“So you see, the elimination of bodily wastes, in an architectural space shared with others, has always been fraught.” In this essay for the Los Angeles Review of Books, Calvin Gimpelevich examines the global and personal history of public toilets, tracing their origins to the communal bench latrines of ancient Rome. As Gimpelevich takes us into modern times, he explores the politics of public bathrooms, and shows how these spaces reveal enduring social anxieties about bodies, privacy, and belonging.
Public life is open, social, revealed, as opposed to the private, which is hidden, withdrawn. The concept of a “public,” including the question of who belongs to it, is a political idea related to citizenship and the ability to move through and alter the world. The European and American public in the 19th century was a male sphere. Men (ideally) moved through the streets, while women stayed in the home. The men availed themselves of the semipublic facilities of pubs and clubs, in open urinals, and, soon enough, in public toilets built especially for them. By now, it was socially uncomfortable to shit next to a stranger on a forica-style bench, and so stalls were introduced. And it was unthinkable for men and women to share a privy, the sexes being separated in almost all aspects of life.
More picks about toilets and doing business
You Love the Outdoors. So Why Are You Pooping All Over It?
“Millions of Americans a year visit national parks and many leave their business anywhere. Contrary to popular belief, that deluge of poop is not going to decompose.”
Flushed Away
“The crappy lie Americans still believe about their toilets.”
Pooping on the Moon Is a Messy Business
“If humans are to return to the moon, space agencies and governments need to figure out the legal, ethical, and practical dimensions of extraterrestrial waste management.”
The Power of Shit
“Our excrement is a natural, renewable and sustainable resource – if only we can overcome our visceral disgust of it.”
The Secret MVP of Sports? The Port-a-Potty
“Tailgating had become a new American tradition, with attendance at college football games alone surging from 18.9 million in 1950 to almost 30 million in 1970, and a need for portable bathrooms was inevitable.”
Where Did All the Public Bathrooms Go?
“For decades, U.S. cities have been closing or neglecting public restrooms, leaving millions with no place to go. Here’s how a lack of toilets became an American affliction.”
