We’ve all found ourselves in a sticky situation at least once in our lives.
Usually, at a highly inconvenient moment, leading to potential embarrassment.
When this happens, we do what we can to mitigate the situation, finding quick and easy solutions.
Solutions that may draw confusion, even resentment, from those around us.
Redditor Emotional-Sun2521 recently found himself in one of these undesirable situations.
Thankfully, the original poster (OP) found a fairly quick and easy way to solve this problem.
Even if his methods were met with some disapproval by those around him.
Wondering if he was out of line, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for taking off my shorts to dry them under a hand dryer?”
The OP explained how they quickly went from one awkward situation to another:
“Hello.”
“I (27 M[ale]) was in a train station waiting to take an Amtrak train drinking some water.”
“I somehow managed to spill the water all over my shirt and shorts.”
“Not wanting to get on the train looking like I peed myself, I went into the bathroom to deal with it.”
“I stretched my shirt out to get it under the hand dryer and did a good job of drying that, but the dryer was too high off the ground to help out my shorts.”
“So I looked around to make sure no kids were in there (it was somewhat crowded but only adults), and slipped off my shorts to dry them more effectively under the dryer.”
“I had underwear on so it’s not like it was anything indecent.”
“When I did so, I heard one guy around my age say ‘alright then’ and a couple of looks and didn’t think anything of it.”
“But one guy about ten or fifteen years older than me came up to me and said to cover up, and this is no place for that.”
“At this point, my shorts were 95% clean, but I don’t like being told what to do, so I dried them for about 15 more seconds before putting them on.”
“The guy muttered ‘a**hole’ and walked away.”
“Was I in the wrong for doing this?”
“It’s a bathroom, and it’s not like I was nude.”
“TECHNICALLY someone outside the bathroom could’ve seen the hand dryers if they really tried, but imo if you’re peeking into a bathroom that makes you a weirdo.”
“So what’s the verdict?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community was in agreement that the OP was not the a**Hole for drying his shorts under a hand dryer.
While some understood why the OP’s actions might have caused some reactions from those nearby, they otherwise agreed that the OP did nothing wrong.
“NTA.”
“If I see a man in the bathroom wearing his boxers drying his shorts off under the hand dryer, I know his day has not been great and I’m not going to judge him for it.”- Dan-D-Lyon
“NTA.”
“That’s about the least offensive thing I’ve seen in a train station bathroom.”- Parks102
“I’m sorry, don’t guys just whip their junk out to use a urinal?”
“Why would this be offensive at all lol?”
“NTA.”- ubelieveurguiltless
“NTA.”
“And I agree with the other comment I saw that was saying it likely has to do with cultural expectations of men/homophobia.”
“If a woman did this in the women’s bathroom no one would bat an eye, and in fact some people might stand as such so that it blocks them from view from the door or something- to protect their privacy while they’re dealing with the issue, not because it’s offensive to others.”-Altruistic_Ad_9821
“NTA.”
“I’m not a man so maybe I’m wrong, but don’t you all just whip it out publicly to pee in there?”
“So how is being in your underwear anymore scandalous than that?”- MasticatingSheep
“NTA.”
“If the bathroom is not the proper place, where is?”
“On the platform, in line for the tickets, the coffee kiosk?”
“People really need to get over themselves.”
“I doubt he was willing to buy you some new shorts, so what is the solution he was looking for?”-GrouchyTower5969
“OP, I could tell u were a man when u started, cause the girls would help another girl dry herself off in that situation.”
“NTA.”- McCauliflowerCaulkin
“NTA.”
“This sounds like some cultural homophobia to me.”
“If a woman did this in a public bathroom, no one would blink an eye.”- Pkfrompa
“NTA.”
“As long as your bits were covered, it’s fine.”
“People see more at a pool or beach.”
“I guarantee those cranky old men wouldn’t have an issue if it were a pretty lady standing in her underwear.”- Aly_Kitty
“NTA.”
“You gotta do what you gotta do, but if I walked into the bathroom and saw someone in their underwear drying their shorts I’d probably just walk out and assume you pissed your pants or were a little crazy.”- flyingpiggos
“NTA.”
