2026-10-07T12:40:44Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34022259 2026-09-29T09:40:51Z category_30400 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<b>Tracing Gendered Identities in an Unsanctioned Communicative Medium: A Semiotic Analysis of Latrinalia in Sex-Segregated Public Restrooms</b> Hakan Öztekin (22986733) Gender psychology latrinalia Gender performativity Semiotic Analysis public restrooms Cultural Myths <p dir="ltr">Public toilet walls, frequently dismissed as mundane peripheral spaces, operate as sensitive social barometers that document the unfiltered consciousness of a culture. Shielded from direct surveillance, restroom stall inscriptions -conventionally termed latrinalia- constitute an anonymous, unsanctioned medium of communication where performative gender identities and cultural myths are discursively intersect. Grounded in Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity and Roland Barthes’ semiotic framework of mythologies, this study investigates how latrinalia reproduce, negotiate, or contest normative gender roles. Empirical data comprising 263 textual and visual inscriptions (128 male, 135 female) were gathered across five distinct institutional and leisure-oriented sites in Turkey and Northern Cyprus and examined through thematic analysis. Findings reveal divergent gendered discourses: men predominantly deploy territorial assertions, bravado, and overt aggression, reinforcing myths of autonomous dominance. In contrast, women frequently mobilize communal dialogue, solidarity, and affirmative support to subvert patriarchal constraints. Crucially, semiotic deconstruction demonstrates that while female latrinalia operates as an insurgent counter-hegemonic practice, it remains paradoxically entangled with naturalized myths of feminine interdependence and aesthetic worth. Ultimately, latrinalia is situated as a critical socio-spatial arena wherein dominant gender scripts are both contested and inadvertently sustained.</p> 2026-09-29T09:40:51Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34022259.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_b_Tracing_Gendered_Identities_in_an_Unsanctioned_Communicative_Medium_A_Semiotic_Analysis_of_Latrinalia_in_Sex-Segregated_Public_Restrooms_b_/34022259 CC BY 4.0