A woman shared a creative design for men’s restrooms featuring partitions between urinals to provide more privacy.
But the male population on social media was quick to explain why they thought the idea “wouldn’t work,” with some offering rather hilarious reasons.
“We all just want to look at each other’s sizes,” one quipped, while another remarked, “Gen X did not have so much pee anxiety as Gen Z and Alpha.”
Interestingly, a 2015 report by a male journalist offered insight into the unwritten etiquette men follow to protect each other’s privacy in the said space.
A woman’s bid to give men more privacy in restrooms has sparked a surprising commentary
The idea of giving each urinal more separation isn’t entirely outside the realm of restroom design.
In the US, federal accessibility standards already account for privacy panels around urinals and recognize stall-type urinals as an alternative to traditional wall-mounted fixtures.
The government was not the one to take the matter to social media, though.
It was an unspecified female user who asked, “Why aren’t men’s restrooms designed like this?”
Over the past couple of months, men have not shied away from answering why.
“Our bathrooms are designed by men and men don’t think,” one said.
“Because men’s bathrooms were historically designed for efficiency and traffic, not maximum privacy. Urinals reduce wait times, and work better in crowded places,” another noted.
A third pointed out the logistical challenge the new design would pose.
“This would require more material and more floor space, making it expensive. The installers don’t want to pay for privacy.”
The next highlighted how the design would require “peeking” into each alcove to make sure it’s free, which would “further complicate” the privacy matter.
Several, meanwhile, continued to joke that they enjoyed comparing their sizes with their neighbors in the current setup.
“Isn’t that gay?” a female user asked in return, to which one said, “It’s only gay if you look with your hands.”
Men pointed to trough-style lavatories as proof that the woman’s privacy argument was a far cry from reality
“I truly believe this is a non-issue once you p**s in the f**king troughs at low-level sports games; you never have a problem again,” one said.
Unlike the individual urinals women might picture when thinking of men’s restrooms, troughs are long, continuous stainless-steel basins.
They do not have separate flushes, meaning urine can pool at one end of the fixture rather than being cleared after each use.
Anyone who uses one before it has fully drained risks being splashed by waste left behind by others.
The constant buildup can also leave the facilities smelling strongly of urine and cause stubborn uric acid stains to form on the metal.
Not only do they offer little privacy, but they can also create a particularly unhygienic environment.
A male journalist shed light on the unspoken ways men honor each other’s privacy in restrooms
Philippe Murray-Pietsch/Unsplash
Scott Muska, a writer for Women’s Health Magazine, shared in 2015 that men always “leave a urinal in between himself and another guy” when the option is available.
He acknowledged that while most men don’t mind standing shoulder to shoulder, it is assumed that some might “get weirded out” when one stands directly next to them.
The rule also has the backing of science.
A 1976 study titled Personal Space and Arousal, published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology, found that men experienced a delayed onset of urination and significantly greater discomfort when another man stood next to them, compared with situations in which there was an empty space between them.
Other unwritten rules that are followed, as per Muska, are to never “drop your pants the whole way” and to “use your hands” to cover your private parts.
Looking “straight ahead” and “not letting your eyes wander” are also understood notions.
Men also refrain from striking up conversation with one another while relieving themselves unless the person next to them is a friend or a well-known colleague.
“Its funny that women are the main commenters who always have a line for the restroom,” a netizen joked
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