Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing (NYU Series in Social and Cultural Analysis Book 1)

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Review "Toilet opens the door to a profound and fascinating understanding of the way we use and are abused by public conveniences."-Howard S. Becker, author of Outsiders: Studies In The Sociology Of Deviance"The 12 essays in Toilet make clear that public toilets are anything but neutral, and argue that, in fact, restrooms-not just their design but where and to whom they are available-are loaded with cultural insights into views on race, sex, ability, and class...Toilet imparts a lesson: Pay attention. Those issues that most quietly fall into the background, unquestioned and seemingly benign, may be the most loaded and deserving of scrutiny."-Bitch Magazine"Toilet is full of such insights...the prose is clear and readable."-Kate Tuttle, Boston.com"An incredibly smart book about the importance of the toilet, especially for urban dwellers. I will never look at a toilet the same again."-Mitchell Duneier, author of Sidewalk"Ranging from studies of Roman latrines to quasi-ethnographic studies of contemporary restroom design projects, the authors rigorously and sometimes cleverly expose moral panics, gender ideologies, and contradictions of bathroom design, accessibility, and use."-J.L. Croissant, Choice"This profound and surprising book takes up a subject usually kept private: the public restroom. These scholarly but mostly accessible new examinations of the topic provide fascinating insights on cultural notions of cleanliness and filth, public and private."-Rachel Bridgewater, Library Journal"Peeing is political. The authors of Toilet show us how. In provocative essays from a range of perspectives, we learn what toilets (and their lack) teach us--about hierarchy, inequality, the body, aesthetics and politics. Using toilets as social and cultural prisms, they analyze global collective (in)action, outlining the deeply personal consequences for us all. This is wickedly smart, pointed and passionate public interest scholarship at its best.."-Lisa Duggan, author of Twilight of Equality: Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics and the Attack on Democracy"In Toilet, academics from the field of sociology, law, urban planning, gender studies, archeology, and architecture ponder the meaning of a room some people can't even call by name."-Kate Tuttle, The Boston Globe"We may not feel comfortable discussing them, but questions of where and how we do our business, particularly in public, have a tremendous impact on our everyday lives. That's why Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, a new collection of academic essays, is so necessary." -Salon.com"Who could have imagined? A book that weaves cutting edge gender theory into urban planning policy by way of the lowly toilet? A wondrous compendium."-Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Review “Toilet opens the door to a profound and fascinating understanding of the way we use and are abused by public conveniences.”-Howard S. Becker,author of Outsiders: Studies In The Sociology Of Deviance“Toilet is full of such insights…the prose is clear and readable.”-Kate Tuttle,Boston.com"The 12 essays in Toilet make clear that public toilets are anything but neutral, and argue that, in fact, restrooms-not just their design but where and to whom they are available-are loaded with cultural insights into views on race, sex, ability, and class...Toilet imparts a lesson: Pay attention. Those issues that most quietly fall into the background, unquestioned and seemingly benign, may be the most loaded and deserving of scrutiny."-Bitch Magazine“An incredibly smart book about the importance of the toilet, especially for urban dwellers. I will never look at a toilet the same again.”-Mitchell Duneier,author of Sidewalk"Ranging from studies of Roman latrines to quasi-ethnographic studies of contemporary restroom design projects, the authors rigorously and sometimes cleverly expose moral panics, gender ideologies, and contradictions of bathroom design, accessibility, and use."-J.L. Croissant,Choice"This profound and surprising book takes up a subject usually kept private: the public restroom. These scholarly but mostly accessible new examinations of the topic provide fascinating insights on cultural notions of cleanliness and filth, public and private."-Rachel Bridgewater,Library Journal“Peeing is political. The authors of Toilet show us how. In provocative essays from a range of perspectives, we learn what toilets (and their lack) teach us―about hierarchy, inequality, the body, aesthetics and politics. Using toilets as social and cultural prisms, they analyze global collective (in)action, outlining the deeply personal consequences for us all. This is wickedly smart, pointed and passionate public interest scholarship at its best..”-Lisa Duggan,author of Twilight of Equality: Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics and the Attack on Democracy"In Toilet, academics from the field of sociology, law, urban planning, gender studies, archeology, and architecture ponder the meaning of a room some people can't even call by name."-Kate Tuttle,The Boston Globe“We may not feel comfortable discussing them, but questions of where and how we do our business, particularly in public, have a tremendous impact on our everyday lives. That’s why Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, a new collection of academic essays, is so necessary.” -Salon.com“When Molotch and Norén let slip a few “pissings” or “pees,” the book becomes livelier, as is befitting of the subject. And the inclusion of essays from scholars of many different disciplines―gender studies, disability rights, architecture―makes this a toilet book not to be missed.”-Book Bench, The New Yorker Blog See all Product description