If you’re wondering when it’s appropriate to start farting in front of your S.O., we have the answer
Usually we don’t talk about farting with our significant others (unless you do, and if that’s the case, keep calm and fart on, sister). Since we often try to appear prim, proper, and put together when we’re seeing someone, farting is something we generally try to hide and not flaunt (or even let slip out). But, for how long must this fart-related secrecy go on, really?
Mic recently conducted a survey to find out. They gathered together 125 individuals who are in their 20s and 30s, asking them the question of all questions: When is it OK to fart in front of a significant other?
The results: 51% said 6 months or less of dating. This was made up of 22.4% who farted after a few weeks, and 29% who took the plunge between 2-6 months. On the other hand, 25.2% took their sweet time and waited 6-12 months before they became openly gassy. (A whooping 9.3% even held them in for close to a year!)
“Farts are just funny,” said a 25-year-old participant referred to as Mike. “Once you understand each other’s sense of humor and you can relate on a more personal level, it becomes easier to deal with these funny natural occurrences […] Bringing it to light in a relationship is just a small hurdle.”
There were also quite a few who wanted to jump over this hurdle as soon as possible because 10% of people said they farted… when they needed to fart. 28-year-old Anya wisely stated, “No man is worth gastrointestinal discomfort.” Hear, hear.
Interestingly enough, there may be more to farting than we think because one’s gender appears to be a factor. 73% of the people who preferred to wait for their partner to fart first were women. This relates to another study published in Social Problems, which found that out of 172 college students, 55% of straight women and non-straight men did not feel comfortable farting around others. It made them feel unattractive. As for the interviewed men, many thought that farting was simply funny.
“My boyfriend hates that I fart around him, but I’m slowly breaking him in,” said a 29-year-old woman from the Mic survey. In other words, it seems that women feel as though they’ll be judged for farting, whereas men don’t seem to cope with the same insecurity. A 26-year-old called Kara added, “I’ve been living with my boyfriend five years, and I’m very progressive but I will NEVER fart in front of him if I can avoid it. I just go to the bathroom and pretend to pee.”
Clinical therapist Robert Huizenga counters this logic by writing, “Farting in front of your significant other means you feel free to move beyond your roles. You may even find yourselves discussing family roles and expectations that you bring to each other. You need not carry the burden of continually being prim and proper.”
With that in mind, it seems that this 30-year-old female participant said it best when she asserted, “I generally feel if you can’t fart with someone you can’t be real with them.” Girl, preach.
