3 Culture in Familiar Spaces there are things that are acceptable to talk about and things that aren t acceptable to talk about and humor bridges that gap men s bathroom use can be explained by three interconnected american values 1 privacy children learn to urinate in private in the home the bathroom is the most private room in public restrooms behavioral patterns attempt to preserve the illusion of privacy 2 masculinity peeing space is reinforced by american masculine taboos against expressing interest in other men pee ers must stand beyond touching distance and avoid looking at one another because the penis is also a sexual organ peeing becomes in some sense a sexual display 3 cool the value that attempts to publicly deny that privacy and masculinity are bathroom issues the many anxieties generated by having to urinate in public are not to be acknowledged education school is an institution for drilling children in cultural orientations competitiveness someone s failure makes it possible for someone else to succeed the central obsession in education is the fear of failure children in school learn to criticize other people s work a competitive culture endures by tearing people down
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