The American bathroom is understandably associated with body waste and dirt, as well as privacy even in public space. Architecturally bathrooms tend to be the most secluded spaces of the house; building codes do not require them to be naturally lit. Similarly, in many homes, the bathroom is the only room that can be locked. While bathrooms are often the home’s smallest rooms, they are sites of many hours of daily bodily ritual, using a toilet, one or more sinks, bathtub and/or shower, mirrors, medicine cabinet and associated fittings (a bidet is seen as a marker of European influence). Because of the secretive nature of these practices, in the postwar context, the bathroom often seemed a forgotten space in visual culture. Nonetheless, All in the Family (CBS, 1971–) challenged contemporary values by prominently displaying a toilet in February, 1977. After breaking this social taboo, the domestic bathroom has become more visible in many cultural contexts, including mass media, advertising and home design.
Bathrooms are still private; hence, middle-class dwellings are expected to have multiple facilities, including utility washrooms and private bathrooms for master bedroom suites. Within the room, cabinets and closets often become hiding places of embarrassing paraphernalia, ranging from analgesic ointments to birth-control appara-tus. Privacy is also linked to the gendering of public and private spaces: women are often associated with bathroom sociability (including childcare and conversations during waits), as well as extensive grooming in both private and public facilities. For men, the bathroom has been constructed as an isolated space, away from the family and certainly from male strangers, although this cultural invisibility has allowed public bathrooms to become known as gay rendezvous points (“tearooms”). The unisex public bathroom reflects the social changes of the 1960s, and is often associated with college dormitories, although it has figured as a prominent social space in television’s Ally McBeal (FOX, 1997–).
“Bathroom humor” relies on bodily functions for response. Although considered unsophisticated, it pervades mass culture, including the comedy of George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, the cartoon South Park and teen-oriented films like There’s Something About Mary (1998). Likewise, the bathroom is commonly the locus of illicit behavior ranging from benign teenage rebellion (Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room (1968), Brownsville Station) to sexual activity, particularly masturbation, the “quickie” and homoerotic practices (Basketball Diaries (1978) by Jim Carroll or the fiction of Henry Miller). Graffiti, whether humorous, racist or sexist, also appears in bathrooms. Cinematically, the bathroom also has been characterized as the site of violence (violation of privacy) in films such as Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). In the 1990s, a luxurious domestic bathroom became an indicator of social status.
Martha Stewart and Bob Vila invaded homes and cultivated a market for nostalgic tubs with claw feet and porcelain fixtures; other elite features include saunas, his-and-hers tubs and fireplaces. Advertising also markets bathroom products as sources of pleasure and well-deserved relaxation/ escape. Hence, the domestic bathroom has gained status as a site of embellishment, and now shares with the kitchen a reputation as a coveted site of remodeling.
