Seat Up or Down?

Abstract

The bathroom is one of the key battlefields in the gender wars. Skirmishes may erupt over toothpaste-tube etiquette, soap fragrances, towel placement and general cleanliness, but the most enduring and heated conflict tends to focus on the toilet seat. In mixed-sex households disagreements often arise over whether the seat should always be left in the down position. Often the woman is angered that the man leaves the seat up after doing his business and sees this as evidence of selfishness, insensitivity and even sexism. Often the man cannot see what all the fuss is about, or why he should drop the seat for her if she does not raise it for him.