Journal article 638 views 104 downloads
School toilets: queer, disabled bodies and gendered lessons of embodiment
,
Lisa Procter
Gender and Education, Volume: 30, Issue: 8, Pages: 951 - 965
Swansea University Author:
Charlotte Jones
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© 2016 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/09540253.2016.1270421
Abstract
In this paper we argue that school toilets function as one civilising site [Elias, 1978. The Civilising Process. Oxford: Blackwell] in which children learn that disabled and queer bodies are out of place. This paper is the first to offer queer and crip perspectives on school toilets. The small body...
| Published in: | Gender and Education |
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| ISSN: | 0954-0253 1360-0516 |
| Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2018
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61319 |
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| Abstract: |
In this paper we argue that school toilets function as one civilising site [Elias, 1978. The Civilising Process. Oxford: Blackwell] in which children learn that disabled and queer bodies are out of place. This paper is the first to offer queer and crip perspectives on school toilets. The small body of existing school toilet literature generally works from a normative position which implicitly perpetuates dominant and oppressive ideals. We draw on data from Around the Toilet, a collaborative research project with queer, trans and disabled people (aroundthetoilet.wordpress.com) to critically interrogate this work. In doing this we consider ‘toilet training’ as a form of ‘civilisation’, that teaches lessons around identity, embodiment and ab/normal ways of being in the world. Furthermore, we show that ‘toilet training’ continues into adulthood, albeit in ways that are less easily identifiable than in the early years. We therefore call for a more critical, inclusive, and transformative approach to school toilet research. |
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| Keywords: |
Bathroom; childhood; identity; toilet training; trans; disability |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by the Connected Communities stream of the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC) [AH/M00922X/1]. |
| Issue: |
8 |
| Start Page: |
951 |
| End Page: |
965 |