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Peeing in public: America Vs Europe


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Hello! New to posting in this forum but I was visiting my friends in France and Germany earlier this year and I had a thought.

I’m from the UK and have many friends from other European countries and reading some of these experiences or hearing stories from Americans makes me think us Europeans are much more free with peeing in public?

Me (22 year old female) and my other female friends always pee in the park together in the park if we’re drinking together or pop a squat down an alleyway if pre drinks catch up with us before we get to the club.

When I was in Germany and I went to pee in some bushes with my Germany friend she described peeing with your friends in the park is part of “German drinking culture” and I laughed and said it was definitely part of British culture too!

However, I spent a year at a university in the USA as part of an exchange with my flatmate (the one I wrote a story about lol) and whenever we’d bring up peeing in public or when my flatmate attempted to pop a squat behind a car everyone was horrified and all the other girls were really up themselves about it and acted like they were better than us?

Just wondering any of your guys thoughts on this? What’s the culture like in other places? I’m so used to peeing with my friends in public I didn’t know it was weird to some people lol

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1 hour ago, AlohaSummer said:

However, I spent a year at a university in the USA as part of an exchange with my flatmate (the one I wrote a story about lol) and whenever we’d bring up peeing in public or when my flatmate attempted to pop a squat behind a car everyone was horrified and all the other girls were really up themselves about it and acted like they were better than us?

Just wondering any of your guys thoughts on this? What’s the culture like in other places? I’m so used to peeing with my friends in public I didn’t know it was weird to some people lol

It's not even the culture, it's the laws. But I guess you can tell that laws kind of formed culture around it too. Peeing unless you're doing it through the clothing, means also an exposure of genitalia. Exposing genitalia in public is a crime in the US regardless of the reason, so no matter if you're a creep flasher or just wanted to pee behind the dumpster, it's a criminal offence.

If you will get caught/recorded/complained, and god forbid there will be let's say a parent with a child walking by and will witness you, there's a potential risk of being put on a sex offended registry.  At least 13 states in the US automatically require anyone caught in act of public urination to be registered as sex offender, with no excuses. That means your life is literally done. You will never (or at least for many years) be able to rent or buy a decent housing, you will never get any decent job because you wouldn't pass criminal background check, etc. etc.

It doesn't mean it happens a lot, many times you will be just arrested and fined (what can hurt your background check too), but possibility of worse outcome is there and real. Despite many Americans screaming about their endless fReeDuMZ, America is very strictly policed country comparing to Europe, and people are horrified to do some basic things like pop a squat behind the tree in the park, or tan topless on public beach, because it can literally ruin their life.

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I definitely think that there is a huge cultural difference when it comes to being between the United States and European, in fact sometimes I joked that that's why it's called EuroPEEan because in Europe you can pee! America is a much more puritanical society so is much more uptight about these things, whereas I think people in Europe are more open about going to the bathroom and stuff.


And then I have also read about the street urinals in Europe so that suggesting more permissiveness when it comes to going to the bathroom, at least for men anyway. As I have pointed out in other threads I do feel that men are much more expected to pee, whereas women are much more expected to hold it in a public situation, which is why they provide urinals for men but don't really give any second thought to providing anything for the women as it's just naturally assumed that women will hold it.


In the United States I have on rare occasions in men peeing in public but I have never seen a woman popping a squat and I think it's rather rare.

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 In Italy, since 2016, article 726 of the Penal Code provides that anyone who, in a public place or open or exposed to the public, performs acts contrary to public decency is subject to a fine ranging from 5,000 euros to 10,000 euros.

The Supreme Court stated that "Acts contrary to public decency are all those who, in contempt of the criteria of cohabitation and decorum that must be observed in relations between associates, cause disgust or disapproval in the latter such as urinating in a public place".

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Hello from Germany!

It's not uncommon to pee outdoors here in Germany, but still illegal.

If you get caught while peeing behind some bushes in a forest or some rural places, you need to pay 35 Euro.

BUT: If you get caught peeing in big citys or you pee nonchalantly next to people or even kids, it can even lead to 5000 Euro or 1 year prison.

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I don't know about a lot of other countries, but here in Germany it's a lot about common sense. If you're on a hike in a forest and you have to pee, you'll try to find some cover and do it behind a bush or tree. And of course you wait until other hikers have passed and the area seems to be clear. What else can you do if you're on a long walk in the outdoors?

