Why Do Bathrooms Matter?

Abstract

unlikely to be four separate bathrooms, only white women and men could depend on having someplace to pee when traveling (Cooper and Ruth 1999). Twenty years ago, the gendering of bathrooms became a contentious feminist issue. It was part of the fight for gender equality (Edwards and McKie 1996; Molotch 1988). Gendered bathrooms perpetuated gender inequality because there were never enough ladies' rooms to match their greater need. Arguing for unisex bathrooms, feminists put their bodies on the line by liberating men's rooms. Today, the battle has been taken up by transitioning transgenders and by genderqueers who do not identify as male or female, especially on college campuses (Brown 2005). Now, gender-neutral bathrooms are part of the battle for recognition of the rights of people with all sorts of bodies (Lucal 1999). Racial desegregation and mandated wheelchair-accessible bathrooms are