Abstract
This paper employs Lezlie Lowe’s book, No Place To Go: How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs, as a crucial site to examine how restroom facilities have historically perpetuated categorical inequalities based on factors such as race, disability, and social class. It analyses how access to restrooms is integral to ensuring full participation and citizenship, as certain spaces are implicitly designated for specific body types, thereby excluding those that do not conform to societal norms. The paper uses textual analysis to study Lowe’s narrative. This analysis deconstructs how signs and language construct and sustain power structures and social inequalities, revealing how ableism contradicts inclusive discourse by shaping public restroom design, denying access to marginalised bodies, and excluding their concerns from mainstream discourse. It examines the distinct health and safety challenges that public restrooms pose for women, men, children, the elderly, those with disabilities and caretakers. No Place to Go challenges the implicit enforcement of the gender binary within public restrooms, and it advocates for gender-inclusive spaces that accommodate the diverse identities and needs of people. By engaging with Lowe’s work, this paper seeks to contribute to ongoing discussions on reimagining restroom design and policy like gender-neutral toilets, gender-neutral language, reinforcing potty parity laws, among others to foster inclusivity and equality. The paper concludes by highlighting how these inclusive designs bring us a step closer to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development like gender equality, clean sanitation and good health in association with WHO initiatives on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH).
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