Normative Signs: The Poetry of "Ought"

This one (submitted by Tracy Isaacs) is from a courthouse in London, ON. It’s noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, its use of the word “female” (rather than “women”) is unusual though not unique.

Second, the combination of signs is interesting: female (with the stereotypical skirt-wearing woman pictogram), and the ‘disabled’ logo, and the ‘no smoking’ logo. When I first saw this sign, I was genuinely baffled as to whether the prescription here is a conjunction or not: is this a bathroom only for disabled women? Or is it for women, including those who are disabled? Tracy says it’s probably the latter, given that it’s the only women’s washroom around, and is of the multi-stall variety. Either way, no smoking!