Contribution by Landesjugendring Brandenburg e.V.
„Most of the time, these are the first ones to be taken at our display tables,“ comments Toni from Landesjugendring Brandenburg about the WC postcards, „many are delighted with the clever idea of the moving image and hang it on the toilet doors in their facilities.“ Since 2022, the umbrella organization of youth associations in Brandenburg has been offering its own reprint of the postcards for young volunteering and youth education work.
Not everyone can immediately relate to the motif, depending on their engagement with the topic. Others feel that the idea does not go far enough, as it remains binary and repeats the common color codes for genders with pink and blue. But Toni emphasizes: „No matter how people perceive the design, it always works as a conversation starter about gender diversity, norms, and possible ways to deal with them.“ Toni works at Landesjugendring in the Department of Diversity and Inclusion in Youth Association Work. „Finding a way to initiate thinking and discussing is crucial in our work with young volunteering and professionals in the youth work sector.“
The postcard is also hanging on the restroom door on the office floor of Landesjugendring. Initially, without any introductory explanation. This raised uncertainty among some employees about whether everyone in the team would feel comfortable with the dissolution of the binary division of the two cabins. The team then discussed together; reasons from all sides were exchanged, and the team’s knowledge about the daily lives of vulnerable groups grew. Through mutual understanding, the team arrived at a solution that everyone feels comfortable with. Since then, there is a rubber tree plant in the urinal.
