Dad's unbelievable public bathroom act sparks heated debate

"This is pure male arrogance and misogyny. What a shame that that little girl is growing up without a male role model who will teach her about boundaries," an angry commenter wrote. 

In a recent viral post on Mumsnet, an anonymous woman shared an experience in a public bathroom that left her rattled and the internet divided. 

Jane* was out for a run and needed to use the toilet in a local park.

A man came in with his young daughter at the same time as her and went into the cubicle next to her.

"As she went to the loo, the father and daughter talked through all the steps they were taking and also commented on me, i.e is that lady also doing a wee, is she wiping her bum etc.," Jane explained in her post. 

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"He got pretty aggressive"

She was already feeling uncomfortable, but things took another turn when the dad decided to use the facilities himself, prompting Jane to confront the man.

"I couldn’t take any more and said, 'Could you not do that? Please, can you go in the men’s?'" she explained.

"He got pretty aggressive, asking what else he was meant to do as he had his young daughter with him."

Jane felt so awkward at this stage she left, all without going to the toilet!

Now she's questioning myself - should she be annoyed that the dad was in the bathrooms? Or was he perfectly within his rights to bring his daughter into the women’s loos and also use them himself?

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"The world has gone mad"

People agreed with Jane in the comments, saying that it would make them uncomfortable, too, especially the running commentary.

"The commenting on you is pure male arrogance and misogyny. You’re not a person with feelings. You’re just a teaching moment. What a pr*ck and what a shame that that little girl is growing up without a male role model who will teach her about boundaries. Ugh, I’m angry for you, OP," one comment said.

Another woman added: "He got aggressive? Well, no one must be told no these days, must they? Go where you like, do what you like. Why couldn’t he have waited outside for the kid? Why the running commentary on whoever was doing what in the next cubicle? The world has gone mad."

Others pointed out that many other options were available for the dad, other than going into the women's. 

"An adult male should never go into or use the female toilets. He should have taken her into the male toilets if she needed to be supervised (don’t know her age, she sounds young)," one expressed.

Another user added: "I feel like the child should go in the adults gendered toilet. It's not like dad is going to be leaving her with the other men in there, is it?"

"I always go into the disabled toilet with my son, but make sure it's not taking away from anyone who needs it," another mum shared.

Meanwhile, others said going into the ladies' bathroom was fine for the dad.

"I think it was okay for him to be in the women's loo under the circumstances. IMHO only. Not okay to do that commentary though. Bit pervy??" someone expressed.

"Why not just go when he's not in there? He's not flashing his bits at you. Just wait two seconds more. Men pee quickly," quipped another.

And finally, this person also supported the dad, saying: "The girl was asking normal toilet questions for a kid. It would make a lot more sense for him to go wee whilst he was already there than to drag the girl into the smelly men's loo and have her comment on all the different men at the urinal!"

Originally published as Dad's unbelievable public bathroom act sparks heated debate