# Westerners, does using an "Asian Squat" in public make you self-conscious? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808 "2005-02-12T23:52:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/1 "2005-02-12T23:52:13Z")
It was something I’ve never really thought about until I saw a [short](http://www.danielhsia.com/m_squat.php) about it a few years ago. Now I prefer to either stand or just sit on the ground if I’m waiting for anything so I very rarely squat. But I do occasionally and when I do the asian squat I feel a little weird. I just associate it with crapping in the woods. It is much more comfortable then the western one. The only time I do an asian squat without thinking is when my back is to a wall. I do the asian one more then the western one. I’m a big guy (6’5", 230 lbs) so it just kills my toes. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/2 "2005-02-12T23:57:47Z")
It seems slothfull and generally unattractive. More importantly, it really breaks the lines and drape of a fine suit. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/3 "2005-02-13T01:25:49Z")
I don’t feel self-conscious doing it, but struggling to get upright again is a different story. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/4 "2005-02-13T01:31:00Z")
I just tried the Asian Squat, and for some reason, I can’t do it without falling over backwards. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/5 "2005-02-13T01:57:10Z")
I do it if my back is hurting. Best thing in the world for a sore back (though I learned to call it "The Chinese Position’). ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/6 "2005-02-13T02:06:39Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > I just tried the Asian Squat, and for some reason, I can’t do it without falling over backwards. Same here. Maybe my butt’s too heavy. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/7 "2005-02-13T02:13:26Z")
Maybe you just have to put your feet further apart. Thin Japanese ladies can do it with their heels and knees together. There’s no way I can do that. But it is cute to look at. But with my feet as far apart as my shoulders and my knees pointed out it’s no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/8 "2005-02-13T02:29:58Z")
If I have to work on something low, I’ll pop the squat. If it takes longer than I thought, I’ll revert to the “Indian sit”. ---
**Author:** ![Chotii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Chotii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chotii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/9 "2005-02-13T02:33:05Z")
I couldn’t do a flat-footed squat until after my first pregnancy. Something about the pregnancy changed the shape of my lower back, pelvis, or both. Now I have no difficulty doing it. Although my knees hate me for it. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/10 "2005-02-13T03:31:13Z")
Um. Does the occasion to squat in public come up often for some? In my life, that’s primarily reserved for…well, a few aikido exercises, and when I’m taking care of business out in the woods. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/11 "2005-02-13T05:02:08Z")
I’ve just discovered this for my sore back, and it’s wonderful. Having spent much time in Asia you’d think I’d have thought of it earlier. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/12 "2005-02-13T06:39:35Z")
for a species as predisposed to hemorhoids as humans are, isn’t the flat-footed squat a bad idea? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/13 "2005-02-13T06:47:41Z")
I do it when called for, and I never really think of it as an “Asian Squat,” although I suppose I might have picked it up in the years of growing up that I lived in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/14 "2005-02-13T07:24:51Z")
I’m a really big guy, and I can’t do any of that shit. I haven’t been able to sit cross-legged since I was about ten, or do that squat, or touch my toes… I’ve been to two Buddhist funerals in the last year and a bit. At the first, I was immediate family, so I was expected to do the full three days’ worth of paying respects. This mostly involved kneeling for extended periods, punctuated by brief spurts of multiple gettings-up and kneelings-down again. It was murder. I just can’t do it. I ended up sitting on the chair at the back provided for pregnant women and the elderly. I was given lots of dirty looks. At the second funeral, I just went straight to the chairs and dirty looks be buggered. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/15 "2005-02-13T13:53:20Z")
I find it to strain my knees badly. But I can’t imagine any reason I would be self-conscious about doing it, if it didn’t cause me pain. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/16 "2005-02-13T14:17:12Z")
Am I the only one who saw the title and thought it was about asian bathrooms? I was like “Sweet! A poo thread!” I can’t do the Asian squat. I fall backwards. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/17 "2005-02-13T16:30:06Z")
Another person who can’t do it. My achilles tendons are way too tight to keep my heels on the ground in that position (I can do it with very high heels on. but chances are, if I’m in very high heels, I’m not wearing an outfit that I should squat in.) What on earth is a “western squat”? ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/18 "2005-02-13T16:45:32Z")
Just tried to do the asian squat. I fell backwards, and for some reason lauged uproariously about it. Thanks for the laugh. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/19 "2005-02-13T17:53:15Z")
PLease note … > [@](#): > > “The Asian squat is not recommenced for those with hypertension, arthritis, inner ear problems, or unusually large breasts” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808/20 "2005-02-13T18:01:35Z")
Uh…I do it all the time. …But then again, I am Asian. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westerners-does-using-an-asian-squat-in-public-make-you-self-conscious/289808.md?page=2)