a gender story
I grew up with very gendered expectations (and, as a pale bookish shy athletic outdoorsy kid who wasn’t good at football, I failed to meet any of em). A lot of us envied the favoritism the girls got, while we didn’t spot the down sides.
I have no idea who started the rumor that The Incredible Hulk lived in the girls’ bathroom and that’s why you couldn’t go in there EVER. Nevermind that Hulk doesn’t actually exist. But we believed this with the fervent assurance of any 4th grader.