If you're in the city, on the other hand, always try to find a public restroom or one in a store or restaurant. You don't just go behind a car or something unless it's a real emergency. Public parks and recreation areas inside the city do usually have a public restroom, so that's where you go - though they can be rather dirty of course.

And those "street urinals" that are often mentioned in this forum - they don't exist, at least not where I live, unless you're on a big parade or music festival where they are sometimes used to prevent people from peeing in the street.

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I dont think those laws on peeing in public in germany are actually employed. At least I never heard of it. There may be cases where it makes sense, like places with much night tourism (Hamburg) or for youth protection (playgrounds).

There was an article in the newspaper about the citizens of the famous Hamburg St. Pauli district, who are painting their buildings with special hydrophobic paint to have the urine sprinkle right back to the sender shoes because too many people pee against it every night...


I think there is no problem with peeing on public places in germany as long as you dont do it publicly. But that is common sense I think.

 

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I’m in the UK and it is commonplace to see people peeing in the street at night in the city centres. I saw it less in Germany and not at all in the USA, although I’ve not spent much time in the US to be honest, just a few trips a few weeks each.  

In Africa I’ve found it to be the norm. With a lack of running water there just aren’t toilets (certainly not outside the cities in Nigeria) so in town you just go in the street and out of the town in the bush you just go wherever.

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I'm from the UK and also have lived in Germany, the attitudes to public peeing in Germany seemed more strict in general. Definitely seems more common in the UK, from what I've witnessed. The US has extremely strict laws around public nudity and exposure so I'm not surprised public peeing is so rare there. 

I've only ever seen those street urinals in Amsterdam and even there I didn't see many people using them, as there are so many places to go. 

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I’m from the US and while I agree that the laws here are strict with public urination, it also depends on where you are to a certain extent. Where I went to college, house parties were common and I saw my fair share of guys (including me) and some girls peeing in public in a discreet manner. I’ve had friends who have received tickets for public urination but they were not arrested, but I’m sure there are loads of cases where they arrested people for doing it. 

On 8/7/2020 at 7:32 AM, AlohaSummer said:

Hello! New to posting in this forum but I was visiting my friends in France and Germany earlier this year and I had a thought.

I’m from the UK and have many friends from other European countries and reading some of these experiences or hearing stories from Americans makes me think us Europeans are much more free with peeing in public?

Me (22 year old female) and my other female friends always pee in the park together in the park if we’re drinking together or pop a squat down an alleyway if pre drinks catch up with us before we get to the club.

When I was in Germany and I went to pee in some bushes with my Germany friend she described peeing with your friends in the park is part of “German drinking culture” and I laughed and said it was definitely part of British culture too!

However, I spent a year at a university in the USA as part of an exchange with my flatmate (the one I wrote a story about lol) and whenever we’d bring up peeing in public or when my flatmate attempted to pop a squat behind a car everyone was horrified and all the other girls were really up themselves about it and acted like they were better than us?

Just wondering any of your guys thoughts on this? What’s the culture like in other places? I’m so used to peeing with my friends in public I didn’t know it was weird to some people lol

Do you think that girls in the UK have less tolerance for holding their pee in situations where they are drinking but no toilets are available? I imagine that if the culture is more permissive of public urination then women wouldn’t bother holding their pee for the next available toilet as often.

 

i dated an Australian girl and in one of my posts talked about how she bragged about having a big bladder but eventually had to piss in someone’s yard when there wasn’t a bathroom around so I was wondering if girls in other countries such as Australia or the UK are not as used to holding for long periods of time when out drinking 

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On 8/8/2020 at 8:20 AM, JensH2 said:

I don't know about a lot of other countries, but here in Germany it's a lot about common sense. If you're on a hike in a forest and you have to pee, you'll try to find some cover and do it behind a bush or tree. And of course you wait until other hikers have passed and the area seems to be clear. What else can you do if you're on a long walk in the outdoors?

If you're in the city, on the other hand, always try to find a public restroom or one in a store or restaurant. You don't just go behind a car or something unless it's a real emergency. Public parks and recreation areas inside the city do usually have a public restroom, so that's where you go - though they can be rather dirty of course.

And those "street urinals" that are often mentioned in this forum - they don't exist, at least not where I live, unless you're on a big parade or music festival where they are sometimes used to prevent people from peeing in the street.

