What do people usually expect when they enter a public washroom? Unreasonably long lines, toilet paper being finished, an unflushed toilet or two, maybe even some witty humour. Yes, humour. It’s no uncommon sight to see in the stalls of washrooms some graffiti usually in pencil and sometimes even coloured ink! The messages are a mix of discontentment with society and surprisingly even lines of encouragement. This particular graffiti message is from the washroom immediately to the right hall upon entering the Central Square building (near the office for Mature Students). The graffiti on this thread’s image has 3 sequential messages including “Please take a bath/shower too many people smell like shit!” which is followed by a response (likely from another student) which reads “And brush your teeth” which is further followed by a third that says “And chew a gum”. Should these examples of graffiti be allowed to stay? Well, as amusing (and sometimes offensive) as the humour is, I don’t think public washroom stalls are the most appropriate place to be voicing any opinion because while some might be uplifting comments, a lot of it actually make an already filthy space spew even more dirt.
However, it seems that female washroom-goers feel pretty liberated to vocalize (or even vent) their opinions on all kinds of aspects of university life (that includes topics like personal hygiene) in this mostly public setting, where they can be brutally honest. Normally, they wouldn’t be found with a megaphone repeating their messages, so in the privacy of a public washroom stall, they are able to speak their minds. Another example of washroom graffiti, that’s actually more pleasant to read is seen here
It reads “Be your own hero; hold your own hand”. That’s a lot more encouraging to read, and the viewers who read that bit might feel a bit more welcome in that public washroom, compared to the previous one. Other times, it would seem people were testing out their edginess as this one suggests,
which reads “Finals are more annoying than holding farts on a date”. Similar “clever” phrases are normally found on social media, which clearly have a target audience of as many people in the virtual public as possible. However, the specific crudeness of this is probably owed to the fact that it's anonymous and also given the unclean setting.
Nevertheless, most of the thoughts of washroom graffiti appear to represent in-the-now thoughts, so the washroom graffiti writers do so without fear of consequence and with the knowledge of it being ephemeral, thus subject to removal at any time (McAuliffe and Iveson). Would the impact on viewers be different if the graffiti was written in a POPS location? I believe it would, and the demographic that uses women’s public washrooms would probably be less ok with writing washroom graffiti messages that are have much more public visibility, especially if they are private property.
The graffiti is clearly gendered, as it’s more than likely that most men would never see the writing (unless there’s extenuating circumstances). That being said, the gendered graffiti of women’s washroom stalls reinforces the notion of private communications that are more exclusive to “those in the know” despite being in a space that is labeled “public” (McAuliffe and Iveson). That’s seen pretty clearly when people even respond to the graffiti they read, which means they did make an emotional connection to whatever message they saw. So can these little interactions justify permission to be keeping the opportunity for expression in these stalls?
From another perspective, how do the custodians feel about it? I doubt they’re thrilled to be having to wash down graffiti every time it appears in a stall. Is the creation of graffiti not causing undue hassle to these public workers? This creates a student/custodian divide on campus, where one group is creating trouble and another is having to deal with it. Interestingly, another washroom on the 2nd Floor of Scott Library has already attempted to eliminate the chances for graffiti. What they’ve done is renovated, and all the stalls are a very dark blue shade, so that any attempt at washroom graffiti is futile. Sure enough, I’ve seen almost perfectly clean stalls every time I’ve been there. The washroom where the images are from have lightly coloured stalls, and until there’s a physical change in the space, graffiti will continue to be proliferated by these writers, simply because they have the opportunity to do so!
To conclude, it is clear that the gendered nature and forced privacy of women's washroom graffiti serves society in hardly any true meaningful way, which should justify its banishment as seen by the endeavors of the renovated washrooms in Scott Library. Rather than being seen as a true crime, it can be seen as a nuisance that diminishes the order of washrooms, where it is already disturbing to custodians and perhaps other students as well, reminiscent of the keepers of order vs. disturbers of the peace argument that creates divides among graffiti opposers and practicers (McAuliffe and Iveson). If such messages had real substance, they could probably be publicized in a more coherent way, where the audience is not just female students.
As a matter of fact, I have seen many forms of graffiti in washroom stalls that I am no longer surprised when I see a new one in the female restrooms. However, I do find them very entertaining for the moment that I am in the washroom because these pieces can range in varying forms such as something witty to straight up reality. I also do agree that a public washroom is not the most appropriate place to create a conversation and the fact that the custodians have to take extra initiative to clean it up - just adds another job to their chaotic duty.
I think its the fact that its anonymous that gives many individuals the courage to do anything because there are no consequences after someone places their work on the stall. I also feel that, whoever takes the initiative to create these pieces - probably already knows at the back of their mind that it won't last for long. As McAuliffe also states that many writers already believe that their creation will not last for long when they create graffiti. Especially a washroom stall because it is often managed by a staff in the public space.
Hey! i enjoyed you piece and i think that sometimes peoples comments in the stalls are so unnecessary, so comments can be quite and while others can just put a smile on your face or make you laugh. I find that washroom stalls are private spaces where people go to voice their opinions or feelings while staying anonymous. But i do agree with you that public washrooms are not really the place for people to be voicing their opinions because sometimes the things are people say are extremely vulgar and it is vandalism on the stalls.
Right, and although the washroom stalls are like temporary, private areas that are part of a much larger public space, the fact remains that they are shared by EVERYONE. Not that all the messages written on these stalls are vulgar, but who is to say that the next day an extremely negative or offensive response isn't added to a chain of initially pleasant chain of graffiti messages? It helps keep the already "dirty" washroom that much cleaner, makes custodians' lives easier and if you really have something that needs to be heard, let it be heard at meetings where clubs are designed to voice such opinions! Just because it's anonymous doesn't mean people shouldn't forget about courtesy. I wouldn't know about men's washrooms, but I'd bet it's the same case there. So maybe it's not a gendered issue as much as it is a courtesy one. So, I guess the best solution for the time being is renovations to prevent visible graffiti, as it minimizes cleaning for custodians and offensive language in washrooms. Thanks for the contributions, guys!