Erase all signs of humanness
It would seem that especially in this and some other countries, there is a lot of money to be had by erasing all indicators that there are humans present. Many of us pay money to erase humans smells, symptoms of death, illness, aging and most of all gender.
I grew up in a 3 room house with 2 adults and 5 children. There was little room for privacy or modesty. The strongest source of shame in our family was mother’s embarrassment about our poverty. I do not recall deodorant, fragrant soaps, or attempts to cover up other indications that all the family members were human. Certainly we were aware that there were males and females in the house and, at certain ages, there was some concern that we not intermingle our powerful hormonal desires. The outhouse did sometimes feature 3 seats which, if all occupied, guaranteed the sharing of certain body orders.
The country/regional school we attended did have separate bathrooms for boys and girls as well as gender separated health education classes and gym changing rooms although, once inside the facility, there was little privacy in the boys restroom and changing rooms. When we got “uptown” and had showers there were no private shower stalls. True there was some embarrassing and unkind moments when boys made fun of or even bullied one another.
There is, increasing acknowledgement in certain cultures that there are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals among us. This has created in the United States a huge crisis among some about who uses which bathroom. Some places have one person bathrooms which are labeled simply bathrooms. Some designed for use by more than one person are now labeled as “Bathroom with urinals” and “Bathrooms without urinals”. In those with urinals there is a privacy screen – usually metal – between the urinals so that the users do not have to risk having their male genitals exposed to the person on either side of them. A great deal of money was to be had by investing in companies which made or installed such screens.
On my first trip to Europe I discovered that in many countries urinals were long, open troughs with little attempt to camouflage the fact that individuals were urinating. There was seldom individual stalls for those who needed to eliminate other body waste.
There are, in some parts of the United States and some other countries nude beaches. There are also nudist colonies – vacation or recreational facilities where individuals of all ages let it all hang out. I can find no evidence that the incidences of sexual rape or even harassment is more frequent in such places.
Personally, I have no problem sharing a bathroom with both genders or being reminded that humans come in various shapes, sizes and with a range of sexual preferences and identifies. I am very sensitive to many colognes or even strong smelling deodorants. I much prefer a “natural” smell although I do tend to avoid, when possible, tightly closed spaces housing those who may have several days or weeks collections of smells on their person.
I have no problem being reminded that we humans die. Of course, I get sad when it is time to say goodbye to a loved one but I am not shocked that all of us have a limited life span. Cleaning up feces, urine and vomit is not my favorite job but then there was many tasks which are not on my top ten.
I am not at all convinced that us humans are better off because we continue to have a variety of masks for hiding who we are physically, sexually, emotionally, and spiritually. We are humans with bodies which are more or less attractive depending on cultural circles, of a binary or non-binary gender, who have a limited life span and whose cover up makeup and deodorants quickly fade.
The difference in size and design of body parts – with or without enhancement – is minimal. The most we may notice is someone meets our particular criteria for attractiveness but we seldom have a sexual relationship with others. In fact we are often reminded that sexual abuse is about power and has nothing to do with a sexual connection per se.
In short, we are humans who are of most interest to each other when we are lovingly assisting each other through this brief life journey no matter our age, sexual orientation, gender, race, size or other temporary identifications tags!
Written October 16, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
It would seem that especially in this and some other countries, there is a lot of money to be had by erasing all indicators that there are humans present. Many of us pay money to erase humans smells, symptoms of death, illness, aging and most of all gender.
I grew up in a 3 room house with 2 adults and 5 children. There was little room for privacy or modesty. The strongest source of shame in our family was mother’s embarrassment about our poverty. I do not recall deodorant, fragrant soaps, or attempts to cover up other indications that all the family members were human. Certainly we were aware that there were males and females in the house and, at certain ages, there was some concern that we not intermingle our powerful hormonal desires. The outhouse did sometimes feature 3 seats which, if all occupied, guaranteed the sharing of certain body orders.
The country/regional school we attended did have separate bathrooms for boys and girls as well as gender separated health education classes and gym changing rooms although, once inside the facility, there was little privacy in the boys restroom and changing rooms. When we got “uptown” and had showers there were no private shower stalls. True there was some embarrassing and unkind moments when boys made fun of or even bullied one another.
There is, increasing acknowledgement in certain cultures that there are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals among us. This has created in the United States a huge crisis among some about who uses which bathroom. Some places have one person bathrooms which are labeled simply bathrooms. Some designed for use by more than one person are now labeled as “Bathroom with urinals” and “Bathrooms without urinals”. In those with urinals there is a privacy screen – usually metal – between the urinals so that the users do not have to risk having their male genitals exposed to the person on either side of them. A great deal of money was to be had by investing in companies which made or installed such screens.
On my first trip to Europe I discovered that in many countries urinals were long, open troughs with little attempt to camouflage the fact that individuals were urinating. There was seldom individual stalls for those who needed to eliminate other body waste.
There are, in some parts of the United States and some other countries nude beaches. There are also nudist colonies – vacation or recreational facilities where individuals of all ages let it all hang out. I can find no evidence that the incidences of sexual rape or even harassment is more frequent in such places.
Personally, I have no problem sharing a bathroom with both genders or being reminded that humans come in various shapes, sizes and with a range of sexual preferences and identifies. I am very sensitive to many colognes or even strong smelling deodorants. I much prefer a “natural” smell although I do tend to avoid, when possible, tightly closed spaces housing those who may have several days or weeks collections of smells on their person.
I have no problem being reminded that we humans die. Of course, I get sad when it is time to say goodbye to a loved one but I am not shocked that all of us have a limited life span. Cleaning up feces, urine and vomit is not my favorite job but then there was many tasks which are not on my top ten.
I am not at all convinced that us humans are better off because we continue to have a variety of masks for hiding who we are physically, sexually, emotionally, and spiritually. We are humans with bodies which are more or less attractive depending on cultural circles, of a binary or non-binary gender, who have a limited life span and whose cover up makeup and deodorants quickly fade.
The difference in size and design of body parts – with or without enhancement – is minimal. The most we may notice is someone meets our particular criteria for attractiveness but we seldom have a sexual relationship with others. In fact we are often reminded that sexual abuse is about power and has nothing to do with a sexual connection per se.
In short, we are humans who are of most interest to each other when we are lovingly assisting each other through this brief life journey no matter our age, sexual orientation, gender, race, size or other temporary identifications tags!
Written October 16, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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