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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAccording to a recent YouGov<\/a> survey, on sitting and standing, it turns out there\u2019s massive variance between countries. Of the 13 countries polled, Germany came out on top for sitting down. Forty percent of men say they sit down to pee \u201cevery time\u201d, and 22 percent sit \u201cmost times\u201d. Only 10 percent say they never sit. Sweden comes second in Europe, with 50 percent of men saying they sit down all or most of the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Compare this with Britain, where only nine percent sit \u201cevery time\u201d, and 15 percent sit \u201cmost times\u201d. Thirty-three percent say they never do it. Because of course we don\u2019t. The US were only marginally more pro sitting than the UK, with 46 percent of men sitting some, most, or all of the time. Thirty-one percent say they never do. Of the 13 nations, only Poland and Mexico are more sit-phobic than Brits. It\u2019s worth remembering too that men might be less reliable in self-reporting their tendency to sit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a fairly loaded topic, and there\u2019s quite a lot to unpack. So I tracked down a proud British stander upper to gain further insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy have a urinal if you don’t intend to use it?\u201d 28-year-old London-based engineer Wilson \u2013 not his real name \u2013 says. \u201cThen there’s the environmental considerations<\/a>: Every time you pee in a toilet, you’re more likely to flush it to prevent the stagnation of piss \u2013 that doesn’t happen in urinals. You waste unnecessary water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don’t always want someone to think I’m shitting,\u201d Wilson continues. \u201cWork toilets are particularly bad for this, nobody says it but it can be embarrassing for some people being caught walking out of a cubicle because the pretence is that they have shat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlso, you gotta pick your spots \u2013 train toilets no, club toilets no, curry house toilets no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of that, there\u2019s the implied shame coming from the fairer sex: Three women \u2013 including the author\u2019s partner, in one particularly fraught exchange \u2013 told me that the thought of a guy they\u2019re seeing predominantly sitting down to pee was \u201ca bit of an ick\u201d. And yet in 2014, researchers at Leiden University Medical Center found that sitting down has its medical benefits.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Guys can empty their bladder quicker and more fully if they sit, which can be beneficial if your prostate is enlarged prostate, or if you have urinary tract issues. But the benefits are basically confined to men with those specific problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also the respite sitting down and actually taking a pause brings, which might provide mental health benefits. Sometimes fellas are just plain tired, too. Some even have urinal phobia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The feminist<\/a> take might be that sitting down is more respectful to women, whereas some men may feel sitting down would present an unnecessary feminisation and domestication. Just another dagger in the enlarged prostate of traditional masculinity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I managed to chat to some German pee-sitting men to shed a bit of light on the YouGov data. Collectively, these guys are known as \u201csitzpinklers\u201d in Germany, which from the off says something mildly feminizing about how German society sees them, despite sitzpinklers being in the majority, which is a bit weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI find it more hygienic to sit down peeing if there is no urinal,\u201d one 36-year-old man from Berlin says. \u201cAnyone who\u2019s peed into a low toilet bowl while standing and felt some droplets on their shin knows what I’m talking about. It\u2019s also just a nice opportunity to sit down, relax, and enjoy the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is there anything specific to Germany that might explain why men are more likely to sit there than elsewhere? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI’m not exactly sure,\u201d he says. \u201cBut especially in Berlin, you can see many restaurants and bars with stickers in their restrooms requesting people to sit down. Someone started it, and then it somehow spread and we became a country of \u201cSitzpinkler\u201c, I guess\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n