Let’s talk about shit for a moment.
No, really. I mean it. We all know about shit. We’re all full of it, some of us in ways both figurative and literal. But it’s not something we generally talk about. Which is weird, since we’re aware of the fact that we don’t talk about it. It’s in the lingo.
Ever heard someone described as, “Walking around like their shit don’t stink?” Ever heard of people going out of their way to suppress natural biological functions at the outset of a romantic relationship? We joke about that sort of thing. And if you haven’t heard that kind of joke, you’re moving in the wrong circles. Or the right circles, I suppose, if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t want to acknowledge such things. If you fit under that category, feel free to ignore this post and look at kittens, instead (marginally NSFW...).
Back to the main point, though, shit is a universal thing. As a wise book says, everybody poops. Shit is also generally regarded as being a bad thing. This dichotomy is not a hard thing to understand. It’s waste, after all. Because it’s waste, it fits in to that odd taboo category of things we all know but don’t talk about.
Strangely, since we don’t talk about such things, they have power. Scatological humor can be massively hilarious specifically for its disturbing nature. Consider Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo. I laughed at him even while cringing at the little shit stains he left everywhere he hopped. “Isn’t someone going to clean that up?” I thought. “C’mon, that’s gross.” Still, someone mentions Mr. Hanky and I’m probably going to laugh. Hell, I’m making myself laugh right now just saying, “Hi-dee ho!” in a high-pitched voice.
So why don’t we talk about it?
On one level there’s the simple fact that it’s just not appropriate. I mean, there’s absolutely no reason why anyone would ever need to walk in to a meeting at work and say, “Wow, you guys would not believe the dump I just took!” Well, perhaps if the meeting in question was at a toilet manufacturing concern and they’re trying to decide on the efficacy of the new model. But even that’s a stretch.
The bigger reason we don’t talk about such things is shame. But to properly discuss this I need to move away from shit to that other big s-word: sex.
See, I came from a shame culture where sex was concerned.[2] This is the joy of growing up in the Evangelical church (and, really, any number of other churches, mosques, synagogues, and probably other places, too). It’s a known fact that somewhere around the end of junior high or the beginning of high school kids start getting horny.
It’s also right around that time that a certain segment of the population starts telling those kids that they shouldn’t touch themselves. Or anyone else, either. Because those things they’re feeling are shameful and disgusting. Until they get married, at which point they’re wonderful things that will make all those years of self-denial totally worthwhile. Yeah…
This has an interesting secondary effect that I like to call “the shame spiral.”[3] Basically, a person has thoughts that they’re not supposed to have. Like, y’know, some fifteen year-old guy sees a cute girl and certain biological functions take over. This results in an agonized realization that some sin has occurred, which leads to some sort of prayer to expunge the shit that has now been created and a promise to never do that again.
Of course it does happen again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And…well, you get the point.
From the standpoint of a simple, human understanding of biology there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s natural. Not only is it unavoidable, it’s not something that should be avoided.[4]
But this is not the end of our story of shit and sex and shame. At the very least, it is not the purpose of our story. For, you see, shame has no power unless shame is allowed to be given power. Shit has no dirtiness without purity. It needs to be internalized by the person engaging in so-called shameful activity.
This, ultimately, is why Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christianity are extremely hypocritical in their treatment of issues such as homosexuality. They call open displays of homosexuality an attack on their civil rights and whatnot. What they basically try to say is that giving other people rights is a violation of their rights to be bigoted jackasses. Which, I believe, is not actually a right granted by the Constitution.
But, see, this is why Civil Rights and Pride movements are so damn powerful. There was a time when it was expected that people of color were supposed to be second-class citizens. Or even non-human property. There was a time when it was expected that women would stay home and tend to the children and not vote. There was a second-class status given to them, an implied shame that came with belonging to that particular segment of society.
Our great grandparents fought the Civil War. Our grandparents marched for women’s suffrage. Our parents marched for Civil Rights. Our mothers went and got jobs that weren’t just nurse/teacher/secretary. This is the only way to stand up to bigotry.
Bigotry says, “You’re shit. You should be ashamed of yourself. You should stay in your place.” But bigotry only has power if the bigots are given the power to marginalize.
This, ultimately, is why the religious folk freak out at things like Gay Pride. They only have power if gay people are in the closet, marginalized, and afraid for their livelihoods, lives even, if they’re exposed. They only have power if exposure of someone as gay results in a knee-jerk response of horror.
