Bathroom Battlegrounds: How Public Restrooms Shape the Gender Order

Placeholder author icon
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.

Paw in print

Image
The October 2025 cover of PAW, featuring an illustration of a woman dressed like Superman, but the S on her chest is a dollar sign.
The Latest Issue

October 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’92; President Eisgruber ’83 defends higher ed; Julia Ioffe ’05 explains Russia.