Stacy Tiemeyer Teaching Tip: References: Edgar Alan Burns. 2003.

Bathroom politics: Introducing students to sociological thinking from the bottom up. Teaching Sociology, 31(1), 110-118. Kathryn Gold Hadley. 2006. Technique 15: Cultural perspectives, norms. In S.K. Nenga & E.L. Kain (Eds.), Innovative techniques for teaching sociological concepts(4th ed) (pp. 41-42). http://gamescene.com/The_Urinal_Game.html This is an in-class exercise that is adapted from the two articles referenced. Objectives: Introduce students to a wide range of sociological concepts, including norms, socialization, social regulation, gender roles, and inequality. Encourage students to think critically about social arrangements that are taken for granted. Stimulate discussion about how to apply sociological theories to bathroom norms and behavior. Objectives of the assignment match the following objectives for the course: Use their sociological imagination to discuss issues presented in the social world Identify core sociological theories Understand how social life is organized and structured Set-Up: I do this exercise at the beginning of the chapter on socialization. The all of the terms have been already introduced, but I find this is a good way to reinforce and explore all of them. Burns (2003) discusses the benefits of introducing big sociological themes by getting students to connect their personal experience to explore these issues. What I like about this exercise, even though it may seem crude, it is a safe assumption that everyone in the class has experience using public restrooms. Execution: Before we play the game I ask them to give me examples of bathroom etiquette. Depending on the answers, I usually probe the examples to get at why, how do you know, and how do the rules vary from public vs. private spaces. We look at the differences in norms or etiquette in womens, mens and gender neutral bathrooms. I pull up the webpage for The Urinal Game which I have included the link for. The game is about etiquette in mens bathrooms. We play the game as a class and discuss the norms of the each situation. I then ask how we learn these norms and in what ways are they reinforced.

What do they do when others deviate from the norm, or what reaction have they received if they have violated a norm. Usually class discussion is pretty lively, which makes looking at gender roles & inequality easier to discuss. Moving away from social norms, I then ask students if they would pay for toilet paper, and why or why not. Usually the consensus is that its a hygiene issue, like soap or water and you should not have to pay. Assuming that they did have to pay, how would they deal? Carry a roll in their backpack? Go home to use the restroom? Borrow some from a friend? The direction that I take this is: why are women expected to either carry or purchase hygiene products in the same space. Ask them to think of other ways the public bathrooms may not be equal. Not enough stalls for women is typically an answer, and lack of family bathrooms. Depending on the students in the class someone may bring up how public bathrooms can be unsafe for LGBTQI individuals, particularly if someone thinks they are in the wrong bathroom. If a student does not bring this up I typically cite examples of either someone being arrested, harassed, or assaulted in a public restroom. I share my first experience using a gender neutral bathroom at Human Rights Campaign in DC. Finally I ask students to answer the following questions (sometimes this is not possible to finish in 1 course period, so I have them finish and bring it to the next period): 1. Why do our bathroom norms exist? What do you think it would take to change them? 2. How would functionalist theory apply to our bathroom norms? Conflict theory? Symbolic Interactionism? I grade based upon participation, but I check to see if students can apply theory to social phenomena.

Potential Issues: Some students can be uncomfortable discussing this topic, particularly students from other cultures. The initial discomfort seems to lessen as the students begin engaging with each other, which is when the exercise is most successful. This topic also lends itself to veering off course if you have students participate in small discussion groups, so I do recommend circulating the room if doing so. An additional note: The articles discuss how you can use this exercise to compare cultures, and even discuss global issues surrounding toilets and access to water. I have not tried it but I would be interested in hearing from others who do.