EuroNews Survey on Men's Restroom Culture in 13 Countries Worldwide
Germany, one of the countries where urinal culture is undergoing the most innovative changes, has been found to have a majority of men who urinate while sitting down.
In fact, in Germany, some places have warning voice messages that say "You will be fined if you urinate standing up" when the lid of a sitting toilet is lifted. Some private offices in Germany even have signs prohibiting standing urination. German boys are trained by their parents from a young age to urinate on sitting toilets.
EuroNews recently reported on a survey conducted by the UK polling agency YouGov on men's restroom cultures in 13 countries worldwide. The survey investigated the proportion of men who urinate sitting down in Europe, the US, South America, and other regions.
As a result, 62% of Germans answered that they always or mostly urinate sitting down, ranking first among the 13 countries. Forty percent of German men said they "always" urinate sitting down, and 22% responded "mostly."
There are also new terms related to this in Germany. Men who urinate standing up are called "stehpinkler," and those who urinate sitting down are called "sitzpinkler."
Following Germany, the countries with the second and third highest proportions of men who urinate sitting down are the Nordic countries Sweden and Denmark. At one point, there was even a movement in Sweden to remove standing urinals. Fifty percent and 44% of men in these countries respectively said they urinate sitting down. France (35%), Spain, and Italy (34%) followed.
EuroNews cited the YouGov survey, reporting that the perception that urinating sitting down helps bladder health is rapidly spreading in these countries. There are also claims that urinating sitting down can prevent bacterial growth and is 1,000 times more hygienic than urinating standing up.
The high rate of European men urinating sitting down in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark is also analyzed to be connected to restroom cultures that emphasize LGBT rights. Many public facilities such as government offices and train stations in these countries commonly have unisex restrooms. These are so-called "Gender-Neutral" or "Unisex" restrooms.
Gender-neutral restrooms are designed so that not only men and women but also sexual minorities such as homosexuals and transgender people can use them without worrying about others' gazes. They have shared sink areas and individual stalls that are completely enclosed from floor to ceiling without gaps between adjacent stalls. These restrooms only have toilets for sitting urination instead of standing urinals.
There is also analysis that the culture of urinating sitting down is still limited to some European countries. A representative example is Mexico. According to YouGov's survey, 36% of Mexican respondents said they have never urinated sitting down.
Meanwhile, in Taiwan in 2012, then Minister of the Environment Shen Shih-hong (沈世宏) suggested that Taiwanese men should also urinate sitting down, which sparked controversy.
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