How do they stack?

You may have never heard the term boy's room before, but you already know what it is. A mattress on the floor, a single (yellow) pillow, an overused Gatorade bong. Essentially, a boy's room is a dirty nest that a grown man inhabits as a bedroom. They've existed silently under the covers for decades, but the TikTok star Rachel Coster ripped off the sheets to expose them in all their (not so beautiful) glory. The result? A viral TikTok series that lives up to its name Boy's room.

It's a totally messy room, with no room for your stuff, trash where there shouldn't be, and no sort of personal style or decoration, Coster told PEDESTRIAN.TV. Or maybe the personal style and decor are totally disgusting.

Her Boy's room The series takes TikTok users into the dirtiest bedrooms in New York. Coster came up with the idea after her friend brought a girl home, only to have her leave immediately after seeing the state of the house. She wanted to help him set up his room and thought maybe it would make a great video. She told a friend about her idea, who replied: Oh, we have to do it.

Millions of views later and Coster has a viral hit on his hands. For many women who have visited the men's restroom and been shocked by the state of the mess, this rings true.

I think boys don't get the same message [as girls] like boys would never go into each other's rooms and say hey man, are you okay? Your room is a little messy, Coster said.

After falling down the Boy Room rabbit hole, I couldn't help but reflect on the boy rooms I've endured in my time. No bed frame with a mattress thrown on the floor, neon green tupperware containers with mold, and even a bunk bed (don't ask).

So I wanted to check if Australian men had worse boys rooms than the US. After all, Australian men are known for being horrible communicators, holding fish in their dating app profiles and giving you chlamydia. Australian men are notoriously worse flirts than American men, so they surely have worse boys' rooms, right? So I asked Rachel who she thought would have the worst rooms among the Americans and Australians.

I feel like Australian kids are a lot funnier, Coster said. So I guess Australian boys are a little better than American boys, but I have no idea.

So, with a hazmat suit on hand and courage in my heart, I entered some of the worst boys' rooms in Australia.

Elis boy's room

The first was Eli, a 26-year-old living in western Sydney. From the second I walked into his house, I knew I was deep in boys' bedroom territory. From the damp sofa in the living room to the framed photo of Vin Diesel hanging in pride of place in the toilet and anointed by hordes of used toilet paper rolls, I knew that just upstairs was a boy's room worth seeing.

The Elis room met all the criteria Rachel described. Extremely messy, no room for any of his stuff and the weirdest personal style I think I've ever seen. If you're feeling generous, you might describe its interior style as eclectic. If that weren't the case, you could just say that Elis' bedroom could single-handedly put Australian boys' bedrooms on the map.

Her room was small but comfortable and the unmade bed was a nice touch. A white, fluffy cat that lay on his bed, unfazed by the chaos around him. I could imagine him having a field day getting lost in all things Elis.

He told me that his love for trinkets knew no bounds and that all the things in his room were things you didn't know you wanted, but wanted.

The Elis room included a very realistic fake fish. In fact, he had three.

I asked Eli if the large number of items scattered around his room had ever stressed him out or overwhelmed him. No, he replied. Very well, king. Thinking about it, I wasn't sure if the old receipts and eight empty cups next to the bed were something I personally wanted, but that's the boys' room view for you.

Boy Bedroom Cams

Cam is 24 years old and lives closer to the city center. When I arrived, he wanted to let me in but unfortunately couldn't because he had forgotten his keys. Once Cam broke into his house, his boy's room was revealed.

From the first peak, the Cams room has beautiful natural light, but never let good lighting fool you. A boy's room is a boy's room.

The camera room is medium sized with a large monstera plant and an even larger desk. His clothes hang on a metal rack he has attached to the wall and the light shines in due to the lack of curtains.

He showed me some of his favorite items, including a signed photo of Jackie Chan and a three-foot banner advertising pickle juice. Once I pointed out that the banner could serve as a substitute curtain, Cam quickly put me to work. Did we upgrade his boy's room by hanging a makeshift pickle juice curtain? It's hard to say, but I guess not.

I asked Cam if anyone had ever told him he had a boy's room. He thought about it for 30 seconds, then replied, “Probably, but it's gotten a lot better over the years.”

If it gets better, then I fear for what happened before.

Australian Boys Bedrooms vs. American Boys Bedrooms

Eli and Cam's rooms share a certain flair and craziness that isn't as visibly present in American boys' rooms. There is a playfulness that shines through to the forefront and is probably linked to the laid-back, fun-loving demeanor that Australians are known for.

While I wouldn't say that Australian bedrooms are particularly better or worse than American bedrooms, the style of Australian boys' bedrooms is accurate. I would call it a sense of playful chaos.

If you ever find yourself in the back of a boy's room in Australia, know that you are not alone. Boy rooms have been rampant and taking over the world for decades, and unfortunately, one of the only known cures is to find a girlfriend.

We hope that one day we can arrive at a boys' house without having to wade through empty glasses and piles of sheets on an unmade bed.

In the meantime, we can be proud of the eccentric I don't know what Australian boys' bedrooms outnumber American bedrooms, because at least we have that.