> > and put the toilet seat down when you're done.
>
> I always thought a perfectly reasonable protocol should be: leave it how
> you found it.
If your goal was minimizing effort. But I think it's clear from the heat this perennial dispute generates that it's about symbolic values, not use values.
I remember being in a car with a few three-year olds when they were discussing gender differences. Noah said to Jennifer, "I have a penis. Do you have a penis? Nathaniel has a penis." And Jennifer said "Could we just stop all this talk about penises!?"
I think that's what leaving the toilet seat up is about. It's not that women want to have one. But they get infuritated at boys who imply they ought to. And leaving the seat up seems like a childish way of taunting them while pretending you're just being objective. They feel like they're being gaslighted. That's what makes them nuts.
I think that's finally the persuasive argument. Men should give in simply because finding things in the wrong state makes women furious. And it doesn't bug us worth mentioning.
Michael