Urinals Are Power; or, Standup Boys Sit Down

Factual Questions
1

Heard recently that a school system in Europe (actually, the reference wasn’t quite that vague, but might as well have been – said something like “Sweden, or Amsterdam, or somewhere” – {insert red flag}) that proposed removing urinals from boys’ restrooms and teaching very young boys to urinate while seated, on the grounds that urinating while standing is a power trip that contributes to misogyny.

Sounds like an urban legend, but who knows, maybe this guy read a reference in a report and is just hazy on the details.

Sounds like a silly idea, but I’ve seen silly ideas taken seriously by governments and schools before.

Searched snopes under “urinate” and “urinal”, no dice.

Ran across an affirmation of the story on one anti-feminist Web site, but no details.

So I’m guessing it’s UL, but maybe this was actually proposed somewhere and hence the tall tales.

Anyone know?

2

I heard this too, but can’t confirm.

My aunt, who’s an elementary school teacher, told me some of her young male charges that come from single parent homes come to first grade not knowing how to use a urinal or how to pee standing up.

She says they generally pick it up quick, though.

3

Thingol: on the grounds that urinating while standing is a power trip that contributes to misogyny

Sounds kinda culturally blinkered to me. E.g., South Asian culture certainly has its share of misogyny, but its traditional way for males to urinate is while squatting (easier when wearing a dhoti, the traditional “skirt-ish” male garment. Males wearing western-style trousers tend to pee western-style. I know this not because I peek into the men’s rooms but because pretty much every public street effectively is a men’s room in India).