Exploring LGBTQ+ Well-being in Toiletscapes: A Case Study of Lund University

Abstract: This thesis aims to critically investigate how a service organization’s physical spaces, particularly the toilet areas, impact LGBTQ+ individuals’ well-being. More particularly, this research focuses on Lund University in Sweden, a service organization with significant international and societal influence. As service organizations face pressures to become more socially and environmentally sustainable, this study explores how the University’s physical spaces have the ability to impact individual well-being, especially in already vulnerable toilet areas. Using a queer theoretical perspective, this study analyzes how elements of the servicescape framework are experienced by queer, non-heteronormative individuals. The results from the research show that Lund University’s use of heteronormative discourse both in language and their toilet areas negatively impacts LGBTQ+ individuals’ experiences, thus reducing well-being based on one’s gender. Lastly, and importantly, this study highlights how individual well-being could be better considered in physical spaces and what this means for the good of society.