5 days ago
Stand or sit? The great toilet debate dividing Aussie men
An age-old debate has re-emerged this week, reopening the floodgates on one of the nation's great public toilet debates – just how many Aussie men are choosing a stall rather than a urinal when nature calls.
In simple terms, when it comes to doing a number one, do men prefer to sit or stand?
The discussion was kicked off on Reddit, where all good toilet debates often start, and it attracted hundreds of comments within hours.
The woman who shared the post wrote: 'So all this started when I was asking my husband if it's weird to know that every person you 'go after' in the cubicle has done a number two.
'He said, not necessarily. I'm like, whaaaaatttt? He proceeds to tell me there is a percentage of men who use the cubicle for a wee.'
She ended the post, saying, 'Please tell me if this is true or if he's having a laugh'.
The comments rolled in, with each side passionately arguing their case.
'I've been using a cubicle since the first time I used a urinal while wearing shorts. There's a tremendous amount of splashback on the legs that I was completely oblivious to prior to that,' said one man.
'A sit-down wee is underrated,' another 'sitzpinkler' said (a German term for a man who sits down to urinate).
'I'm getting old, I need to sit down, one day you'll understand,' wrote another cubicle-goer.
Others said there's often social discomfort when using urinals.
'I don't want to stand next to other blokes with my d**k out as we all stand on this metal grate splashing each other's boots with wee, feels weird,' wrote one.
Another said it was a hygiene-related choice: 'I saw a video of how far pee can spread when it hits the urinal and have used the cubicle ever since'.
Others on 'team cubicle' raised points of 'not having to aim,' 'never any mess to clean,' and 'sitting is more comfortable'.
Meanwhile, yet another commenter agreed that the concept of urinals was strange.
'I am literally gay and I still find this bizarre. Standing next to some random guy p*ssing on a wall, p*ss splashing everywhere. No thanks, I want privacy when I go to the toilet,' they said.
'It's the worst thing ever,' someone else chimed in. 'I reckon it's some old-fashioned holdover, the fact that these things still exist'.
It's true that urinals go back a long way, though their design has evolved over time.
The very first urinals existed in ancient civilisations, with archaeological evidence pointing to stone-carved urinals in Sri Lanka as far back as the 9th century.
The modern public urinal as we know it today came into being in 19th-century Paris. In 1834, Claude-Philibert Barthelot de Rambuteau introduced the 'pissoir' – a public urinal system designed to curb public urination in city streets.
As urban planning evolved and public sanitation concerns grew, these open-air chambers transitioned to more private urinals inside enclosed toilet blocks in the 19th century.
Despite many people turning their backs on the modern-day urinal, some still prefer it over sitting down.
'I don't want to have to touch the cubicle door, so it's the urinal for me,' said someone.
'Urinals for me too – it's usually quicker,' added another.
There were also those in the Reddit thread who took a situational approach when deciding whether to stand or sit.
'Only use the cubicle for a wee if the urinal is full and there's a cubicle free,' shared one.
And another said: 'I'll only use urinals if I'm the only one around or if they have dividers or there's enough distance from the next person'.
'Whichever one's free,' someone else wrote.
A 2023 study by YouGov surveyed men from 13 different countries to see how many sit down when they urinate.
The study found Aussie men are among the most enthusiastic sitters, with 25 per cent saying they always sit down to pee.
That was the second-highest after Germany (40 per cent), where signs telling men to sit down are common in public toilets.
Mexican men were the least likely to sit down at all.
So, what's better for health?
According to leading GP, Dr Zac, if you're healthy, either way is fine, but if you have Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, sitting is best.
'For men with no urinary issues, going number one standing vs. sitting doesn't make a difference,' Dr Zac told 'Flow rate, emptying time, post-emptying leftovers – are essentially identical whether you're standing or sitting'.
However, men dealing with urinary symptoms might benefit from sitting, he says.
A 2014 meta-analysis by researchers from Leiden University Department of Urology in the Netherlands found that, for men with lower urinary tract symptoms, 'the sitting voiding position is preferable to the standing'.
Health considerations aside, Dr Zac says it's time society lets go of the idea that standing is the more 'manly' choice.
'Society will nudge you into thinking this, but health-wise sitting has your back (and pelvic floor). It's 2025, not 1883, and we've moved past the idea that only 'real men' stand to pee,' he said.
