# Area Mom Feels Free to Hang Out in the Men's Locker Room **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 26, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069 "2015-03-26T22:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/61 "2015-03-27T21:05:42Z")
At first I thought the thread title was “Ask the Mom Who…” ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/62 "2015-03-27T22:50:09Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Well, if you have about four hours to kill, [here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=690178) a good place to start. Interesting - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/63 "2015-03-27T23:03:42Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If you’re uncomfortable being naked in front of her, ask her to leave. If you are comfortable being naked in front of her, then go about your usual changing/showering. I can tell you’re not male. I can guarantee you that if he had gone about his usual routine and taken his clothes off, he would have opened himself up to charges of being a sexual predator or worse. This is not an even playing field we’re talking about here. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/64 "2015-03-27T23:11:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This is not an even playing field we’re talking about here. Wow, you just don’t care WHAT crazies you pull out of the woodwork to fight you for saying this, do you? Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/65 "2015-03-27T23:13:43Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > How was the OP supposed to know she wouldn’t call the cops on him for exposing himself to her son? Stranger things have happened. Personally, I’d have changed in a bathroom stall. If no enclosed area (stall/shower) were available, I’d have tried to conceal myself with a towel over my lap while I changed (perhaps), while facing AWAY 🙂 from the woman. > > Who needs an arrest for indecent exposure? Or to encounter an overzealous prosecutor plus an asshole judge, and end up as a registered sex offender? It’s getting extreme in this culture. An adult male can’t be too careful. Agreed. It’s an unfortunate truth. This lady likely knew that she is entitled to go anywhere she pleases, including the men’s locker room, and she MUST be accommodated. Men are aware that there is a complete double standard, and one single word from her could completely ruin their lives. She would know this too. ETA: It’s possible she was just waiting for any sort of confrontation. The OP did the right (and safe) thing. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/66 "2015-03-27T23:15:49Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Agreed. > > It’s an unfortunate truth. This lady likely knew that she is entitled to go anywhere she pleases, including the men’s locker room, and she MUST be accommodated. Men are aware that there is a complete double standard, and one single word from her could completely ruin their lives. She would know this too. See, now you’re just taunting the crazies. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/67 "2015-03-27T23:29:59Z")
Simply report to the management that there’s a lady in the mens room taking the clothes off a young boy. Let them get to the bottom of this. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/68 "2015-03-27T23:44:01Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Simply report to the management that there’s a lady in the mens room taking the clothes off a young boy. Let them get to the bottom of this. No, because a woman crazy enough to walk into the men’s locker room would just counter with her own false claim of molestation, etc… And her claim would get more traction because she’s a woman accusing a man. We’re under suspicion just because we’re men. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/69 "2015-03-27T23:52:15Z")
The OP should have just changed. Maybe as modestly as he could. Where I swim, the “family changing area” is one locker bay (of two) in the ladies’ changing room. When kids are present (boys or girls), we ladies tilt towards the modesty option (towels, long tees), partly because some parents are sensitive to adult nudity around children, but mostly because the little ones don’t need to see our mastectomy and hip replacement scars, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/70 "2015-03-27T23:55:27Z")
Actually IIRC **Muffin** is in fact male. And some of you guys are over the top paranoid. I can see worrying if you are anyplace other than the men’s room, but really… ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/71 "2015-03-28T00:09:23Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Why is the men’s locker room a better choice than the woman’s? All I can think of is that the womens changing room was too crowded maybe? I still don’t know what an ‘Area Mom’ is though ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/72 "2015-03-28T00:09:55Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > No, because a woman crazy enough to walk into the men’s locker room would just counter with her own false claim of molestation, etc… And her claim would get more traction because she’s a woman accusing a man. We’re under suspicion just because we’re men. I get that there’s a double standard when it comes to these sorts of things, but there is no way in hell of what you describe happening. That’s just over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/73 "2015-03-28T00:50:39Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I can tell you’re not male. I can guarantee you that if he had gone about his usual routine and taken his clothes off, he would have opened himself up to charges of being a sexual predator or worse. > > This is not an even playing field we’re talking about here. > [@kayT](#): > > Actually IIRC **Muffin** is in fact male. Yup, I’m a burping, farting, dong dangling male. Yeeee-haaawwwww! Euphonious Polemic has a point, although I think he over-states it. A “guarantee” of being open to charges? No, for implied consent on the part of the woman was given when she chose to use the men’s change-room. But that being said, when someone does something that indicates that she is living in her own world without much regard to others, all bets are off as to whether or not she will do other wacky things, one of which might be making a fuss about a man getting naked in a men’s change-room after (rather than before) she entered it, so I certainly understand why a man might prefer to limit such a risk by either waiting to change, or simply leaving the room while the woman is there. For myself? Meh. I wouldn’t be worried about the risk, despite the woman not being quite right in the head, and despite the playing field not being remotely even. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/74 "2015-03-28T01:20:16Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I get that there’s a double standard when it comes to these sorts of things, but there is no way in hell of what you describe happening. That’s just over the top. No, what’s over the top is the current “if there are 5 men in a room, 6 of them belong on a sex offender registry” zeitgeist in this country. That is what’s over the top, I’m comfortable saying. I can’t even smile at children when I’m out in public without my family. Women look at me like I’m a criminal. Yeah, I’m talking to you, every woman under the age of 50 who’s reading this. The pendulum has swung a little too far in the other direction, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/75 "2015-03-28T01:23:34Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Actually IIRC **Muffin** is in fact male. > > And some of you guys are over the top paranoid. I can see worrying if you are anyplace other than the men’s room, but really… Try being a man. I can’t even smile at cute little babies in public unless I’m with my family. I get looked at like I’m a criminal if I do. And I’m not scary-looking;I’m thin, clean, well-groomed (within the usual range of lazy men), and slightly shorter than average. That doesn’t mean anything, though. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/76 "2015-03-28T01:31:07Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > I still don’t know what an ‘Area Mom’ is though It’s a play on the internet ads “Area Mom Discovers Weird Weight-Loss Trick” “Area Mom Looking For Studs Like You. Click Here!” and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/77 "2015-03-28T01:37:05Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It’s a play on the internet ads “Area Mom Discovers Weird Weight-Loss Trick” “Area Mom Looking For Studs Like You. Click Here!” and so on. I thought it was just a reference to the style of headline writing often found in [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/channels/area-man/). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/78 "2015-03-28T01:43:10Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I thought it was just a reference to the style of headline writing often found in [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/channels/area-man/). Which came first? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/79 "2015-03-28T01:49:09Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Which came first? 😉 The sex offender. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069/80 "2015-03-28T01:50:30Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > Try being a man. I can’t even smile at cute little babies in public unless I’m with my family. I get looked at like I’m a criminal if I do. And I’m not scary-looking;I’m thin, clean, well-groomed (within the usual range of lazy men), and slightly shorter than average. That doesn’t mean anything, though. If I’m out by myself and I see an adult with a kid, I pay more attention to the kid than to the adult, because the kid might be a kid I taught or who goes to my school, and I’m pretty lousy with faces, and I don’t want to walk right past a kid whom I’ve taught and snub the kid. In order not to just be glaring at the kid, I smile. And then I smile at the adult. And I never get looked at like I’m a criminal. The phenomenon you’re describing is most likely a delusion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/area-mom-feels-free-to-hang-out-in-the-mens-locker-room/716069.md?page=5)