A survey out today reveals the most annoying things about men. Reading through the list, we let out a collective groan – men, according to the women polled, don’t listen, leave the toilet seat up, have annoying friends, hog the remote and leave beard shavings and toenail clippings where they fall.
It triggered an instant argument over Cosmo’s features desk. Are we really still playing out sexual politics over a remote control? Or are these bugbears simply timeless annoyances destined to wind up women for the rest of time? We address the age-old argument (yep, we’re actually doing this), of whether or not the toilet seat being left up is indeed the most annoying crime a man can commit...
Cosmo's features writer, Lorna Gray, is on team ‘Put The Darn Toilet Seat Down’
Aesthetically, hygienically, and for the sanity of women everywhere – YES, a left-up toilet seat is the most offensive, irritating faux pas a man can possibly make. Akin to being caught in the rain, pouring the crumby bits of your cereal into your bowl, hearing a knife scraping a plate... Ok, you get the picture.
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First of all, it’s *usually* disgusting. It actually glares at you with its splashes round the rim, (among other offensive things...) Nope, it’s not something I want to touch, even with a toilet paper glove. Returning the seat to its natural position is just good manners. It’s totally reasonable to ask your man to be considerate and pop down the lid. Yes, you can argue why should he have to put it down but if (heaven forbid), he’s made the seat less than peachy clean, then he should DEFO be the one having to deal with it.
Plus, it just looks nicer. As Web Editor Pat correctly pointed out, you don’t see the toilet seat left up in a bathroom showroom. (I was being serious when I said that left-up lid glares at you.)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for compromise here. One staffer’s friend has a rule where the lid and seat have to be replaced, so everyone has to touch something, thus averting WWIII. This seems like a pretty fair deal. Perhaps this is something to suggest next time you get the rage when you see the throne with its lid up. And breeeathe.
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Deputy Features Editor, Rosie Mullender, says it’s time to step away from the toilet (figuratively speaking)
Right. Ladies. It’s 2012. We’re facing the collapse of the global economy, mass unemployment, the battle to close the pay gap, endless pressures to be perfect and the prospect of The Voice being re-commissioned. Yet still – still – we care about whether a guy puts the loo seat down?
Admittedly, I feel a slight twinge of annoyance if a man leaves it up. It doesn’t look pretty, and we’ve all had it drummed into us by our mums to leave it down.
But the main argument against it seems to be, ‘Why should I have to touch the seat?’ Well, why should he? Why isn’t the rule that women have to put it down, then lift it afterwards? As someone who has worked as a cleaner in university halls, I can confirm that when men live alone, they basically just go everywhere, like a fire hose – so frankly, we should be grateful that they bother to lift the seat at all.
A quick straw poll round the office almost resorted into actual fisticuffs breaking out on top of photocopier. Cosmo’s Web Editor, Pat, sees it as a metaphor for a man’s entire inner landscape – if he’s selfish in the bathroom, it’ll probably extend to the rest of his life, and he’ll be shown the door. While our Features Director, Fiona, isn’t bothered either – but admits to leaving all her kitchen cupboards open, which is basically the girl equivalent.
It’s clearly a contentious issue. But if your man is funny, kind, interesting, thoughtful and sexy (and if not, why are you with him?), I really don’t see why a loo seat should be capable of causing so much kerfuffle. In fact, I’d probably let a man like that leave the kitchen cupboards open, too.
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