Inappropriate conversational material

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Couldn't have put it better, Veti. Pretty obvious, though, since you put it a lot better than I did, heh. Still, I think it's pretty interesting that 8 people voted that they thought these things are appropriate to talk about in general society. Have they voted that they think it is appropriate and society is illogical to shun such talk, or have they voted that they think it is appropriate and that society doesn't shun it?

Bodily functions are not appropriate topics in conversation, IMO. If you burp or have flatulence, it's better to say "Excuse me" as those incidences aren't voluntary. I've had to tell a friend with a different disability that those things aren't funny to adults and that I outgrew that at 8. If you want to blend in with NT's, find something else to discuss.

When my two youngest boys were going thru the "farting is the funniest thing in the world" phase, I did my best to convey to them this was inappropriate so I got the following wall poster which they put up on the door to their room:



Perhaps it worked, because, eventually, they grew past that stage of life.

I don't like farting much either. I really don't like the smell. However, I do think that talking about bodily functions is perfect for conversations. Well, not perfect but not bad. Among friends it can be used for humor, especially if taken to a ridiculous extreme. Among strangers it will get weird but amusing looks, or possibly new friends if the stranger is an odd person with a great sense of humor. I would not advise people to talk to strangers using bodily functions as a way to break the ice though.

That farting poster struck me as being absolutely hilarious. I'm a little slap-happy from not getting enough sleep this week.



That's true in some cases - I've come across people who will openly talk about the color and consistency of their child's poops. Or when I was in college and would hear all kinds of conversations about how someone got drunk and threw up all over the place. Ewwww!

Manners are your best way to show others how much you care about them.
If you're treating those around you to all sorts of rancid gases, I wouldn't want to be your friend.

I work in a group home taking care of mentally disabled adults (and some of them need a lot of hands-on care), and my sister works in a nursing home caring for the elderly. At family functions my sister and I often end up exchanging stories about things that have happened at work... the only thing we really get in trouble for is bathroom topics at the table while everyone is trying to eat. People just don't like hearing about that stuff. I'll say something around family or even friends and I don't even think the story is that bad, and half the time I end up with someone getting really grossed out and saying "I could NEVER do your job, Amy."

My mother enjoys telling stories of her grandmother who was a nurse for many years. As they sat around the dinner table, it was common practice for her grandmother to discuss the day's surgeries, etc., as everyone ate. For awhile, despite all this, my mother even wanted to become a nurse, herself.

So her grandmother took her aside one day when my mother had been going on about wanting to eventually become a nurse and she gave her a little advice to this day my mother has remembered: "If you find you can eat your lunch with one hand and clean up vomit with the other, then you know you'll make a great nurse."

My mother became a psychologist.

Lol, I don't know if I could do that... I can handle stuff that comes out the other end better - I'd rather deal with an adult-sized dirty diaper than even doing something like cleaning a set of dentures.

Colonel Gaddafi, despotic leader of Libya, at the dinner table with the great and the good raises his leg before farting. He really savours the sound and sensation of flatulence and encourages his guests to join in with him.

Personally, I think wind is a very, very childish but very, very funny medium to air grievances with. If you're in a car with someone and having an argument nothing like an odious gas repels them. Tip: A funny farting song is I've Farted by Ivor Biggun.

People like my dad couldn't really avoid talking about farting because they do it so often, and so loudly. He has medical complications that account for that. It's a focal point for much teasing, joking and debate - to silence inappropriate topics would be fascist and bland, in my opinion.

I have no preference to what is and isn't appropriate conversation material

But for the sake of not giving anyone the impression that I'm immature, I wouldn't start one or get into one.

I only have troubles talking about body parts when I'm eating with others. My close friends are great about it and bring up the same kind of topics I do. Eating with my mom on the other hand: can't talk about some interesting death scenes on CSI, dead bodies, blood, vomit. I mean she acts like my stories comes with smell-o-vision. Then she starts shushing me if she thinks others can hear me.

I personally don't think so.

Bodily functions gross me out, wish that weren't the case. I'm embarrassed & ashamed about many aspects of physical life & intellectually I realize I ought not be upset by these things. I try to discuss my disgust w/my counselors, and they tolerate it, but they don't have much in the way of advice. Exposure therapy, being confronted with these realities in everyday life, hasn't made me less sensitive.
With a trusted few folks I bring up topics that make me extremely uncomfortable, in hopes of diluting the "shock value" & exploring possible ways to cope. I may talk about a subject in a way that sounds like I'm "okay with it", yet remain timid, squeamish, & freaked out.
Strongly dislike what are usually considered "bathroom humor" or "sex jokes". I do appreciate the amusing absurdity of various body stuffs & I like clever innuendo. Wish I felt more neutral (less extreme negative reactions)-that I felt "at home" in my body, whatever that means.

Well, discussing bodily functions I personally have nothing against, so long as it's handled maturely. Bodily-functions-to-be-annoying-for-amusement, on the other hand... no, just... no. It's normal enough for children, but when adults do it (unless it's among a group of close friends who are cool with that sort of thing) are just irritating. As for the bodily functions themselves, I find a nice belch to be rather pleasing (in time or with curiosity, you may know why, but for now I settle for subtle hints) and farts are not terribly good when intentionally done around other people, though the accidental ones can be rather hilarious, such as when the manager let one fly while ringing up a customer where I used to work, or the discovery I made with my roommates that the baseline of "Speed Garage" music does, indeed, sound like someone farting into a pillow.

Also, where other bodily functions are concerned, I really wish there weren't so many social stigmata against discussing them, as it's rather difficult to understand them well with only one's self as a reference.