Through the restroom mirror: accessibility and visibility in public space

Abstract

Mirrors in a public restroom represent an esoteric facet of accessibility. Yet, looking at and through the restroom mirror from the perspective of visibility allows a critique of the ableist technicality of accessibility. In an effort to scrutinize disability rights in the context of everyday life, this article utilizes the restroom and its mirror as an extraordinary means that departs from mere technicality. First, I offer a new reading of the toilet as a crip space of sanctuary. Then I investigate the Israeli accessibility regulations that govern the restroom mirror. Based on close and creative reading of official state documents, I reflect on the marginality of the mirror within the regulations, its location and its size. Ultimately, I argue that oppression experienced in the flesh should be accounted for in disability rights and that the concept of accessibility should be further radicalized through the concept of crip design.

Keywords:

• Visibility
• accessibility
• cripping
• toilet
• mirror
• Israel

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Carrie Sandahl, Sarah Parker Harris, Sandy Sufian, and Roni Holler for their constructive feedback and encouragement. In addition I am grateful for the reviewers’ helpful comments. I would like to extend a special thank you to Shmuel Haimovitz, Yael Danieli-Lahav, and Yuval Wagner who assisted me in obtaining and familiarizing myself with legal and professional documents on the subject of accessible restrooms. Finally, I want to dedicate this article in memory of Shmuel Haimovitz, an architect and leading figure in the Israeli disability rights movement who dedicated himself to promoting accessibility.