When it comes to restrooms, it’s natural that some people feel a little uncomfortable about other people being there while they’re taking care of business.

It’s especially awkward when a person of the opposite gender is required to maintain the facilities, but sometimes it’s a necessity.

And when the camp counsellor in this story was stationed outside the male restrooms to safeguard the boys while they were in a public place, she uncomplainingly carried out her job.

However, when an altercation with a man occurred, she was left wondering if she was right after all.

Read on to find out what happened.

AITA for telling a man “this is my job” while in the men’s restroom?

I am a 27-year-old woman, and I work at a summer day camp.

The summer camp I work at is connected to a gym, so the gym guests and our campers have to share the same bathroom.

In both the men’s and women’s restrooms, we have two stalls reserved just for the kids to use, and have a sign posted in front of those stalls that they are just for the kids.

The summer camp staff is primarily women and we have very few male staff.

We have one male site director but site directors are always busy and aren’t always available.

Let’s see how these circumstances contributed to this mishap.

Part of my job at the summer camp is listening/watching out for kids so they can be safe while they use the toilet.

This is to make sure that the kids aren’t playing/ being inappropriate with each other, and adults aren’t approaching or talking to them in the restrooms.

Whenever I’m watching over the boys in the restroom, I’m always in the doorway of the restroom, I never go all the way in unless I need to.

Male guests will see me and be slightly startled bc there’s a woman in the men’s restroom, but they don’t care bc they already know about the summer camp.

And it was this situation that saw the drama start to kick off.

I was doing the same thing I do every day by standing in the doorway of the restroom, telling the boys occasionally to hurry up so I can send the next kids in, when a tall, balding, middle aged white guy stops in front of the locker room door and stares at me for a minute before he starts talking to me, as follows:

Weird Guy (WG): Excuse me, ma’am do you know there are children in here?

Me: Yes. I know.

WG: Do you know there adult men in here?

Me: Yes? I know.

This conversation just got weirder and weirder.

WG: Well, I don’t think it’s appropriate for a woman to be in the men’s restroom.

Me: I understand sir, but this my job.

WG: What is your job? I don’t understand why you’re in here.

Me: I work at the summer camp. My job is make sure the kids don’t go into the same stalls, or let adults talk to them.

WG: Can you get a manager?

Me: Sir, this is my job.

And she began to feel it going round and round in circles.

WG: But why are you in the restroom?

Me: Sir, this is my job.

WG: But it’s inappropriate that you’re in here!

Me: Sir, this is my job. I need to make sure the children don’t go into the same stalls or let adults talk to them.

WG: Okay, but you’re just standing and hanging out in the men’s restroom having a whole conversation with me.

Me: Sir, you started talking to me first.

Read on to find out what happened when the conversation came to a sudden conclusion.

Mind you, I was calm and did not move from my spot in the doorway at all during this whole interaction.

After I said that, he paused, and stomped away into the connected locker room.

I stayed in the doorway until my kids finished their business, told my site director and a few of the other camp counsellors about the whole interaction. They were all on my side.

My site director told the gym’s front desk receptionist about what happened to me with my description of the man, and they said that they’d keep an eye out for him.

But it left her feeling a little uncomfortable in the ensuing days.

Even though almost everyone was on my side, when I told a few relatives about it, they said shouldn’t have escalated the situation.

They thought I should’ve just left quickly to get a male staff or my site director.

I don’t think I was in the wrong, but those relatives are making me second guess myself.

AITA?

This woman has been put in a really awkward situation.

In an ideal world, the kids wouldn’t have to share facilities with adult members of the public – or there would at least be sufficient male staff to watch the male bathrooms.

But she’s making the best of tricky circumstances and doing a great job of it – the man was completely out of line.

Let’s see what Reddit though to this.

This person agreed she did everything right.

While others remarked on how tricky the situation she’d been put in was.

However, some people thought she could have done more to put him at ease.

It’s totally not on her to make this man feel comfortable – and an adult man did not need to make a big deal out of this.

If he thought about it for just a second he would have understood the safeguarding implications of children being unattended in an adult bathroom, but he seemed stuck on his point.

She did nothing wrong – but the circumstances suck and she shouldn’t have to supervise a male bathroom at all.

But to get a manager would have meant leaving the kids alone, and their safety is more important than this man speaking to someone immediately.

She’s a true professional.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.