I think this poll should be repeated for people of varying weights.

I consider myself normal sized, and actually have a hard time spreading my cheeks...not to say I haven't tried, it's just hard.

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No no, honey. Kitties don't sit on the potty.

Oh come on, doesn't anybody besides me squat?

I have a special, Rigor Mortis" (I call hime Morty, clever, eh?) cat I use to wedge my cheeks apart, and then I use his stiff tail to keep them apart...once I flex farted and snapped the tail like a dry twig...had to get a new Morty.

I'm so damn thin that I barely have cheeks to spread anyway...

Since I've been reading Dave's book, I've been thinking about trying my ass at the squat-and-shit maneuver. This is going to be difficult, however, because I'm a middle-of-the-day deucer, which means at work. Since I work in an office building, I might weird out a bunch of people if they should happen to see my ass below the level of the stall walls squatting on a piece of newspaper.

On the other hand, I suppose that I could just cop a squat in the alley like the local homeless do.
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Yo quiero Taco Bell.

99% of the time I just sit down and go, butt there have been those rare occasions where the poo is SO large that I felt I needed some extra "clearance". I actually held my cheeks open through the whole process. It worked!

I just sit and shit. Sometimes when I lift my one cheek up to wipe, though, I can feel them spread. Feels almost like I'm splitting myself in half.

Deja: you could perch yourself on the seat and hope your aim is true...or lift the seat and balance yourself on the actual porcelain rim.
However - the lack of visible feet could lead to stall incursions. In either case, your "aim" will be critical...I don't even want to think of the consequences of a perching "splatter-dump".

I agree with MQS weights should be taken into consideration i am not fat just a big guy 6'4" there are some people at my work that are very plump and short i kind of feel sorry for them when they have a stubborn brown fish to free i am not real sure how they fit on the seat in are tiny little stalls

First of all I'm a wide guy....oh wait.....wrong post right? Seriously though I don't see how spreading a cheek allows the dump to be cleaner. Perhaps its the way in which I dump. My technique is to hit the seat and detonate.
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The Thunderous Crapper 63 Enjoying home toilet advantage since 2004!

Let me guess, Thunderous: you've got a "wide stance". right?? *yukyuk*

I rarely "spread em" myself. A sudden plunk on the seat and opening of the sphincter is really all I need to get the job done these days. I don't like to spread my cheeks for fear of a major splash back getting poop water up the exit ramp.

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Rock-n-roll! Poopy-poo!

"Big boned", Fudgepump. *wink wink*

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Man who stand on toilet seat is high on pot.

Don't spread them..you need to let your terd cutter do the job..otherwise you will have a "hanging chad"

I think breathing is important when droppin a deuce. I have pushed so hard in the past I was afraid my mom would see pictures of my dead body on the mens room floor in the newspaper.

I spread sometimes if its the kind of shit thats going to make me beg and plead
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40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year.

I've never even thought of spreading my cheeks before, I'll have to try it on my next difficult transaction. Brown Eye, your "turd cutter" remark was priceless.

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"Can you spare a square?"

"No, I don't have a square to spare."

Is it true ... poop is tapered on the end to keep your butt from slamming shut?

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"Can you spare a square?"

"No, I don't have a square to spare."

Hell yeah! Spreading makes everything better--keeps the cheeks cleaner, lets the turds out easier, and lets the crack air-dry of all the sweat that collected from being confined inside all those layers of fabric.
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Keep up the crappy work!

I only spread my cheeks when it's extremely hard to push out. Squatting is saved for very difficult occasions.

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Ginormous Logs it's time to trim the hair down there, so spreadin helps to eliminate some of the dangle berries

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Ginormous Logs most of the time i have to spread and shake vigorously, much like you would a martini, to get the last warm morsel to fall

I used to spread 'em, but now i'm finding it more comfortable and efficient to just plop down and go. Occasionally, I'll squat if I'm constipated.

I just sit and go. They always automatically spread for some reason.
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"Thunder in March betokens a fruitfull year" .Or is it "Thunder in March, frost in June"?

I've never had to consciously spread my cheeks, but then again I'm not overweight so maybe I just don't understand what some of the other posters are stuck with.

I only spread my cheeks on a public toilet. For some reason (and it doesn't matter what weight I am because I'm much smaller now), public toilets always cause a poo crayon on the cheeks. So I spread them on a public toilet to keep down the smear factor. I think it has to do with having pants and shoes on, because when I shit at home I am not usually wearing either.

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What if everyone farted at once?

I spread 'em by leaning forward as I sit. I then sit up so that there is no shrapnel.
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SamDamnit!
The Emir of Crapistan

I usually spread my cheeks for both reasons: to let the turds out more easily, and to minimize the cheek-smear. However, I rarely keep them spread through the whole movement, which can take a little time; and sometimes I have a hanger-on piece that I have to squeeze, then re-spread the cheeks, then shake up and down to get to release and plop into the bowl.
One other thing I have noticed: Right at the moment that the movement begins, I feel a relaxation, and I feel my anus actually descend a short distance as it prepares to open up for the poop to get out. Thus, the anus forms a sort of dome, headed downwards, and when that dome opens up, it makes a sort of ring through which the turds exit. That ring helps to keep poop from staining the inside of the cheeks. I don't feel that every time, but when I do, I probably wouldn't have to spread my cheeks as far.

i can't vote because i only do it sometimes. like if it's sticky and won't come out all the way on its own or something. i don't really like to spread 'em cuz then my hole hurts. and i don't like to have a hurt hole!
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i love poop.