Exactly what I would say about Germany. And yes, the attitudes to public peeing here  seemed more strict. I barely saw a girl peeing between cars or in alleys over the years.

Please don't think what you see at "Oktoberfest" is normal for germany. At least in the region where I live is a public pee a very embarassing thing for a girl. None of the girls I know would do this voluntarily. Another thing is of course with hikes or in the forest like JensH2 already said.  

I always wonder what is this with the girls in spain we know from the galician vids, it seems like nearly every girl peed very openly in the streets there (and some did a very fast piss, surely not in urgency). As much as I like seeing an emergency public pee, this is too much for me, the streets must smell like a big outdoor urinal...

 

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6 hours ago, Tibarary said:

Exactly what I would say about Germany. And yes, the attitudes to public peeing here  seemed more strict. I barely saw a girl peeing between cars or in alleys over the years.

Please don't think what you see at "Oktoberfest" is normal for germany. At least in the region where I live is a public pee a very embarassing thing for a girl. None of the girls I know would do this voluntarily. Another thing is of course with hikes or in the forest like JensH2 already said.  

I always wonder what is this with the girls in spain we know from the galician vids, it seems like nearly every girl peed very openly in the streets there (and some did a very fast piss, surely not in urgency). As much as I like seeing an emergency public pee, this is too much for me, the streets must smell like a big outdoor urinal...

 

I was curious about those Galician videos too, seemed like a massive concert in one of the videos but that’s still a lot of women peeing outside lol. Also I saw a vid in Brazil at this thing called “carnaval” or something and there were women who had zero shame about dropping their pants and peeing on a busy sidewalk 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I’m live in Canada, and though I wouldn’t go as far to say its part of our culture, nobody has ever been too upset by me wetting myself in public, and I do it pretty often. It even starts conversation with strangers a lot.

You can also get away with nudity pretty dang well. Sure, there’s laws against nudity, but the only real time they ever get enforced is if the person has other charges against them, and nudity gets added on. So I could drop my pants and pee on a bush or in a bin or literally just on the sidewalk, and nobody cares. 

I honestly think its just that Canadian stereotype that we’re all too nice. No one here is mean enough (unless its about hockey, no joke), so someone sees me wet myself in the middle of a coffee shop and, as long as I clean my own mess, everyone’s totally chill about it.

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  • 2 months later...

In the U.S. it depends a lot on who can see it.  If no one can really see, except perhaps your friends, it is a simple ticket for urinating in public.  However, if random people passing by might see, you then risk indecent exposure.  If there is any possibility that any person under the age of 18 might see, and you have now committed felony indecent exposure.  This is where you can look forward to spending the next six months to five years in prison and the rest of your life on a sex offender registry.

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2 hours ago, PrincessPeeach said:

Huh, I had no idea it was quite so risky.....all along I was more focused on the embarrassment factor of being seen peeing in public. I didn’t really think it was actually something that people get charged for. I mean I know there’s laws and whatnot, but I didn’t think they were commonly enforced at all, and if so, that the consequences were quite so dire.

Is this something that actually happens often in the US (casual peeing in public leading to a jail sentence/sex offender label)? Wow. 

I don't think it's a federal law and it might be different from state to state as each state has their separate state laws

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I live in northeast USA.   Although not as bad as it used to be , Americans are prudes about anything sexual, nudity , and of course urination.

Some movies and especially TV shows are edited differently for USA and foreign versions, regarding language, nudity, and sex ( a big no-no on over the air tv) .

If you step away to pee, so nobody can see you , you are probably ok , but if somebody does see you, you can be charged with public urination and indecent exposure. This can land you on the sex offenders list.

People have even been charged for wetting their pants in open public. I guess if you are having an accident hide until you are done. Apparently nothing will be done walking around that way. 

There have even been cases of people living near a service stations with closed restrooms watched behind the building , and guys who could not hold it any longer peed there were videotaped and charged.

Obviously peeing outside of a bathroom is much more complicated for females, and they must expose more of themselves. A guy can have his back turned and sort of appear to be just standing there.

It's ridiculous. Be respectful hide yourself as best as possible and you should be ok. I know both males and females who pee outside. We know what they are doing and don't look (unless invited) or comment.

I wish Americans would grow up about their bodies and its functions. I remember bathroom functions could not even mentioned on TV. Commercials selling toilet clean had to demonstrate it in a kitchen bowl , as toilets were forbidden . Married couples on TV slept in separate beds. The word pregnant was banned. If the actress playing a character was actually pregnant she was in a family way , or having a baby . So there has been some progress, but we have a long way to go.  

