Could Women and Farting Share a Laugh?

In an article about the V&A considering “adapting its copy of Michelangelo’s David so that it makes a farting noise whenever anyone walks past” David Mitchell poses the argument that farting is funny because to some it is definitely not funny. “Some people think they definitely aren’t but there’s something in the intensity of their rejection of the notion that there’s anything at all amusing about the little rectal eruptions that, to my mind, just makes them funnier.” (Mitchell) I agree with him that it is definitely something that can split people down the middle, I was thinking in my own experience the people who find it funny and who don’t. My mother, for example, thinks it is most definitely not, my father, on the other hand, thinks it is hilarious whenever someone or even himself lets rip which then infuriates my mother which in turn makes the whole family laugh. “Farting audibly is embarrassing. People might laugh and people might disapprove. If more people laugh. Which laughter will itself attract more disapproval, which will fuel further laughter. The disapproval of finding it funny only makes it funnier.” (Mitchell)

The comparison with my mother and father pointed out to me a slightly gendered humour bias, my dad can laugh at farting because there is not so much a pressure to conform to an ideal image. “To exhibit any kind of bodily function in public – whether it’s pissing against a wall, spitting in the street, picking and flicking earwax while one waits in a queue – is still seen as a male thing to do” (Glosswitch). I think this extends to farting, even when girls do accept the act and find it funny it is a subversion of the gendered stereotypes, we are expected to appear as beautiful and desirable as possible. “A female body remains a thing to use, to own and to look at” (Glosswitch). This tends to mean that bodily functions are silenced and covered up. How could we possibly find something funny which is demonised and something we go to great lengths to conceal?

I think that reclaiming humour around farting is something that could greatly aid against the gender stereotypes, instead of feeling embarrassed and ashamed we should laugh out loud, almost a celebration of being normal and human. I’m not suggesting that women go around farting and laughing like schoolboys, but if one happened to slip out by accident you’re allowed to giggle. As much as farting may seem a little silly for a lot of women it is something that affects their lives as “it is twice as common for IBS to be found in women compared to men.” (Campbell). One of the symptoms of IBS is flatulence, IBS can seriously affect how women feel about their bodies “IBS is significantly associated with anxiety and mood disorders.” (Mykletun) I am suggesting that through laughter we could perhaps relieve some of the embarrassment of what is a natural human bodily function. “Laughter has been shown to increase the tolerance of pain, and although unsubstantiated, it is commonly held that laughter releases endorphins, the body’s natural analgesic” (Pattillo). It could also seek to help relieve the pain of other symptoms, such as stomach cramps. It would also be helpful in making people feel positive about their bodies rather than ashamed, which could help with mental health.

“If the government really wants to tackle Britain’s current crisis of confidence and identity, this is what it must do. This is its last chance, after all the recent accidents, mistakes and humiliations, to take a great British idea, commit to it and, in the full gaze of the world’s media, really follow through.” (Mitchell)
I believe that David Mitchell could be right, that farting could unite the nation, but I think it needs to be unpacked slightly more than he has done. Yes, it divides the nation but we need to understand why. Mitchell can find farting funny because he is a man and “men can assume the right to be disgusting in a way that women can’t. It’s understood that male bodies are a part of what men are. Female bodies don’t have the same status”(Glosswitch) The female body is a historical situation (Butler) and society has created an ideal image which we perform to or we perform against it, either way we are in comparison to it. That ideal image can change depending on shifts in fashion and culture. To be able to unite a nation we must include everyone in that nation and that includes all gender.

If there was no longer a gendered biased towards farting perhaps it would funny for everybody, therefore funny to no body. Would we completely lose interest in toilet humour? I think that there will still remain a divide, making noise inappropriately will always make people giggle because it is inappropriate. I am also not suggesting that farting splits people down the middle between men and women, but there is an argument to say it could be biased in this way. I am suggesting that instead of feeling embarrassed; a woman could use farting much to her advantage in taking space and making people laugh. Taking back control of something that is often out of our hands and just accepting it as what it is, a fart.


Works Cited

Campbell, Nigel. "An Exploration of Adult Male Experiences of Having Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (IBS) : A Qualitative Study." 2015. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dedsble%26AN%3dedsble.706148%26site%3deds-live&group=trial.

Glosswitch. "Why Farting is a Feminist Issue." New Statesman 9 December 2014.
Mitchell, David. "Could a farting statue unite Brexit Britain?" The Guardian 29 October 2017.

Mykletun, Arnstein, et al. "Prevalence of Mood and Anxiety Disorder in Self Reported
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). An Epidemiological Population Based Study of Women." BMC Gastroenterology, Vol 10, Iss 1, P 88 (2010), no. 1, 2010, p. 88. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/1471-230X-10-88.

Pattillo, Charlene Gayle Story; Itano, Joanne. “Laughter Is the Best Medicine.” The
American Journal of Nursing, vol. 101, no. 4, 2001, pp. 40–43. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3522456.