Is it public vs private, or black vs white?
Ablutions are no simple matter in SA with its binaries serving as proxies for race, writes Graeme Wilkinson
I was prompted, recently, to recall a postmodernism assignment I had written during my undergraduate years, where I derided the ironies of “public toilets” in shopping malls. The irony, of course, is that they are not public at all. They are privately owned and operated, and, are exclusive to patrons of the mall.
It is probable that the proprietors of the mall might have preferred to forego the expense of building and maintaining so many toilets, or would have preferred to charge admission to the loo, were it not for public policy (via town planning rules, bylaws and regulation) forcing their hand. But, when it comes to the crunch the proprietors reserve the right of admission to their toilets...
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