Arguing about poo on Twitter
My little dog does his morning business
Last week some people on Twitter had a big heated argument about poo – after someone requested parents stop sharing scent-evoking details about their kids’ diaper mishaps.
I don’t want to name names, but I will say that both people in the conflict are smart, strong, funny women whose blogs and tweets I read regularly. One is a mom who had tweeted a comment about the smell of her toddler’s poo – how the child’s poo was so strong-smelling that its stench had travelled into the house from outside.
A lot of parents would commiserate with this mom and we might laugh together about the disgustingness of cleaning up crap. But for people without kids, this can be pretty disgusting – and that was the response of the other person in the Twitter argument. She responded to the poo comment on Twitter by asking parents to “quit talking about your kids shit. It’s disgusting. No one wants to hear about it.”
The mom who mentioned the poo was very offended (and maybe hurt, I imagine). She accused the poo-objector of being mean-spirited and an angry Twitter back-and-forth ensued. They even said the F-word to each other!
Ask anyone on Twitter how they feel about reading other people arguments in 140 characters per retort. It’s a bit like a fight in hockey. You aren’t supposed to enjoy it but you do.
The woman who objected to the talk about baby poo said the mom should “have some decorum.” Ouch. They rehashed a couple of past incidents, disagreed, then joked a bit at the end.
Now that I think about it, it seems there’s been less poo talk. Or has there?
poo is not a great topic for discussion. it seems to me that everyone should know that… the child link doesn’t make it ok either, BUTT it also seems to me that twitter shouldn’t be (and can’t be??) censored. telling someone they can’t or shouldn’t say something on twitter is pointless and gives the topic more screen time… so they are both wrong and right too. that is my opinion. does that help?
I stayed out of it, but I frankly think the issue is just Too Much Information.
I don’t want to hear about womens’ menses or childrens’ poops or mens’ erectile issues. I really, really don’t.
I’m on Twitter for banter and information, not to hear about your “floaters”, so why is a child’s poop somehow less offensive? IT’S NOT.
When I’m looking at Twitter, it doesn’t filter out peoples’ disgusting bodily functions. Instead, I’m subjected to it without any kind of buffer.
Maybe I’m eating. Maybe I’m ill. People need to practice a little restraint. Some information is too much, and if I’m reading it too often, I’m gone.
Parents get all offended like it’s some child-hating thing. Um, no, we just wouldn’t tell you about our shit over coffee, so why is your child’s shit special and deserving of “in bad taste” exemption?
Oh, because it’s NOT. If there’s any one down side I see to Mommy Blogs, it’s that this “too much info” buffer has been lost in most conversations — especially if there’s a blogging link for the convo.
But, for the record, I think both sides of that particular argument — especially the “ARGH! TOO MUCH!” were handled way too passionately, maybe even cruelly, and I feel that’s unnecessary.
It’s partly why I didn’t state then that I was in agreement with the objection in principle, but I think it can be stated without being quite so attacking in nature. IMHO.
Seems to me if you are offended by poo-talk on Twitter, then don’t read it. Or stop following that person. I’ve been in the position where I was emotionally upset by reading about a particular topic on FB, due to what was going on in my life. I would never have dreamed of asking people to stop talking about this topic. I just hid their comment feeds until I was able to handle it. This also kinda reminds me of the breastfeeding in public issue. If you’re offended by it, DON’T LOOK.
Well when is a good time to discuss poo? With a doctor if something seems amiss? With a family member or trusted friend if you want to ask “have you ever had this problem with your butt?” Maybe you could tell poo humour stories around others (like me) who might find it funny. Once I even saw a website that welcomed stories about poo and I was going to submit a tale about a shared house I lived in during university. It had a plumbing problem, and my immature male roommates – oh never mind!
But I’m with you that otherwise poo talk is TMI. Though I also agree with Bob about the censorship aspect – about not telling others what to say. However people are also free to tell you what they want to think about, and how do you balance that?
To be honest, I find the metaphorical poo that’s sometimes flung around online much more distressing than any talk of actual poo.
