Honors Theses
Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Minjoo Oh
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis is a case study of China's changing perceptions on privacy, hygiene and sanitation, as well as gender through public restrooms across the three different time periods of the 1950s, the early 2000s, and the 2010s. I analyze the situations, laws, civil codes, and perceptions that lead to different toilet styles. As toilets and defecation are taboo subjects, I use online anonymous resources like Zhihu to discover the modern perceptions of people on today's toilets as well as architecture and statistics. I in part find that I can analyze China's income disparity through toilets as the Coastal region of China has the most public restrooms and the Western region of China has the least. Then, I analyze what effect and correlation this has on their society.
Recommended Citation
Newsom, Elizabeth S., "On the 路(Lu) to the Loo: A Case Study of Public Restrooms in China Since the Chinese Communist Revolution" (2017). Honors Theses. 291.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/291
Accessibility Status
Searchable text
Comments
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for completion of the Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from the Croft Institute for International Studies and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.