroom was in the next door, so I decided to spare the embarrassing, walk out and pretend I accidentally walked into the wrong one, and then just wait to go at the hotel. Of course, as I'm walking out, my mom starts walking in...cue the more awkward. That's when I realized that I wouldn't be able to walk away without my mom asking questions and getting suspicious, so I had to stay in line hoping the lady would understand that perhaps I did, in fact, have a vagina, and was there to pee on purpose. As my mom got in line I was like "oh, hi mom" and my mom greeted me with my birth name, and, hoping that would end the awkward as the lady got the hint, it actually didn't...instead the lady started saying "OOOOH! I thought you were a boy!" over and over again then asking "Wait, you are a girl? Oh! I thought you were a boy before!"
Probably couldn't have been much more awkward and embarrassing, and that entire situation would have been avoided if my mom was even remotely accepting and would have allowed me to search for a gender neutral restroom or use the men's room.

I've actually heard a similar story with an unaccepting mother. So it seems that your experience is somewhat common, sadly.

But yea, you have a forum that is a virtual no-holds barred of information on experiences and information, where the girls can give you the inside scoop on living as a guy and vice versa. Take advantage of it.

When this started happening to me a lot is when I switched to the men's room. It's been a few months, I don't pack or stp, I always use the stall, I don't talk to people (except nod if I know the person), and I've never had any problems. Even if somebody thinks I'm weird or the wrong gender or up to something funny in the stall, I doubt it'll cause the consternation it causes in the women's room.

I do still try to find single-stall or gender neutral bathrooms when possible.

@Keaira the bathroom thing tends to get discussed pretty often in person when I see trans people get together. It's a pretty big stressor for most people who aren't solidly on one or the other side of their transition.

Berger that airport scenario sounds like a nightmare, but I just wanted to say that you're a great storyteller.

And I really hope your family lets up on you.