Considering architecture is a reflection of a society’s values and social norms at a particular point in time, bathrooms offer a very specific insight into a culture, according to University of Oregon student, Savannah Sinowitz, in Divided We Sit:  America’s Long History of Inequality in Restrooms. Our contemporary culture boasts being tolerant and inclusive by supporting diversity and gender equality, but as much as we are taking strides forward, we may be falling short on that promise.

Unisex Restrooms: There has been a popular movement by architects to design Unisex restrooms. This is to keep up with the need to accommodate all members of society equally and especially to speed up service to women, who often have to wait much longer than men do to use the facilities. With Unisex bathrooms, women don’t have to sneak into the men’s room because they can’t hold it. Since these restrooms have been designed for a single user, they are large with ample room for people with special needs like wheelchairs and walkers, making them user friendly to a wider population. It’s such a simple shift in our public social norms, but think about your bathroom at home; it’s Unisex.

Helsinki, Finland Unisex Restroom Sign. Photo: Michael Edson

Family Restrooms: The development of the Family Restroom provides a private, clean and comfortable space for a family in a public setting. There is a sense of security, especially with young children in tow or if you have an elderly person to care for. Furthermore, there is often seating available for the nursing mother to comfortably breastfeed her baby in privacy. The family restroom caters to men in need of a diaper changing station for their children, which is pretty much non-existent in public men’s rooms. These developments in design function as a positive evolution in the public restroom and reflect our desire to cater the common good for all citizens.

Carnivalesque Men’s Rooms: On the contrary however, is a trend in men’s room design known as “carnivalesque” restrooms, which seemingly mock the values of a progressive society. These trendy, upscale bathrooms for men were designed to embrace the carnival spirit of radical humor, celebrating crude personal desire and a hunger for self-gratification at the most basic levels of satisfaction, like urination. The bizarre is on full display in these themed men’s rooms, which cater to the “irrational, inane, violent, sexual and vulgar” (Bernier-Cast 23). Some have two-way mirrors giving the user voyeuristic pleasure, others include mannequins bent over the urinals or virtual women photographing, measuring and being suggestive of sexual acts.

Virtual women mocking a man while he urinates. Photo: Tony Williams

One example is Kisses, which are urinals made in the Netherlands by Bathroom Mania and have been installed in upscale hotel and casino men’s rooms worldwide. Kisses are banks of urinals sculpted to look like gaping female mouths with huge glossy red lips. Men perversely urinate into the mouths of these working girls, which is a nod to the carnivalesque mentality. First response may be a laugh and a shake of the head, however, in 2010 a coalition of women’s groups successfully petitioned to have Kisses removed from a Canadian restaurant on the grounds that they promoted aggression, sadism and violence against women (Bernier-Cast 31). Carnivalesque men’s room designs appear to cater to an elite branch of the population, presumably with disregard to accepted social behavior.

Urinals entitled Kisses at a bar in Paris. Photo: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters

As a modern and civilized society, we can take pride in the strides architecture has taken so far to appreciate the needs of our citizens in regards to public restrooms. The introduction of unisex and family restrooms into the public sphere seem to follow the notion that architecture is a reflection of a society’s values and social norms at a particular point in time (Sinowitz). However, if bathrooms offer a very specific insight into a culture, what do carnivalesque men’s rooms say about our culture? Is there a hidden truth about human nature that is revealed? Are men rebelling against equality, since they have been so dominant throughout history? This passive violence and crude behavior in men’s rooms appears to be in direct opposition to the values of a civilized society. Because architecture is a reflection of a society’s values, this trend raises a red flag into the true character and attitudes of our culture. If we sincerely want to be a tolerant, humane and inclusive society, we need to question the role carnivalesque men’s rooms hold.

Bibliography:

Sinowitz, Savannah. “Divided We Sit: America’s Long History of Inequality in Restrooms.” Welcome to the Toilet, 1 Feb. 2021, blogs.uoregon.edu/wc75/2021/02/01/divided-we-sit-americas-long-history-of-inequality-in-restrooms/.

Bernier-Cast, Karen. “Gargoyles, Kisses and Clowns: A Study of Carnivalesque Male Urinals and Restrooms.” Material Culture, vol. 43, no. 1, 2011, pp. 21–39.