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2 hours ago, johnnyc82 said:

I don't think it's a federal law and it might be different from state to state as each state has their separate state laws

True, but state laws can be pretty tough. Check my comment earlier https://www.omorashi.org/topic/61388-peeing-in-public-america-vs-europe/?do=findComment&comment=1805689 - at least 13 states require a person being caught in the act of public urination to be put on sex offender registry, with no excuses or debates.

5 hours ago, PrincessPeeach said:

Is this something that actually happens often in the US (casual peeing in public leading to a jail sentence/sex offender label)? Wow. 

I don't know how often, I guess it depends, but does anyone want to check it out and gamble with your entire life? Nowadays sex offence laws and prosecution are especially strict, often pursuing violations that 20-30 years ago considered as a slap on the wrist incident, as I heard. So year, if you're going to have accident in public, don't take of your pants, better ruin them than your life. Peeing in pants is not a criminal offence, taking them off before doing it at public space - is a criminal offence in most cases.

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5 hours ago, PrincessPeeach said:

Is this something that actually happens often in the US (casual peeing in public leading to a jail sentence/sex offender label)? Wow. 

Indeed it is.

For a long time in America politicians have been obsessed with being tough on crime.  A good way for a lawmaker to accomplish something is to come up with some new bill cracking down on criminal activity or increasing penalties.  These bills are almost always passed into law, because no other politicians want to be seen as being weak on crime.

At the same time, you have a large number of the voting populous who seem convinced that child sex predators lurk everywhere, and that children are in constant danger of being victimized every time they are out in public.  These people share made up statistics on Facebook claiming things like 2.8 million children a year are abducted and sold into sex slavery in the US.  These people feel very strongly about laws protecting children, and they vote.

The result of this is the following-

Mandatory sentences and sex offender registrations for certain crimes.  The judges have no authority to consider the facts of the case and issue a lesser penalty.

Financial grants for police departments who charge a certain number of sex crimes a year.  These creates a strong incentive for charging as many sex crimes as they can.  The more prosecutions, the more grant money available to their department.  But, if their numbers go down, they risk losing funding.  This means that some crimes, like urinating in public, where an officer might have discretion, has a strong motivating factor to charge something as a sexual offence if it is at all possible.

The prosecutors who try these cases are often elected officials.  To get re-elected, they want to be able to show the highest number of prosecutions possible and that they are locking up these dangerous sex offenders.

I don't think it is a secret to anyone who follows my posts here that I used to work in TV news.  For part of that career, I did a stint covering the local courts.  These kind of cases are indeed frequently charged.  It was absolutely heart breaking to sit in court, and see some young graduate student have their entire lives shattered because they got drunk one night and relieved themselves in an alley.  These were good kids who worked in the sciences, heading towards a PhD, who were now being sent to prison and have to spend the rest of their lives as registered sex offenders.

After big party weekends, like near the start or end of the school year, Halloween, or the new year, would result in many of these prosecutions.  You could sit in court and watch these cases go by one after another after another.  The entire process would often take no more then ten minutes, the defendant hauled in, asked to enter a plea deal, they plea guilty to get six months in prison instead of 5 years, they are then sentenced and hauled out, then the next one comes in.

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37 minutes ago, SpaceWonderer said:

True, but state laws can be pretty tough. Check my comment earlier https://www.omorashi.org/topic/61388-peeing-in-public-america-vs-europe/?do=findComment&comment=1805689 - at least 13 states require a person being caught in the act of public urination to be put on sex offender registry, with no excuses or debates.

I don't know how often, I guess it depends, but does anyone want to check it out and gamble with your entire life? Nowadays sex offence laws and prosecution are especially strict, often pursuing violations that 20-30 years ago considered as a slap on the wrist incident, as I heard. So year, if you're going to have accident in public, don't take of your pants, better ruin them than your life. Peeing in pants is not a criminal offence, taking them off before doing it at public space - is a criminal offence in most cases.

What part of pants peeing makes you a sex offender?  I get that if you whip it out to pee in a public place then you're exposing yourself to anybody that happens to walk by or be nearby but if you do it in your pants you're not exposing yourself.  If a person does it by accident, and I mean accident in the truest meaning of the word, then that person is a sex offender?

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