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We Used to Cry Over Bathroom Walls

There was a time when girls came home in tears over the writing on the bathroom wall.Boys had slipped in to scribble slurs.Phone numbers.Threats.Lies.

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There was a time when girls came home in tears over the writing on the bathroom wall.
Boys had slipped in to scribble slurs.
Phone numbers.
Threats.
Lies.
They’d laugh about it in the back of the classroom—bragging, bold, untouched.

Even if the girl knew exactly who did it, teachers and administrators would shrug:
“We didn’t see him do it.”
There was always a loophole for boys’ bad behavior.

These days?
They’re making the loop bigger.

And now some adults are bullying parents and children for saying:
“No. Boys shouldn’t be allowed in just because they want to.”

How far have we really come—if we’ve forgotten the girls who were already crying in those stalls?

It would be braver for those folks to admit that they do not care about the emotional and physical safety of girls.