“It’s a weird look for sure and brings to mind that person may be homeless and bathing in the bathroom (which everyone wants to believe only happens in seedy places and is not something they should ever see), but there was nothing wrong with what you were doing.”-TheMoon_Shadow13
“NTA.”
“A bathroom is literally the place for that.”- Current-Panic7419
“NTA.”
“You had underwear on.”
“Some people just want to be jerks.”- uncommonbreeddogmom
“NTA.”
“Your giblets were covered.”
“You and those around you on the train would be a lot happier if you didn’t walk onto the train looking like you pissed yourself.”
“I have no idea why the older guy was so mad at you, it must’ve looked a bit odd but surely he could’ve inferred why you were doing it?!”
“And if he was genuinely that bothered and really didn’t understand, he could’ve asked.”
“Oh well.”- UnderSeigeOverfed
“NTA.”
“Stuff happens.”
“People do far worse in public restrooms.”- Living-Assumption272
“NTA.”
“You were in a bathroom, jeez.”- nofallingupward
“NTA.”
“People are way too uptight these days.”- panic_bread
“NTA dude sounds like a prude with a stick up his a**.”- landartheconqueror
“NTA.”
“This guy just has anger issues.”
“And probably homophobia.” –Â catinnameonly
“I would think you were having a really tough day and mind my own business.”
“But I’m a woman and I’ve definitely seen women blow-drying their shirts in there, so it doesn’t seem weird at all NTA.”- FishingWorth3068
“NTA.”
“I would do the same if really wet from the water.”
“We are used to clubs/ gym: really most our life changing together be it high school Sports/gym to gyms and club as we get older.”
“I would not care if I brought my child into a woman’s bathroom and a woman was drying her clothes but had underwear on.”
“I would probably feel sorry for her, not think the worst.”
“She had bleeding, or an accident, and had to rinse and now dry her clothes.”- anditurnedaround
“NTA.”
“You are covered and obviously drying your pants.”
“People like to get worked up over nothing.”- Rainmom66
“NTA.”
“You were in the bathroom, not in the middle of the station.”
“You weren’t exposing yourself.” – tatersprout
“NTA.”
“Its a weird situation and thanks to our culture anything outside of ‘very normal’ is instantly viewed with mockery and suspicion.”
“Don’t worry about it. The odds of you ever seeing those randos again aren’t high.”
“I had to put up with the same thing for years in college after I washed a cut on my foot in the sink.”
“Why some guy had the gall to walk up to you, I genuinely don’t understand.”- brinlong
“NTA.”
“Not inappropriate at all, you weren’t exposing yourself.”
“A little odd maybe?”
“I’d be too self-conscious to do it personally but I wouldn’t have issue with seeing someone else do it.”- birthday-caird-pish
“As long as everything was covered NTA.”
“It was pretty obvious what you were doing so that guy should’ve just minded his own business lol.”- badlilbishh
“NTA.”
“Just wait until he spots the urinals!”- lunchbox3
“NTA.”
“You were in a bathroom, you had underwear on.”
“If they were tighties, this is similar to the amount of ‘nakedness’ that a man has when wearing a speedo in a public place of swimming.”
“If you had boxers on, those are similar to shorts, and your peen was covered either way.”
“People really need to stop bathroom policing people who are in there doing bathroom stuff.”
“I’m a woman and if I had a similar issue, you can bet I would do the same thing.”
“I don’t think most women would react at all, maybe some older, more prude women would, but the majority would not.”
“Also, I asked my husband if what you did would bother him, and he said absolutely not.”
‘I don’t think you were being self-serving by taking care of your own comfort because you were about to get on a train.”
“You were also taking care of other passengers’ comfort by not giving them reason to think you had peed yourself.”
“Bathroom hand dryers to the rescue!”- Practical_Sale8133
It’s not exactly a common occurrence to see someone in their underwear in a train station bathroom.
That being said, those who gave the OP a hard time might want to consider what they would have done if the tables had been turned.
Try as they might to deny it, one suspects they would have likely considered the same option.