In some European countries are different rules about how old children may be present in the opposite locker room. Mainly there are problem with too old boys, mothers sometimes bring their schoolage sons with her to women’s locker of swimming pools, because they don’t want to let them be alone at men’s locker room. This will lead to little girls and their mothers protest. The foremost thing is that a 10-year-old girl would not want to be with a boy the same age such as after swimming in the shower room naked.
But opposite situation is very rare – only few fathers will bring their daughter (if they are not very little children) to the men’s locker room. Anyone can understand this situation as a improper, because certainly some man will be stare at girl, as in women shower nobody will stare boys, only they are afraid of about their own daughters.
And now I wanted to tell about absolute exception of this rule, which happened in one small European country in one small town (only 8000 persons living there). I don’t even know, is it possible for some other European, maybe more tolerate countries, to find 13-year old girl alone (!) in men’s locker room, shower and sauna at swimming pool.
This little town has quite big swimming pool, used in winter by many persons also from neighboring towns. I started to work as a sports journalist in another bigger town (population 55 000), 15 km away from this smaller town, but my new colleagues said, that swimming pool in this town is the best, always clean, comfortable and modern, also there was possible to use little gym and massage and some other services. That’s why I started attending this modern pool and after some four or five visits I met first time this quite big girl with dad in the same locker room as me and other men. I was really surprised, but as you understand – if women may be angry about boys being in their locker rooms, I was not displeased but stunned. Girl was really big and I find this inappropriate to describe what she looked like, but I realized quickly, that she have to be at least 12-year old.
I told about the case to my colleague and he calmly answered: “Oh, yes, I knew it already, but didn’t told you, because here everybody has use to it, though it is certainly an unusual.” He told, that in this family mother is disabled and daughter is lone child and only goes out with dad. „Administration of the pool accepted girl in men locker room, if anybody will not protest and obviously men didn’t,“ said my colleague. „Because of difficult situation in family everybody here accepts behavior of girl. She is even praised by women.“
But that was not end of the story. Some months later I met a girl again in the pool and noticed, that father was not present at this time. But after swimming she went into men locker room again! She took her time also in hot tub and sauna, now, of course, without a swimsuit. There was not much people in pool this particular day and I decided to follow her to sauna and talk a little.
I entered and she was sitting at upper seat on the tailor-term position. I was really shy and said: „May I ask something?“
„Of course,“ she said.
After some conversation I got to know, that her father asked some years ago, whether she wants to continue going at male locker room, or now will switch to the women locker, because she is old enough. Girl said, that she chose to be with her father and even now, at 13 (she said her age) she is here. She was also laughing, when I asked, why she today came alone also in male room and she answered: „You know, it was funny – administrator gave me a men’s room locker key automatically. She did not even noticed that I was alone!”
She also said, that although her father got sick, she wanted to go pool and wash itself carefully, because she have not such good conditions in her home and for tomorrow she is invited with many other best school students to the president’s palace. And I was again stunned to hear, that this naked girl has only excellent marks in school!
I asked, why she didn’t say anything to administrator and didn’t ask women’s locker room key. „Never mind!“ she said. „I don’t afraid to be naked in front of men. Here is maybe even more comfortable.“
But suddenly after that our talk ended in dramatic mood. I dared to asked, is she exhibitionist and she was really displeased, when said: “No way!” I continued: “But you are sitting here…” and she interrupted me abruptly: “Don’t talk about this! Men here have been nice, but you are cheeky bastard!”
She left angrily and I stayed to sit in sauna stricken. I realized, that I touched the wrong issue, that she really wanted to be known as a decent and clever girl, but I dared to ask about exhibitionism.
Now I didn’t want to risk meet girl anymore and afterwards went only to the little pool in my own town. Was she really exhibitionist or not? What you think? Is it really, that I was only person who questioned the girl’s presence in men’s locker room?