If a moralizer points at something and says, “Look at that shit!” and everyone else shrugs and says, “Whatever, dude,” the moralizer has no power.
The thing is, though, we all have some idea of shit that we don’t talk about. Every single person has probably allowed some unspoken bit of shit and shame to hold power over them. It may not be so profound as defying conventional sexual mores in a culture of tut-tutting moralizers, but that doesn’t actually matter.
See, here’s the problem of shit and shame: it gets internalized. Even if only one person is held back by that particular bit of shame it needs to be broken, as there is no obstacle harder to overcome than the one we put in our own path.
It’s something to consider, at the very least. And I haven’t really explained it yet, but this whole thought process is directly related to my fascination with the Trickster gods in ancient myth. So I’m turning this in to a sort of mini series.
And, yes, I’m still working on Byzantine Logic…
-------------------------
[1]The internet, of course, offers ample proof that some people don’t regard it as a bad thing. Further proof that the internet is a terrible, terrible thing sometimes. And in as much as I want to link to 2 Girls, 1 Cup here, I have standards, dammit. So, instead, Keanu Reeves is here to brighten your day!
I love the internet.
[2]Also many other things. Including shit. Not, y’know, shit itself (well, that too), but the word. This is because the Bible says you’re not allowed to swear. Even though it…doesn’t.
See, there are Biblical admonitions against taking the Lord’s name in vain. There are Biblical admonitions against swearing oaths in inappropriate ways. But cussing? Not so much. This is one of those issues that brings out the plasticity of words.
Consider, for a moment, the difference between the “profane” and a “profanity.” The profane is something that exists in contrast to the sacred. It is, in some way, debased. “Profanity,” which is intimately related to that idea, is used as a short hand for vulgar language. In its root form this makes sense. The sacred is pure and set apart, while the profane is base and vulgar. But this is a ceremonial distinction, not a linguistic one.
However, consider for a moment the words that are considered profanity: shit, fuck, damn, ass, and their myriad permutations. Shit, fuck, and ass are all related to things that are considered shameful, while to damn something is to remove it from sacred spaces. Ergo, you could make the argument that profanity itself is profane language. But the point is that the Bible’s injunction is against careless and improperly irreverent speech, not the word “shit.”
[3]Full disclosure, I actually invented the term for something completely different. I know a guy who needs to put on weight, but isn’t very good at it. He seems to forget to eat on a regular basis, and when he does eat it’s usually pretty damn healthy. And he’s not a binge drinker.
As something of an expert at putting on a shocking amount of weight way too fast, I offered my advice. Get depressed about something, then eat a lot as a defense mechanism. Eventually he’ll look in the mirror and say, “Oh, god, I’m a fatass.” At this point if overeating as a defense mechanism is properly ingrained, he’ll then proceed to eat even more.
It’s a fool-proof system, really. Also, I have never in my life had a good idea.
[4]Within limits, obviously. Consent is deeply important.
And, really, I think a discussion of the emotional and physical issues that come along with sex and sexuality is probably important. Also, probably way more useful than, “Jesus doesn’t want you to touch yourself.”
Although what do I know? I came out of my comprehensive sex ed classes with one all-important understanding: sex = herpes. I’m 99% certain that wasn’t the point, but it’s what I got. Seriously, I’m afraid of two things: giant spiders (thanks, JRR Tolkien) and herpes. Also commitment. And mortgages. I’m afraid of four things. Also, having to live in Texas for more than a few years. So I’m afraid of five things.
At the rate I’m going, though, I’m going to run in to giant spiders long before I get the opportunity to contract herpes. Although Texas’s population of giant fucking wasps is causing me to spend more time looking over my shoulder for arachnids the size of my car…
No, really. I mean it. We all know about shit. We’re all full of it, some of us in ways both figurative and literal. But it’s not something we generally talk about. Which is weird, since we’re aware of the fact that we don’t talk about it. It’s in the lingo.
Ever heard someone described as, “Walking around like their shit don’t stink?” Ever heard of people going out of their way to suppress natural biological functions at the outset of a romantic relationship? We joke about that sort of thing. And if you haven’t heard that kind of joke, you’re moving in the wrong circles. Or the right circles, I suppose, if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t want to acknowledge such things. If you fit under that category, feel free to ignore this post and look at kittens, instead (marginally NSFW...).
