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Redwood Bark

Sophomore Mimi Wood darts toward the goal holding the ball.
Girls’ varsity lacrosse conquers Terra Linda in blowout match
Larkin MoffettMarch 26, 2024

On March 26, the girls’ varsity lacrosse team went head-to-head with Terra Linda High School (TL) in a blowout Marin County Athletic League...

Incoming juniors and seniors can simultaneously take a history course and Advanced Placement African American Studies (Photo by Lauren Poulin).
Diverse perspectives: Redwood set to launch Advanced Placement African American Studies
Emily GarciaMarch 26, 2024

Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies course will officially be launched and offered...

Meet the Captains: Spring sports
Meet the Captains: Spring sports
Julia Delsol, Emily Block, and Mason GarboMarch 26, 2024

Dear [Name of Customer], by Julia Delsol

Preparation or patronization: Students misrepresented by bathroom signs

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When men and women walk Redwood’s halls and need to use the bathroom they are directed by signs saying “Men” and “Ladies.” Yet when they reach the restroom door, they may pause when confronted by the labels “Boys” and “Girls”. While the students may not even notice the signs anymore, the labels do not align with the position students hold within the Redwood community.

In our academic environment, maturity is required, responsibility is expected, and accountability is an everyday obligation. Yet every time I walk into the bathroom labeled “girls,” next to the untouchable staff door labeled “women,” I question the sincerity of these expectations of adulthood.

Modern teenagers are stuck in a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. We face the dilemma of whether or not to be pulled into the adult world or held back as children. As juniors, my fellow classmates and I are being taught how to become responsible citizens, and how to behave as an adult in the classroom, workplace, or public forum.

While we go through the educational experience of being taught how to act in society, there are subliminal messages telling us that even though we are forced to progress at a mature level, we will never successfully breach the barriers of adulthood.

We act as community leaders doing peer tutoring and community service. A large portion of the student body can even drive.

Accountability for oneself, assignments, time management, and respectful behavior in the classroom are all aspects that many faculty members believe are the keys to a successful learning environment. However, these expectations are not represented when visiting the restroom, where we are referred to as “girls” and “boys,” while the staff are labeled “men” and “women.”

Staff and student bathrooms should be kept separate due to teacher and student privacy, but the labeling of the student bathrooms, as social labeling is in many cases, is not a correct representation of the group they depict.

Admittedly, not all teenagers succeed in withstanding the pressures of faculty member and peer expectations, but the restroom labels “girls” or “boys” act as a subconscious barrier against our goal of adulthood and maturity. We hold more responsibility than children, and therefore should not be treated as them.

Outside of the academic arena, there isn’t a distinction between girls’ and womens’ bathrooms. There are staff-only bathrooms and customers only-bathrooms, but rarely have I seen a restroom labeled “girls.”

Another example of this distinction is with the sports teams. They are still referred to as girls and boys when many sports teams exemplify the dedication, consistency, and athletic ability admired in the adult world. Are they not working at a high enough level to be considered men and women?

We are not accepted fully into the adult world, yet in many cases we are expected to exceed the threshold of maturity in our academic and physical endeavors. We drive, vote, and work, but nevertheless we still use the little girls and boys restrooms.

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About the Contributor
Logan Peters, Author