Sophy Rickett - Pissing Women

In her 1999 photo series Pissing Women, British artist Sophy Rickett takes a long, hard look at gender norms—and then proceeds piss all over them. Shot in black and white, the series shows women urinating while standing. Yes, standing. An activity so unremarkable for men that it barely registers, yet for women, apparently, it’s enough to cause an existential crisis in the social order.

These aren’t sneaky paparazzi snaps from behind a bush; they’re deliberately composed scenes. Women stand in public places—by walls, on footpaths, near curbs—staking a claim to visibility usually only reserved for drunken men with small bladders. In these moments, the female body refuses its assigned role as quiet, contained, and “tastefully invisible.”

The brilliance lies in the understatement. There’s no gratuitous nudity, no soft-focus eroticism, and certainly no apology. Just the act itself: mundane, defiant, and weirdly dignified. The stances mimic the casual confidence of men who think nothing of peeing against a wall—until, of course, a woman does it, and suddenly society breaks.

Rickett’s work poses some uncomfortable questions: why is this male bodily function viewed as natural, even endearing, while women are expected to keep their biology tucked away like an embarrassing secret? Why does equality apparently stop at the urinal?

There’s humour here, too—a sly, deadpan absurdity. The images don’t shout; they smirk. The women look like they’re in on the joke, even as they dismantle centuries of oppression one puddle at a time. Rickett doesn’t moralise or explain; she just lets the discomfort marinate.

More than two decades later, Pissing Women still feels as relevant as ever: part protest, part punchline, part perfectly composed middle finger. It’s a work about space, control, and the radical potential of simply refusing to cross your legs.

Climax Books launches Pissing Women 1995 — Sophy Rickett