Back to the main point, though, shit is a universal thing. As a wise book says, everybody poops. Shit is also generally regarded as being a bad thing. This dichotomy is not a hard thing to understand. It’s waste, after all. Because it’s waste, it fits in to that odd taboo category of things we all know but don’t talk about.
Strangely, since we don’t talk about such things, they have power. Scatological humor can be massively hilarious specifically for its disturbing nature. Consider Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo. I laughed at him even while cringing at the little shit stains he left everywhere he hopped. “Isn’t someone going to clean that up?” I thought. “C’mon, that’s gross.” Still, someone mentions Mr. Hanky and I’m probably going to laugh. Hell, I’m making myself laugh right now just saying, “Hi-dee ho!” in a high-pitched voice.
So why don’t we talk about it?
On one level there’s the simple fact that it’s just not appropriate. I mean, there’s absolutely no reason why anyone would ever need to walk in to a meeting at work and say, “Wow, you guys would not believe the dump I just took!” Well, perhaps if the meeting in question was at a toilet manufacturing concern and they’re trying to decide on the efficacy of the new model. But even that’s a stretch.
The bigger reason we don’t talk about such things is shame. But to properly discuss this I need to move away from shit to that other big s-word: sex.
See, I came from a shame culture where sex was concerned.[2] This is the joy of growing up in the Evangelical church (and, really, any number of other churches, mosques, synagogues, and probably other places, too). It’s a known fact that somewhere around the end of junior high or the beginning of high school kids start getting horny.
It’s also right around that time that a certain segment of the population starts telling those kids that they shouldn’t touch themselves. Or anyone else, either. Because those things they’re feeling are shameful and disgusting. Until they get married, at which point they’re wonderful things that will make all those years of self-denial totally worthwhile. Yeah…
This has an interesting secondary effect that I like to call “the shame spiral.”[3] Basically, a person has thoughts that they’re not supposed to have. Like, y’know, some fifteen year-old guy sees a cute girl and certain biological functions take over. This results in an agonized realization that some sin has occurred, which leads to some sort of prayer to expunge the shit that has now been created and a promise to never do that again.
Of course it does happen again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And…well, you get the point.
From the standpoint of a simple, human understanding of biology there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s natural. Not only is it unavoidable, it’s not something that should be avoided.[4]
But this is not the end of our story of shit and sex and shame. At the very least, it is not the purpose of our story. For, you see, shame has no power unless shame is allowed to be given power. Shit has no dirtiness without purity. It needs to be internalized by the person engaging in so-called shameful activity.
This, ultimately, is why Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christianity are extremely hypocritical in their treatment of issues such as homosexuality. They call open displays of homosexuality an attack on their civil rights and whatnot. What they basically try to say is that giving other people rights is a violation of their rights to be bigoted jackasses. Which, I believe, is not actually a right granted by the Constitution.
But, see, this is why Civil Rights and Pride movements are so damn powerful. There was a time when it was expected that people of color were supposed to be second-class citizens. Or even non-human property. There was a time when it was expected that women would stay home and tend to the children and not vote. There was a second-class status given to them, an implied shame that came with belonging to that particular segment of society.
Our great grandparents fought the Civil War. Our grandparents marched for women’s suffrage. Our parents marched for Civil Rights. Our mothers went and got jobs that weren’t just nurse/teacher/secretary. This is the only way to stand up to bigotry.
Bigotry says, “You’re shit. You should be ashamed of yourself. You should stay in your place.” But bigotry only has power if the bigots are given the power to marginalize.
This, ultimately, is why the religious folk freak out at things like Gay Pride. They only have power if gay people are in the closet, marginalized, and afraid for their livelihoods, lives even, if they’re exposed. They only have power if exposure of someone as gay results in a knee-jerk response of horror.
If a moralizer points at something and says, “Look at that shit!” and everyone else shrugs and says, “Whatever, dude,” the moralizer has no power.
The thing is, though, we all have some idea of shit that we don’t talk about. Every single person has probably allowed some unspoken bit of shit and shame to hold power over them. It may not be so profound as defying conventional sexual mores in a culture of tut-tutting moralizers, but that doesn’t actually matter.
See, here’s the problem of shit and shame: it gets internalized. Even if only one person is held back by that particular bit of shame it needs to be broken, as there is no obstacle harder to overcome than the one we put in our own path.
