I guess she isn't used to living with anyone really? Heh. I think you should approach your mom rather than your sister - either that or approach her dad. In fact approaching her dad might be a good idea because that way you don't have to worry about causing any friction between your mum and him. If you could speak to him and just say she's been making you feel really uncomfortable - make the point that you know she doesn't MEAN to - then he might be quite receptive to your honesty.

The only thing with telling your mum is that she then has to tell your step dad and then he might feel there's a bit of a sort of rivalry or something going on there. It's an uncomfortable situation to be sure. If you really don't think it would cause any problems then by all means talk to your mum as I assume out of everyone else in the house you are closest to her. AGain just sit her down, tell her you want to talk to her about something and say you're kind of embarrassed about it. I'm sure she'll understand and I'm sure that they will be impressed with the fact that you're being honest and considerate.

I guess you could also try talking to your step-sister and maybe making a joke out of it. Just go up to her and say hi, what are you doing and then tell her you've got something kind of personal you wanted to talk about, would she mind. Make a joke out of it - tell her you're sorry but you just find it uncomfortable and reassure her that you know it's just because she's not used to living with a guy around.

Whatever you decide, if this is making you uncomfortable in your own home then I really think you should do something about it because it is your home too and you should be able to relax. You also have to learn that it's possible to tell people how you feel without making them cross or causing embarrassment.

Good Luck.

Posted at 4:01 pm on May 3, 2008

This being said, are you close to your mother?  You don't have to explain exactly what you've seen, but you can just say that the way she acts and sits makes you feel that she's acting improperly.  Embarrassing, I know... but this way, she can speak to her boyfriend about it, who may be able to his daughter.  Especially if she is acting like this on purpose, it may cause some problems later down the line, in my opinion.

Other than that, you can make sure that whenever you're in the bathroom, that you put a lock of some kind on the door.  If you don't have a lock, just tell your mother that she walks in while you're in there.

And have you ever tried speaking to your stepsister about this?  I don't know what she would say, but just tell her that while you're in the shower, you don't want someone else to walk in and use the bathroom.  It's quite possible that she doesn't know this bothers you...

And other than that, I suppose just try to avoid those kinds of situations.  If she's always doing these kinds of things, then just try to avoid those specific situations.  I'm not saying to never talk to your stepsister, but to at least avoid situations that cause you this kind embarrassment.

I wish I could help you more, but other than trying to avoid the situation and talking to either your mother or your stepsister, I can't see a way to make ~her~ actions stop.  You can always change how you act and the like, but you can't change anything on her end if you don't mention it to someone, right?  Good luck, hope it works out for you, and I wish I could have helped you out more :(.

Posted at 2:22 pm on May 3, 2008