There is so much in John Baletine’s recent column (“Here’s Something: Grant us relief from co-ed bathrooms”) that concerns me. My concerns are centered around Balentine’s stilted view of the normal human psyche. It is not normal to feel an erotic thrill when faced with the possibility of being locked in a toilet stall in the same room in which there might be a female young adult. He suggests “Hookups were never so easy.” Only someone with a very unusual idea of a romantic environment would think that being in a unisex bathroom within a school would be dangerously stimulating.

I hesitate to imagine how he came to know “girls who never used the bathroom in high school.” Anyway, this concern has no bearing on the question of unisex bathrooms. It is clear that Balentine has no empathy for transgender youth. May I suggest reading “Becoming Nicole, The Transformation of an American Family,” for starters.

Balentine is trying to find a problem where none exists. There is no evidence that the student body at Casco Bay High School is upset. They have choices. He does, too. Should he find himself in a school again, find out right away the location of the teacher/staff bathroom. I am sure the administration would feel much better if he used it.

Mark A. Bennett
South Portland

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