A serious discussion about farting

[PsYcHo]

Initially I was going to put this in the "Fun" segment, but I would like to hear some honest, serious, points about farting, or general bathroom etiquette. (Get your giggles out now..)

Like most people, I fart. Sometimes they stink, sometimes they don't, but they happen regularly over the course of a day. In public, I try to be conscientious of other persons, so I hold them in until I am away from other persons. But at home, I let them go freely, and my partner does the same. (You shouldn't have to be uncomfortable in your own home, right? )

Recently we had a family member move in, and he was known for being "offended" at people farting near him. Whenever we visited him, all of us were bashful about both farting, and defecating in the same house. Which is really weird, because everybody poops, and farts, but we were all self conscious about it.

But now that he has moved in with us, I had a talk with him about us all living together. Basically, " We all poop. No one cares how long you are in the bathroom, no one cares what sounds you make in there, and we have a spray (Poopouri)- if you worry about your smells when going. (This stuff is amazing! If you have concerns about your "aroma" when you take a dump, it works so well you can't even appreciate your own stench. ) And also, " I won't intentionally let out a grotesque fart near you (like me and my partner do to each other ),but I'm also not going to be uncomfortable in our (his and ours) home to avoid offending you. "

I'm just curious about how other people feel about flatulence in their household, and also how they deal with the inevitable stool droppings.

Is your household carefree poopers/farters, or does everyone shamefully hide and release bodily secretions under cover of darkness, with an ear constantly at the ready to discern if someone else may hear your disgusting internal evacuations? (Or is this topic so uncomfortable you can't respond...)

[Lay Vegan]

Odly enough, I’m fine with farts. It’s burping that weirds me out. Any fluids or gases exuded from the mouth or stomach make my skin crawl.

If I’m eating with family/friends and someone burps, I either slide my plate away from them or fan the fowl gas into the opposite direction.

Farts I can tolerate tho.

[PsYcHo]

Odly enough, I’m fine with farts. It’s burping that weirds me out.

That is interesting. Is it just the long intentional burps, or do the small single breath burps bother you as well?

[brimstoneSalad]

I think farts are more sterile in a sense; not like particles are flying out as with a cough or sneeze, just some very fragrant volatilizes.

I can see the argument for burps being grosser.

[PsYcHo]

I must say this is an interesting turn. I had never even considered burping to be akin (in terms of disgust) to farts/ defecation.

I remember as a child being admonished by my current guardian that if I had to fart, I should go the bathroom to do so. One time a relative of my guardian visited, and shortly after he used the restroom, I went in to pee, but it smelled so awful I immediately went back out, and commented on how I would wait to pee because it was so "fragrant" in there. Then I was admonished once again for pointing out the obvious, since it was "embarrassing" to speak the truth. I loved this particular relative, but his stool's scent could corrode steel. I was young enough at the time that I didn't even understand how having a stinky bowel movement could be embarrassing. I just didn't want to be in there until the smell cleared, I didn't want to embarrass anyone. Shortly after, I became self conscious about my own "aroma" when pooping, and also just the fact that people might know I was pooping, which apparently was a shameful thing.

Even living in this anally retentive household, burping was never an issue. (Maybe we all burped more because to let out a fart would have been too embarrassing, but we didn't want to explode from internal pressure..) I'm fascinated to know that some people are just as adverse to burping.

[Lay Vegan]

That is interesting. Is it just the long intentional burps, or do the small single breath burps bother you as well?

The smallest, tiniest burps gross me out. Even my own burps disgust me, and I find myself desperately fanning them away if I let one out (I'd hate to taste or smell it).

[Lay Vegan]

I must say this is an interesting turn. I had never even considered burping to be akin (in terms of disgust) to farts/ defecation.

Letting it rip is one thing. Defecation is another

I remember as a child being admonished by my current guardian that if I had to fart, I should go the bathroom to do so.

Quite an asinine rule. Unless you're defecating when farting, there isn't a reason to sprint to the bathroom just to let one loose. The average person farts about 14 times a day, so that's far too many bathroom trips. I guess he's assuming you'd always be near a bathroom? lol.

It might be better to tell you to leave the room when you need to let 'er rip.

I loved this particular relative, but his stool's scent could corrode steel.

Ha. They may need to have their innards checked.

I was young enough at the time that I didn't even understand how having a stinky bowel movement could be embarrassing. I just didn't want to be in there until the smell cleared, I didn't want to embarrass anyone. Shortly after, I became self conscious about my own "aroma" when pooping, and also just the fact that people might know I was pooping, which apparently was a shameful thing.

It's odd that we stigmatize such normal bodily functions. Obviously, there are times and places not to fart (like in a closed elevator) but people shouldn't be shamed about their aroma when pooping in a bathroom. It's what the bathroom is for. And we can't exactly choose not to poop.

Even living in this anally retentive household, burping was never an issue. (Maybe we all burped more because to let out a fart would have been too embarrassing, but we didn't want to explode from internal pressure..) I'm fascinated to know that some people are just as adverse to burping.