It’s something to consider, at the very least. And I haven’t really explained it yet, but this whole thought process is directly related to my fascination with the Trickster gods in ancient myth. So I’m turning this in to a sort of mini series.
And, yes, I’m still working on Byzantine Logic…
-------------------------
[1]The internet, of course, offers ample proof that some people don’t regard it as a bad thing. Further proof that the internet is a terrible, terrible thing sometimes. And in as much as I want to link to 2 Girls, 1 Cup here, I have standards, dammit. So, instead, Keanu Reeves is here to brighten your day!
I love the internet.
[2]Also many other things. Including shit. Not, y’know, shit itself (well, that too), but the word. This is because the Bible says you’re not allowed to swear. Even though it…doesn’t.
See, there are Biblical admonitions against taking the Lord’s name in vain. There are Biblical admonitions against swearing oaths in inappropriate ways. But cussing? Not so much. This is one of those issues that brings out the plasticity of words.
Consider, for a moment, the difference between the “profane” and a “profanity.” The profane is something that exists in contrast to the sacred. It is, in some way, debased. “Profanity,” which is intimately related to that idea, is used as a short hand for vulgar language. In its root form this makes sense. The sacred is pure and set apart, while the profane is base and vulgar. But this is a ceremonial distinction, not a linguistic one.
However, consider for a moment the words that are considered profanity: shit, fuck, damn, ass, and their myriad permutations. Shit, fuck, and ass are all related to things that are considered shameful, while to damn something is to remove it from sacred spaces. Ergo, you could make the argument that profanity itself is profane language. But the point is that the Bible’s injunction is against careless and improperly irreverent speech, not the word “shit.”
[3]Full disclosure, I actually invented the term for something completely different. I know a guy who needs to put on weight, but isn’t very good at it. He seems to forget to eat on a regular basis, and when he does eat it’s usually pretty damn healthy. And he’s not a binge drinker.
As something of an expert at putting on a shocking amount of weight way too fast, I offered my advice. Get depressed about something, then eat a lot as a defense mechanism. Eventually he’ll look in the mirror and say, “Oh, god, I’m a fatass.” At this point if overeating as a defense mechanism is properly ingrained, he’ll then proceed to eat even more.
It’s a fool-proof system, really. Also, I have never in my life had a good idea.
[4]Within limits, obviously. Consent is deeply important.
And, really, I think a discussion of the emotional and physical issues that come along with sex and sexuality is probably important. Also, probably way more useful than, “Jesus doesn’t want you to touch yourself.”
Although what do I know? I came out of my comprehensive sex ed classes with one all-important understanding: sex = herpes. I’m 99% certain that wasn’t the point, but it’s what I got. Seriously, I’m afraid of two things: giant spiders (thanks, JRR Tolkien) and herpes. Also commitment. And mortgages. I’m afraid of four things. Also, having to live in Texas for more than a few years. So I’m afraid of five things.
At the rate I’m going, though, I’m going to run in to giant spiders long before I get the opportunity to contract herpes. Although Texas’s population of giant fucking wasps is causing me to spend more time looking over my shoulder for arachnids the size of my car…
Just because I can, here's something for you to enjoy.
http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/l-1787.html
Most are completely harmless except those top two. The rest are fine. I frequently play with some of the bottom types.
Posted by: Fake Al Gore | 09/14/2010 at 08:00 AM
You're a horrible person, you know that?
Posted by: Geds | 09/14/2010 at 08:48 AM
Aren't Mortgages just a form of Commitment, thus reducing you back to four things via streamlining?
Posted by: Big A | 09/14/2010 at 02:41 PM
By that logic, though, I wouldn't be driving a 2010 Mazda 6 right now...
Posted by: Geds | 09/14/2010 at 03:14 PM
Australia. Texas has nothing on Australia when it comes to phobia-inducing spiders. Damn thing was the size of my hand, and it was sitting in the paper tray of the printer and just... looking at me.
Posted by: Michael Mock | 09/14/2010 at 03:26 PM
Oh, believe me, the very existence of the huntsman spider is more than enough to keep me as far away from Australia as I can manage...
Posted by: Geds | 09/14/2010 at 04:22 PM
Haha! As soon as I saw the word "Australia," I knew it was going to be about the huntsman spider.
Also, I just noticed the particular typeface in the comment box has a little serif on the top of the "A" for some reason. It's distracting.
Posted by: Fake Al Gore | 09/15/2010 at 08:00 AM