How do you prefer to urinate? Standing, squatting or presentable sitting? If your preferred position is not the latter, then you are clearly in the minority in Germany. This is shown by a recently published study by the British market and opinion research institute Yougov, in which men from different countries were asked whether they sat down to urinate. Here, Germany ranks first by a wide margin: 40 percent of the Germans surveyed said they always sit down. Sweden follows in second place, far behind with 22 percent.

Cultural change in Germany?

The topic is curious and yet has always occupied people in this country: In a 2015 article on the news site Vice, it was said that Germany had developed over the last ten years into a "sit-pee culture". In 2017, a real plea for sitting pee appeared in the "Zeit": Even a urologist is quoted who explains the medical advantages of the sitting pee position.

Older generations as pioneers

The word "sit-pee" is rather Stone Age as an insult, and especially small boys are drummed into them by their parents to urinate while sitting – so the assumption is obvious that the younger generations are responsible for the cultural change. But far from it: In the survey, German men over the age of 55 are the group with the largest proportion of sit-in peepers. Here, 49 percent of those surveyed said they always sit down. 25 percent said they would sit down most of the time. By comparison, only 28 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they always pee while sitting. In this respect, Germany differs from countries such as Great Britain or the USA, where older gentlemen predominantly describe themselves as stand-up peepers.

Do the "Please put!" -Signboards?

One can only speculate about the reasons for the unusually seat-oriented figures because the participants in the study were not asked about the motivation for their behavior. Yougov cites as a possible reason that it is particularly common to find signs in German toilets that ask you to sit. It is also said everywhere that German parents are particularly persistent in instilling this rule in their children.

But how does the generational difference come about? Passionate calls not to give up standing pee to maintain strength and masculinity often come from older men. But apparently they do not represent the majority opinion or at least the majority-peeing behavior. One could speculate that older people are generally more considerate of requests in public spaces. There is still something for the young people to learn.