Your household really gives new meaning that phrase.

I'm really not concerned with embarrassment, I'm concerned with how disgusting it is. Burps contain bacteria, bits of digested food, and hydrochloric acid that can corrode your teeth. This horrendous combination of gases and particles smells foul, but it isn't shielded by a thin sheet of fabric, like a fart is. If I'm close enough, I can actually taste another person's burp.

[PsYcHo]

I must say this is an interesting turn. I had never even considered burping to be akin (in terms of disgust) to farts/ defecation.

Letting it rip is one thing. Defecation is another

Now I'm definitely curious, and since we are being open about bodily functions, what "hang-ups" do you or your family have about defecating? For years I was terrified (after the one family) to poop whenever someone may know I was going. I never used a public restroom, I only pooped when taking a shower (not in the shower, but just after I started the water ) My partner used to leave our house to poop, and their father (who recently moved in, the catalyst for this discussion) is still, at almost 60, self conscious about pooping when people may know. We all poop, but we were so embarrassed that someone else may know that we were pooping.

It's odd that we stigmatize such normal bodily functions. Obviously, there are times and places not to fart (like in a closed elevator) but people shouldn't be shamed about their aroma when pooping in a bathroom. It's what the bathroom is for. And we can't exactly choose not to poop.

Yet we still do stigmatize such functions, or conversely are so self-conscious about them because others stigmatize them. This is the entire reason I started this topic.

I'm really not concerned with embarrassment, I'm concerned with how disgusting it is. Burps contain bacteria, bits of digested food, and hydrochloric acid that can corrode your teeth. This horrendous combination of gases and particles smells foul, but it isn't shielded by a thin sheet of fabric, like a fart is. If I'm close enough, I can actually taste another person's burp.

I'm curious, from years of experience, holding in a fart is uncomfortable, but with practice quite easy (usually). I've never been concerned too much with holding in a burp (I'd never burp in someone's "personal bubble", but covering my mouth an letting a burp out is second nature, even in public.) Do you hold in your burps, and if so, is it physically uncomfortable/ do they eventually settle down like flatulence? You've introduced me to an entirely new biologically inevitable avoidance that I didn't even know existed, and now I'm fascinated, much like a biologist discovering a new primate.....

Edit- this topic is all the more interesting because I prepared dinner tonight.....a lovely 15 bean soup.

[Lay Vegan]

Now I'm definitely curious, and since we are being open about bodily functions, what "hang-ups" do you or your family have about defecating? For years I was terrified (after the one family) to poop whenever someone may know I was going.

As long as the defection takes place inside the toilet, we're cool with it. Pooping does not tend to make for a topic of intense discussion in my house. We simply go into the bathroom to do our own magical things.

I never used a public restroom, I only pooped when taking a shower (not in the shower, but just after I started the water ) My partner used to leave our house to poop, and their father (who recently moved in, the catalyst for this discussion) is still, at almost 60, self conscious about pooping when people may know. We all poop, but we were so embarrassed that someone else may know that we were pooping.

Your partner leaves the house to poop? I'm taken aback, lol. They must have a great deal of sphincter control.

I'm curious, from years of experience, holding in a fart is uncomfortable, but with practice quite easy (usually). I've never been concerned too much with holding in a burp (I'd never burp in someone's "personal bubble", but covering my mouth an letting a burp out is second nature, even in public.) Do you hold in your burps, and if so, is it physically uncomfortable/ do they eventually settle down like flatulence? You've introduced me to an entirely new biologically inevitable avoidance that I didn't even know existed, and now I'm fascinated, much like a biologist discovering a new primate.....

I am instinctually driven to hold in most bodily functions (sneezes, farts, burps) public. Unless it's causing severe discomfort, I usually find a private place to let my body do it's thing. I also hear holding in sneezes can pull a muscle in the chest, so I usually allow myself to sneeze in the crook of my arm.

Edit- this topic is all the more interesting because I prepared dinner tonight.....a lovely 15 bean soup.

How poetic I'm drinking a delicious, bubbly can of ginger ale.

[PsYcHo]

Your partner leaves the house to poop? I'm taken aback, lol. They must have a great deal of sphincter control.

That's actually an interesting observation. Among all of us, she was the shiest of the poopers. (And we were all shy).

It was actually a discussion about our..romantic dalliances that eventually led to us discussing serious issues about bodily functions, and living with persons in general. I thought she was insatiable in bed, she thought I always wanted it, and we both (after a period of intense honesty) admitted- Oh dear god! I Thought it was just me, but for heaven's sake keep off of me for a while!

Ever since that day of intense honesty, she and I have both become unabashedly free poopers. (at least among us)

We once couldn't tolerate the idea that someone may know we were defecating, but once we "aired out" our personal habits, it became as benign as watching someone else eat a sandwich. "I eat too, and I'll do that later"