PISSAR – People In Search of Safe and Accessible Restrooms

Has inspected this bathroom!

PISSAR was started by students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to document and address the problem of bathroom access. This semester a group of students from Emily Kane’s ‘Privilege, Power, and Inequality’ class is doing the same project here. We are measuring and inspecting every bathroom on campus, to create a list of safe and accessible bathrooms for those who need them, and to document how safe and accessible Bates really is, which is especially important with all the new floorplans and buildings being designed.

Why are we doing this?

First, some background. Who aren’t bathrooms safe and accessible for?

Two groups. People who don’t conform to gender norms, & people with disabilities.

By ‘not conforming to gender norms,’ we mean people who are; transgender (people who don’t identify with the sex they were born with, ie female-to-male, FtM, or male-to-female, MtF); genderqueer (people who don’t identify as either male or female); or people who simply do not conform to gender norms, whether it be their body, their style of dress, etc.

Bathrooms are a big issue for people who don’t conform to gender norms, since most bathrooms are single-sex. No matter which bathroom they use, they run the risk of being yelled at, threatened, harassed, or physically attacked. Many people choose to be safe and simply not go to the bathroom at work, school, etc., and develop bladder, urinary tract, and kidney problems as a result. Bathrooms are also a big issue for people with disabilities. Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, not only do many public buildings still not have handicapped-accessible bathrooms, but it is impossible to even enter many buildings, especially here on the Bates campus.

So next time you’re in the bathroom, think about it:

Is the door wide enough for a wheelchair?

Are there grab bars?

How high are the soap dispenser, sink, and paper towels?

Is the bathroom gender-neutral?

If not, what’s the closest building that has handicapped-accessible and/or gender neutral bathrooms?

The results of our survey will be available at the end of the semester, check your announces

Questions? Comments? Thoughts?

Hero – kfries, Phoebe – psulliva, Erin – ereed2, Hope – hfleming, and Allison – amarshal, would love to hear from you!