Abstract
The public restroom is a place every human resides in to expel their waste – one of the most humanin activities one does. Yet, as it has developed within Western society, during the 19th century, it has become another tool used to discriminate towards members of society who don’t identify as abled, white, cis men. How has the public restroom contributed to the intersectionality, and the shaping of our patriarchal society, within the United States? Our entire society is built off of the exclusion and belittle of others, as a way to obtain power. While a toilet seems insignificant to the social construction within the United States; throughout history, it has perpetuated racial segregation, excluded individuals who have a disability or do not conform to “gender normativity”, discriminated toward people of lower class, and created significant disadvantages for women, merely because of their gender. Majority of this research came from primary and secondary sources; however, a floor plan – of a nongendered restroom that provides private, accessible stalls for all – was also analyzed. As our society starts to speaks out to the many injustices embedded within the United States, we should also identify how elements of architecture and interior architecture/design have perpetuated inequality and discrimination.
19th Century Restrooms’ Influence On Gender Segregation and Inequality
How public restrooms, along with other architecture of the 19th century, was used to domesticate and segregate women from the public, male lifestyle.
Public Restrooms in the United States: Its Strong Connection to Intersectionality
Diving into other examples of how public restrooms have discriminated and exluded minnority groups within the United States.
Map
This map identifies the location of important places, within the United States, that impacted public restrooms by influence, advocacy, legislation, and more.
Timeline
This timeline identifies how the United States’ public restrooms have changed overtime. It also includes moments in history that have influenced its evolution like legislation, social advocating, and natural/human caused disasters.
Homepage
Bibliography
“Chapter 1: Introduction.” Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, by Harvey Luskin Molotch, W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services Library, 2020.
“Chapter 7: Sex Separation: The Cure-All for Victorian Social Anxiety.” Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, by Terry S Kogan, W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services Library, 2020.
Colker, Ruth. “Public Restrooms: Flipping the Default Rules.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017, pp. 3–20., doi:10.2139/ssrn.2937718.
Sanders, Joel, and Susan Stryker. “Stalled: Gender-Neutral Public Bathrooms.” South Atlantic Quarterly, vol. 115, no. 4, 2016, pp. 779–788., doi:10.1215/00382876-3656191.
Swales, Stephanie. “Transphobia in the Bathroom: Sexual Difference, Alterity and Jouissance.” Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, vol. 23, no. 3, 2018, pp. 290–309., doi:10.1057/s41282-018-0099-7.
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