Bathroom Battlegrounds: How Public Restrooms Shape the Gender Order

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By Alexander K. Davis *16

Published June 17, 2019

Bathroom Battlegrounds: How Public Restrooms Shape the Gender Order (University of California Press) tracks the importance of the restroom across American history as a key location for cultural discussions. While the debate today revolves around transgender inclusion, the gendered American public restroom has more than 200 years’ worth of history and conflict, covering everything from gender difference to social status.

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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July 2025

On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.