An Illustrated Guide by Rick Ruiz
How Do
Men
Pee?
You would be surprised. Boys and men find peeing amusing. As I traveled across the US and abroad, I found even more surprising ways to do “the deed” for amusement or simply to be “clean.”
Surprisingly, the fascination with how men urinate sits at the crossroads of gender performance, bodily taboos, and internet micro-communities.
Masculinity & Cultural Policing
The Standing vs. Sitting Divide
Standing is associated with traditional manhood, while sitting can be viewed as pragmatic cleanliness or, conversely, scrutinized as a challenge to traditional masculinity (“revoking a man card”). International data reveal stark cultural divides (e.g., high sitting rates in some European countries vs. stigma elsewhere).
The Urinal Code
Men’s urinals lack full privacy primarily to maximize space efficiency, speed user turnover, and reduce construction and maintenance costs in public buildings. However, strict, unwritten rules governing spacing, silence, and no eye contact apply in the men’s bathroom, where talking, lingering, or peeing at the sink is considered a social transgression. These behavioral rules — such as leaving an empty space between users and staring straight ahead — create psychological privacy without physical walls.
Transgression, Taboo & Kink
Urophilia / Watersports
Often joked about, urophilia involves power dynamics, degradation/submission, and warmth. TV shows portray this form of bladder release as shocking or deviant, which paradoxically fuels internet curiosity.
The "Peegasm" Phenomenon
Viral interest in extreme bladder retention for intense physiological release blends bodily curiosity with medical and safety risks.
Comedy & Meme Culture
Anglo-American internet humor thrives on mundane bodily mechanics, turned into tribal culture wars (standing vs. sitting, splashback physics, public restroom etiquette).
In 2017, Men’s Health magazine reported that about 9 percent of men are interested in urophilia (also called urolagnia or undinism), in which a person derives sexual excitement or pleasure from urine by urinating on their partners, being urinated on, or both. Other men who are into “water sports” of the personal kind say that sharing human waste, as disgusting as it may sound, creates a bond between partners, on the logic that if you’re comfortable enough to piss on each other, you *probably* have a close relationship.
Other Influences
- Public restroom anxiety (paruresis)
- Pornography and media shape fringe bodily kinks.
- English slang reduces complex private hygiene to punchy, high-engagement labels such as "Sitzpinkler," "golden showers," and "shy bladder."
Public Urinals
Some countries, such as the Netherlands and France, have open urinals in public spaces, giving men a convenient way to empty their bladders. Amsterdam has free, open-air public urinals to prevent urination in the streets and canals.
Urinals in Amsterdam
The Ultimate Bathroom Book
This fun illustrated book showcases 100+ variations of peeing styles used around the world. Images are child-safe, with context for adults. You will have the talk-of-the-party book!
"Hard On" Fountain
The Swirling Bathroom Escapade
NaturalHealthMag.com, April/May '12 — "Pee in the shower" noted that a household can save nearly 2,000 gallons of water a year on average by not flushing once a day. (Those with older pre-1992 model toilets can save twice as much.)
If you're squeamish, don't be: urine is normally nontoxic and sterile, as long as you don’t have an infection. Just aim for the drain to keep things neat.
Get the Talk-of-the-Party Book!
101 Ways Men Pee — An Illustrated Guide, by Rick Ruiz. Illustrations by Christo Komarnitski.
101 Ways Men Pee: An Illustrated Guide — by Rick Ruiz · Illustrations by Christo Komarnitski.