The beauty of using a Twitter app, for example TweetDeck, is that one can add key words to the Global Filter. Voila! No more shit.
As someone with ulcerative colitis discussing poo is something that I have to do all the time. In fact, such discussions can provide valuable information to people who may be having problems with their colons. Some of the symptoms of ulcerative colitis are also symptoms of cancer. If you are having these problems (diarrhea, blood, mucous etc). I believe that it is our reluctance to talk about bodily functions that leads to deaths from cancer. I talk and blog openly about my disease. I am sure I do it too much for some people. Personally, I don’t really give a shit. If my experience or information helps one person then I have done a good thing. So, bring on the poo talk, I am all over it!
Now, let me talk about our shit-eating puppy…don’t let him kiss you!
Chris, that is the exact reason for talking about poo and bum-related matters! A “bum health” sort of thing is very important and yes let’s take the stigma away so we can attend to our health. It’s good for others with ulcerative colitis to hear what’s going on with you. I would read it out of curiosity (because I rarely say TMI) just as I’ve read about another blogger’s experience with persistent hemmoroids.
I blog quite regularly about ulcerative colitis on my blog. It is a category as well so feel free to read!
Holy Shit, well yes that’s right…TMI. If subject’s such as poop does so much to offend people then why don’t they filter the word out of their Twitter/LinkedIn/FaceBook/Flickr etc. accounts, presto, no more poop.
Otherwise good information, life saving information like stuff on ulcerated colitis, won’t get out there and we can lose even more people through sheer ignorance of what their bodies can do to them without their knowledge.
It’s a sad day however and a very poor insight into our society that shows people are so ashamed of their own bodily functions that we’re required to put societal taboo’s on certain topics so that “sensitive” people aren’t continually running around in a constant state of agitation. I feel very sorry for those that are so thin-skinned they can’t handle what should be natural and very appropriate topic’s to discuss amongst grown adults… It reminds me of all the snickers heard in sex ed class way back when I was a kid, people so ashamed of the topics because it was outside of what normally accepted conversational matter that they hid their discomfort in thinly veiled attempts at misguided humor.
If people actually had the balls to discuss stuff upfront like grown adults there would be a lot less BS going on in the world around us and the “PC” movement would evaporate, leaving us to use common sense where appropriate…yeah right
I definitely think there’s a divide between the with kids and the withouts. I think most parents especially those who are currently in the diaper phase. I’m not sure that I’d tweet about it but I’m not gonna get into it with someone who did.
As both a parent and a pet owner, some of the most memorable moments in the last 15 years involve poo. It’s true that some people may have very low squeam triggers and I probably would not discuss poo at work, or at a formal gathering, but otherwise… to a certain extent, people need to not expect others to deal with their issues.
I know of people with phobias, who hate hearing about someone losing their dinner. My grandma used to get mad when anyone talked about snakes or spiders, because she was so intensely phobic just discussing them would give her nightmares. I think it’s best not to strive not to let that stuff control your own life, let alone trying to control what others say because of it.
Bottom line, the whole world is never going to see eye to eye on exactly how to behave, what to wear, and what to say or not say. I’m so grateful for that. If someone grosses me out, I’m just happy we’re different.
Well, I’m camping right now and our little group of kids and adults has discussed poo quite a bit. My companions have compared notes on their constipation, diarrhea, and the return to regular BMs. I think it’s the relief of knowing “it’s not just me.” Don’t a lot of people get “traveller’s constipation” when they are away from home?
My husband and his known-since-elementary-school friends take pictures of particularly impressive poos and send them to each other. So I suppose my tolerance for that kind of info is very, very high. The beauty of Twitter is that if you don’t like what someone talks about, you can just stop following them. I can’t imagine complaining about what they write about. Yikes. Thought now I’m kind of tempted to talk about my toddler’s current issues, just to cause a ruckus.
I wasn’t thinking about poo before i read this, but of course now i am. If i could figure out how to post a link, i’d put up the Potty Training Song that Chris and I wrote. I think some background music might just be in order for this discussion!
Yeah! Denise is it online in any form? Let’s get it up there!