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Strange "For the Classroom" question. Men seeking same-sex encounters transformed the pissoir into something its planners never intended. Who ultimately determ
by cube00 1mo ago
Strange "For the Classroom" question.
Men seeking same-sex encounters transformed the pissoir into something its planners never intended. Who ultimately determines the meaning of a public space: its designers, authorities, or the people who use it?
The law determines that public space can't be used for any sexual activity.
I'm not sure what constructive classroom discussion you can have when the example is based on the law being broken.
- smcg 1mo agoThat didn't stop... a lot of people.
- xhevahir 1mo agoThey're probably talking about the sociological functions of the facility, not the set of legally permissible uses of it. (There's a pretty famous book on this particular application, Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex In Public Places.)
- teraflop 1mo agoSurely there are all kinds of interesting and constructive classroom discussions to be had about lawbreaking. Classrooms teach about reality (among other things) and there are many things in reality that don't involve obedience to the law, as it exists at a particular time and place. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_what_it_does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
- throwawayk7h 1mo agoSee also also: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/come-on-obviously-the-purpose-of https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/come-on-obviously-the-purpo...
- ludwik 1mo agoIt sounds like, of the three options given, you are squarely in the “authorities” camp (although it seems to me that you interpret the question as asking what you believe should happen, whereas it appears to be asking what happens in practice). Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the other points of view?
- urbnspacecowboy 1mo ago> The law determines that public space can't be used for any sexual activity. Follow-up question: Does an enclosed stall count as "public space"?
- mcbuilder 1mo agoIf I'm about to step into it 5 seconds after you leave, yes it does.
- michaelt 1mo agoAnd yet when I want to do some photography, as is my right in public spaces, everyone gets all indignant.
- adolph 1mo agothe pissoir . . . the greatest concession most of them made to privacy was a little iron screen separating the user from the street. Look at the photos in the article, they weren't enclosed stalls. Its elegant in a way, just a couple feet of opaque material that wraps the beltline of a central aiming point. Basically as good as going on a tree but without people getting uptight.
- 9x39 1mo ago>The law determines that public space can't be used for any sexual activity. When it's one person, true, but when it's a population, the politics historically changes and the law accedes to pressure to stop enforcing that determination.
- helloplanets 1mo agoPlaying the devil's advocate: The law also determined that any space, public or private, can't be used for same-sex sexual activity. So that was a driving force for people seeking completely anonymous encounters, in spaces that aren't linked to either person.
- iterance 1mo agoYou have not understood the question. It is not asking who determines the use/intent of a space, it is asking who determines the meaning of the space. The law determines that it is not to be used for sexual activities. But what is the true meaning of the space? Is the true meaning the law, and only the law?