Had some major dental work last week, so didn't join in on this one. Just a few thoughts. There is a bathroom at UCLA Medical Center for both men and women with several stalls. When I entered, I was alone. I was getting ready when a man entered. The minute I realized, I became tense, alert. Something took over. No way would I use that bathroom, alone with a man. I got myself together and left post haste, and walked to the designated ladies' room on the other side of the building. Even tho walking was hard for me, and at that time, I was using a cane.

As for children and gender, I knew from a very early age, and I mean 3 or 4, that in the '30s and '40s males were preferred. Not from my parents, but from society in general. I was sorry I was a girl. I was a very active child with a lot of energy, could play all day. I was a terrific skater, and rope jumper. I loved the games at school, dodgeball, and softball. I loved watching the Dodgers with my father, and asked for a baseball glove so I could play ball with the boys in the street. My parents bought one for me. I loved sports, but I never had any thoughts about being a boy. I always had a "boyfriend" in class, a different one each year. kids do that sort of thing in elementary school. We even had parties by the 5th grade, held in the basement of someone's house, and I remember we tried to play spin-the-bottle. Afterward, we all went to the luncheonette, and my 10-year-old boyfriend bought me an egg creme. By 12, my friends and I were going to the beach, and a couple of times each summer we treated ourselves to a day at Brighton Beach Baths, and boys were starting to look at us, and we found the flirting fun. At 13, I was elected Girls' Student Athletic director of my junior high, working with the P.E. teachers after school, scheduling after-school punchball games, umpiring, and the like. But I often wandered up to the Boys Gym to watch after-school basketball, because I liked one the boys there. Anyway, I think children should be left alone to find their way. They will. They will know exactly who they are, and they can take it from there. I don't believe there should be any influence of any kind. That we should respect our differences is a given. But leave young minds alone. They know who they are, who they want to be. And even if they are confused at a young age, it will soon enough sort itself out.