Potty Parity in Perspective: Gender and Family Issues in Planning and Designing Public Restrooms

Abstract

Public restrooms are among the few remaining sex-segregated spaces in the American landscape, tangible relics of gender discrimination. This article describes how public restrooms have historically discriminated by class, race, physical ability, sexual orientation, as well as gender. It examines how public restrooms pose special health and safety problems for women, men, children, elderly, persons with disabilities, and caregivers. It chronicles potty parity legislation, examining impacts of and backlash from recent laws. It presents new developments signaling a growing international movement and a quiet restroom revolution: the newly formed World Toilet Organization, American Restroom Association, increased family and unisex restrooms, and technological inventions such as automatic self-cleaning public toilets. It proposes innovative solutions about how twenty-first-century public restrooms can make cities more livable; offers roles for planners, designers, and civic officials, and suggests new research directions. Sources include an extensive literature review of relevant legal research, scholarly publications, and media coverage.

Public Toilets: An Exploratory Study on the Demands, Needs, and Expectations in Turkey

“…The social and physical roles of public toilets in city life are undeniable; they are the reflection of our culture and civilization (Anthony and Dufresne, 2007). Although public toilets are critical components of urban environments, they are defined as marginal, and tend to be a visiting point of last resort.…”

“…None has a family room. Family-friendly restrooms are essential for enhancing the quality of city life and allowing parents and their children to use the toilet at the same time in a convenient way (Anthony and Dufresne, 2007). Even adding a stool so children can reach the sinks on their own would improve the public toilet experience.…”

“…Anthony and Dufresne (2007) highlight that if there is a lack of availability of such public toilets for the elderly they are forced to stay at home or are hampered in daily activities. Regarding ability issues, the provision of public toilets is seen as a crucial determinant for the disabled to participate in society.…”

“…However, public toilets in many countries (Australia, New Zealand, the UK, US, Turkey) still reflect discrimination in terms of gender, ability, and age (Anthony and Dufresne, 2007). Goldsmith (1997) discusses the paradigm of designing public toilets in the UK and explains the issue using two concepts, microprovision and macroprovision.…”

“…Moreover, according to Bombeck (1994), women take more time to get dressed and undressed in a confined space. The common problem in all these gender-related studies is summarized by Anthony and Dufresne (2007) and divided into four categories: (i) unequal restrooms in terms of size and number; (ii) inadequate sanitary conditions in women's restrooms; (iii) not being able to locate women's restrooms; and (iv) no women's restrooms at all. As stated above, the literature identifies many planning, design, and sociospatial aspects of public toilet provision and use in the 21st century.…”