The Feminist’s War on Masculinity: Now They Want Laws to Force Men to Sit-Down to Pee

A German Court Rules that Men Do Have the Right to Stand Up to Pee
Believe it or not, it took a court’s ruling to accord men the right of urinating while standing. [16] Strangely enough, just like it was the case in Sweeden, some sections of German society have a bizarre obssession with obliging men to answer nature’s call while seated, the Telegraph reported. [9] The dispute in Duesseldorf is actually part of a long-running debate in Germany over whether men should be encouraged to sit down when urinating. The controversy pits stehpinklers (men who stand up to pee) against sitzpinklers (men who sit down), and it has taken some bizarre twists over the years. [5] This lunacy reached such an extent that it is not uncommon to find home-made signs in German bathrooms commanding men to adopt a seated position. [9] A German court recently ruled in favor of mens’ right to pee standing up after a landlord tried to retain part of a tenant’s 3,000 euro deposit for allegedly damaging the marble floor of a toilet by sprinkling it with urine. [1] [15] The landmark decision was taken in a case in which a landlord tried to retain part of a tenant’s 3,000 euro deposit for allegedly damaging his toilet. [1] Apparently the tenant, who hasn’t been named for the sake of privacy, had the habit of urinating while standing up. Owing to the habit, the landlord alleged, the urine stains got permanently embedded into the soft marble laid on the bathroom floor. The landlord complained that his tenant had caused €1,900 (£1,440) of damage to the floor of the bathroom. [4] [9] However, the judge didn’t find the habit wrong, nor fit for a penalty. [16] Judge Stefan Hank in the city of Duesseldorf said men who insist on standing “must expect occasional rows with housemates, especially women” but cannot be held to account for collateral damage. [3] He also noted that men were being steadily groomed or sometimes forced into peeing while sitting down. “Despite growing domestication of men in this matter, urinating while standing up is still widespread,” he said [3] [8] [15] [16] Furthermore, anyone who was in the habit of urinating while standing up shouldn’t be liable for a penalty. The debate about whether men should stand or sit is no laughing matter in Germany, where some toilets have red traffic-style signs forbidding the standing position. [1] [6] There is also a derogatory term for men who sit and pee – “Sitzpinkler” – which implies that it is a wimpy and anti-masculine behavior. [1] [3] [4] [16] University of Louisville professor John Gamel believes that seated urination laws will not stop men from behaving in a less than sanitary manner while relieving themselves. According to Gamel’s statements in the Huffington Post, spatter caused during the “shake off” will still occur in Europe because “no man will want to shake” by sticking their hand inside a toilet. [11]
The “Voice Alarm” Electronic Gadget that Reminds Men to Sit Down to Pee
If you think that this court ruling story was nut, check this one out: German men are now being shamed into urinating while sitting down by a gadget which is saving millions of women from cleaning up in the bathroom after them. [14] The WC ghost, a £6 voice-alarm, reprimands men for standing at the lavatory pan. It is triggered when the seat is lifted. The battery-operated devices are attached to the seats and deliver stern warnings to those who attempt to stand and urinate (known as “Stehpinkeln”). “Hey, stand-peeing is not allowed here and will be punished with fines, so if you don’t want any trouble, you’d best sit down,” one of the devices orders in a voice impersonating the German leader, Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. [14] Another has a voice similar to that of his predecessor, Helmut Kohl. So far 1.8 million WC ghosts have been sold in German supermarkets. But Klaus Schwerma, author of Standing Urinators: The Last Bastion of Masculinity? doubts whether it will ever be possible to convert all men. “Many insist on standing, even though it leads to much marital strife,” he said. In German, the phrase for someone who sits and urinates, a “Sitzpinkler”, is equivalent to “wimp”. [8] [14] The manufacturers of the WC ghost, Patentwert, say they are ready to direct their gadgets at the British market. Their prototype English-speaking WC ghost says in an American drawl: “Don’t you go wetting this floor cowboy, you never know who’s behind you. So sit down, get your water pistol in the bowl where it belongs. Ha, ha, ha.” They also plan to copy the voices of Tony Blair and the Queen. [14]
[14] Kate Connolly, German men told they can no longer stand and deliver, The Telegraph, 12:01AM BST 18 Aug 2004