How to Deal With High School Locker Rooms

High school locker rooms can feel like death.

One of the most horrific places many will ever be forced to go is not jail or a psych ward. It’s the high school locker room. This place is filled with taunts, teasing and sometimes even fungus or things that cause athlete’s foot. You can deal with high school locker rooms by keeping yourself calm, cool, collected and following these suggestions.

Instructions

1. Act natural. Even though it may feel like the most unnatural and exposed thing in the world to get naked and shower in front of a bunch of classmates, pretend it’s as mundane as brushing your teeth. Your natural act will exude confidence and deter people from picking on you. It’s the same tactic used when you are lost on the street but don’t want to get mugged so you pretend to know exactly where you’re going.

2. Wear boring underwear and bring a boring towel. Boring underwear means a simple bikini or brief cut in a solid color with no holes. Never don anything people can make fun of, like granny briefs, a leather thong or underwear with cartoon characters on them. The same goes for the towel. Make it a solid-colored beach or bathroom towel that is large enough to wrap around you without having your butt stick out.

3. Ignore taunts. If you do become the object of teasing and taunts, don’t answer back. Simply ignore the hecklers and go about your business as if you don’t even hear them. Never let them see the taunts are bothering you. They will most likely get bored with you if you do not react and move on to the next person.

4. Mind your own business. Never stare at other people in the locker room, especially at their naked body parts and don’t engage in harassing others. Sure, you can chat with friends in there, but don’t join them if they are taunting anyone else. Just think how you would feel if you were on the receiving end of the taunts.

5. Move fast. Your goal is to get in and out of the locker room as quickly as possible. Make it a game for yourself and see if you can properly shower, get dressed and get out in less than five minutes. Maybe you’ll start a trend and everyone will be so busy trying to move fast that they won’t have time to taunt anyone else.

Tips & Warnings

• Even though wearing flip flops may be considered paranoid or geeky, do it anyway. Locker rooms are not the best place to go barefoot due to the bacteria, fungus and athlete’s foot that lurk on the tiles.

• If you react to taunts, it will only encourage more taunts. Don't let them see you cringe.

• Even if you are wholly embarrassed being naked, don’t shower with your clothes or underwear on. That’s just gross and extremely inviting for hecklers.