Paruresis - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

This film-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The condition has been occasionally portrayed in popular culture, sometimes for comedic effect or parody. Examples of this include:

• Throughout the comedy series Scrubs the central character, Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, suffers paruresis whenever he is in the presence of his mentor, Dr. Perry Cox.

• An series 5 episode of the TV show Screenwipe presented by Charlie Brooker uses paruresis as a subject in a parody of 'mission-documentaries' fronted by Konnie Huq. Although the concept of mission-docs is being lampooned, it appears that information about and interviews with sufferers of the condition are genuine.

• In the children's TV cartoon Chowder in the episode "The Vacation", the titular character is shown to have severe paruresis when he becomes locked in a bathroom with Mung Daal and Schnitzel while having to urinate, but can't do it because of the lack of privacy. In a comedic scene, Chowder makes the other two turn around, cover their eyes, and even sing out loud to drown out the noises of the urination, but it doesn't work, causing Chowder to then inflate to a huge size with urine. They then all fear that Chowder will "explode" and the other two characters will drown in urine, and the rest of the episode focuses on this fictional crisis.

• In the 2011 comedy movie The Change-Up, the protagonists Mitch and Dave, who have switched bodies paranormally after urinating in a fountain and wishing they had each other's lives, have to urinate in the same fountain again to revert back to their original bodies. They find the fountain has been moved to the inside of a shopping mall, where they have to expose themselves and do this in full public view with security guards in pursuit. Mitch in Dave's body has trouble urinating claiming to be completely "locked up" because of all the horrified onlookers. Once the two characters resolve their conflicts, Mitch in Dave's body is then released from the paruretic symptoms and they complete the wish to change back. After this, the lights all go out, giving them an escape. (It remains unclear whether the paruresis was associated with Mitch's consciousness or Dave's body.)

• In the 2008 comedy Sex Drive, the main character Ian has to urinate into the radiator to fix the car they are traveling in, but is unable to do so. His friend Lance refers to this as "stage fright". Later in the movie when the two get arrested, Ian overcomes this and is able to go freely in the holding cell. Lance praises him for overcoming the phobia.

• In the 2006 comedy Clerks 2, Jay is behind the restaurant where he tries to urinate, referring to it as "public piss syndrome". He asks Silent Bob for complete silence where Bob gives him an awkward look and Jay tells him to look away and not look at his penis. Directly after, twice, he gets hit with the door by both Dante and Randal and then again by Becky where it is revealed that Becky is pregnant and Dante has told Randal.

• In the 2003 comedy The In-Laws, Jerrey is confronted in a public toilet and claims to have shy bladder.

• In the 2005 comedy Waiting..., Calvin's paruresis is depicted as a major problem in his social life. The 2009 sequel, Still Waiting..., shows how once the problem is overcome, Calvin's life changes completely.

• In the comic series, The Big Bang Theory, season 4, episode 22, Penny is shown experiencing bladder shyness, while Amy attempts to indulge in toilet conversation. Amy begins to talk about the subject of bladder shyness but Penny stops her, asking her to be quiet. She eventually gives up, planning on "trying again later."

• In episode 14 of the first season of Friends, Chandler pesters Joey, while the latter tries to urinate. Joey begs Chandler to cease the disturbance, claiming that he needs to concentrate in order to urinate.

• In a 2006 comic strip Dilbert the namesake of the strip is required to give a urine sample at work and he says that he is unable due to "shy bladder' .