In Female Masculinity, Judith Halberstam devotes an entire section to her version of "The Bathroom Problem." For Halberstam, "[The bathroom problem] illustrates in remarkably clear ways the flourishing existence of gender binarism despite rumors of its demise" (949). I agree with Halberstam's idea that gendered bathrooms highlight gender differences and promote a binary system of gender in the public sphere. She focuses on how this affects those who are gender ambiguous, but what about gendered public bathrooms' effect on children? Young children are often initially confused when a parent of the opposite gender tells them it's no longer appropriate for them to accompany the child to the bathroom in public. Why not? What's the big deal? By subjecting our children to separate public bathrooms, are we teaching them to be ashamed of body differences and conditioning them to accept a binary gender system?