I have a similar experience to others here. I remember girls’ PE in primary (1970s) was vest and knickers, sometimes just knickers. Boys were allowed shorts. Even at that age I remember the girls asking each other why they couldn’t wear shorts. Whole-school shaming in assembly and the “slipper” for those who were naughty.
We had the enforced communal shower all through secondary school (mid 1980s). There was a single narrow gap to get into the shower area which was guarded by two teachers, who kept the shower/period register. You had to go up to them if it was your period and they’d put a red P in the diary. If your period lasted too long or was irregular you were asked to bring a Doctor’s note and nagged about it the next time if you hadn’t done so. I think I ended up faking a note from my Mum once to try to get them off my case. Imagine going to the Doctor asking for a note for your PE teacher about your period these days?!
Because the gap to the showers was so narrow and the teachers stood either side partly in the way, it was virtually impossible to go through without brushing up against a mixture of wet & dry bodies as everyone rushed around. I hated this. The teachers would monitor whether you were wet enough when leaving, and if not you’d be sent back in and they’d be watching closely and commenting while you showered. The showers were old and manky, completely open, there was green mould/algae all over the place and the water was cold. If someone forgot their towel they also had to use paper hand towels to dry themselves as I think someone mentioned upthread.
Some girls, the ones good at PE, would act almost like mini teachers, extolling the virtues of showering and shaming anyone who was shy or covering up, reiterating comments about not being wet enough, commenting on other girls’ periods and the like. Did anyone else experience this? As if it wasn’t enough to get that crap from just the teachers. I got called a “big fat lump” and I was a fairly average build so other girls probably had it much worse.
Once everyone had been in the shower, the teachers would prowl around the room supervising and making comments to girls who weren’t considered to be drying themselves properly (no physical helping with drying that I saw, thankfully). Also “don’t forget that Doctor’s note” etc. Always in loud voices for the whole room to hear.
Within the communal changing room, right alongside some of the changing benches, there were two toilet cubicles where the tops and bottoms of the thin partitions didn’t meet the floor or ceiling by about a foot or so. This offered virtually no privacy using the toilet and everyone could hear sanitary towels and tampons being unwrapped. A bit of separation from the changing area would have been appreciated. I wonder if this was also the norm inside other school changing rooms.
Sorry this is so long – by the way I only clicked on this thread by accident, I wonder if it would be worth changing the title to be more specific as to what the thread is about? In a way it has been therapeutic to write all this down and I’m sure it’s helped quite a lot of us to know we weren’t the only ones. Thanks for starting it.