1

ElioJahaj
Waste,DisgustandtheBody
06/04/2015
RonaldCohen

TalkingShit:
AnexplorationofdisgustthroughnarrativesaroundWaste,DisgustandtheBody

Ivebeenshitting,sotissaid,nightwentytwoyearsthroughthesameoldhole,whichisnotyet
frayedonewhit,thoughIveuseditdailytoshit,andeachtimethemuckwithmyteethIvebit.
Mozart(lettertohissister)

Introduction
Ifclassicalmusicisthepersonificationof
highculture
,thenWolfgangAmadeus
Mozartisthepersonificationofclassicalmusic.ThetiesbetweenMozartandnotionsofhigh
culturearedeeplyembeddedinourpsyche.Thesenotionsarearesultofcomplexhistorical
processes,suchasthearistocratictiesofthisgenre,aswellaspsychicalprocessesthat
connectthesocialstatusoftheparticipantswiththestatusofthegenreitself,indubitably
combinedwiththemeritsofthemusic.Attheotherendofthissociallyelevatedspectrum,
alonestandsshit,whichisperhapstheleastenticingoftopicsofconversation,itis
low
culture
.
Whenhighcultureandlowculturefindgroundforconvergence,thesocialreactionis
nothingshortofpolarizing,whichiswhathashappenedwiththefigureofMozart.Mozarthas
becomewellknownforhisbolddisplayofscatologicalhumorinanumberofhispersonal
letters,sowellknowninfactthatthishabitofhishasitsownWikipediapage,theetalonof
popularityinthetwentyfirstcentury.MoreinterestingthanMozartshabits,havebeenthe
reactionsandexplanationsthathaveemergedsincehisdeath.DavidSchroderwritesin
MozartinRevolt:

Verysimply,theselettersembarrassus,andwehavetriedtosuppress

them,trivializethem,orexplainthemoutoftheepistolarycanonwithpathologicalexcuses.

Mozartsscatologicalhumorhasbeenattributedtohisallegedpsychopathologies,an
attributionbuiltonuncertainclaimstobeginwith,provingthedivisivenatureoftalkingabout
shit.
Thispaperfindsitsrootsattheintersectionofthisconversation,orconverselythe
lackthereof.Theinterdisciplinarycourse
Waste,DisgustandtheBody
offeredatBennington
CollegeduringtheSpring2015termpresentsacuriouscaseofapplyingapolarizingtopicin
a
high
contextsuchasacademia.Itisknownasthepoopclassforareason,asitasks
studentstobeconfrontedwiththetopicanditsnumerousimplicationsthroughouttheterm.
Asoneoftheparticipantsinthestudystated:
[Its]notreallythekindofthingIdwantto
spendthreemonthstalkingabout.
Importantquestionsareraisedintermsofwhypeopletend
towardoffsuchtopicsandhowtobestattractthemtopartakeinaconversationabouta
processasvitalasdrinkingwater.Inordertoexploretheseissues,thispaperisbuiltuponthe
researchquestionof:
WhataretheattitudestowardsWaste,DisgustandtheBodyasa
courseandwhatnarrativesareconstructedbasedonthoseattitudes?
Severallensesof
explainingdisgustanditssocialeffectsareappliedtothediscussion,rangingfrommatterout
ofplacetothepublicandprivatedomains,andthelawsofsympatheticmagichintingatthe
factorsthatmakeaclassaboutdisgustpronetodisgust.
Method
Inordertoaddressthisquestion,threeinterviewswithcurrentBenningtonstudents
wereconducted,twofemalesandonemale.Theparticipantswereintheirfreshmanyearof

Schroeder,D.P.(1999).
MozartinRevolt:StrategiesofResistance,Mischief,andDeception
.(p.133)Yale
UniversityPress.
1

collegeduringthetimeoftheinterviews.Further,twoparticipantsarecitizensoftheUnited
StatesofAmerica,whereasoneisaninternationalstudentfromanareawhereopendefecation
isaprevalentissue,factorwhichisconsideredintheanalysis.Allnameshavebeenchanged
inthispaper.
Theinterviewswerestructuredaroundoneinitialquestion:
Whatdoyouknowabout
Waste,DisgustandtheBodyandhow?
Followupquestionswereaskedrelativetothe
responsesonpreviousquestions,suchas:
Whatisyour[intended]areaofstudy?
Additionally,inallthreeinterviewsthelastquestionwasidenticalasparticipantswerefirst
presentedwithacopyofthecoursedescriptionandsubsequentlyaskediftheywouldchange
oraddtotheirresponses.
Describingthecourse
Initialperceptionsonthecourserevealedtheinitialhesitancyoftheparticipants,
combinedwiththeirarousedinterestintakingthecourse.Interestingwasarecurring
adjective,especiallybythetwoparticipantsthatexpressedreluctancechoosingthisclass.
Ithoughttheclasssoundedinteresting,[but]notreallythekindofthingIdwanttospendthreemonthstalking
about.
(Melissa)
Iwasinterestedintakingit,buthonestlyIwasreallysqueamishandnervousintakingit.
(Shirley)

Thesereservationswerepresentedonlyafterdescribingtheclassinpositiveterms,
indicatingthepresenceofinhibitingfactors,whichthispaperaimstoidentify.Additionally,it
isimportanttoconsiderthevulnerabilitytoSocialDesirabilityBias(SDB),asrespondents
wereawarethattheinterviewerwaspartofthiscourse.

Anotherrecurringthemethatemergedduringthedescriptionofthecoursewasthatof
relatability.Allparticipantsdescribedthecourseintermsoftopicsfamiliarand/orinteresting
tothem,whichinpartscoincidedwiththeirareasofstudy.Thisprocesswaschallengingdue
tothefactthatthecourseisofaninterdisciplinarynature,howeverparticipantshadno
difficultysinglingoutcertainaspects.Anattempttorelatabilitywasespeciallypresentinthe
interviewwithJay,theinternationalstudent,whodeclarestobestudyingBusiness
Intelligence.Jayunderstoodthecoursetolargelyconcernissuesofwastemanagement
(especiallywastewatertreatment)andsanitation.Whenaskedtoelaborateonwhathe
understoodbydisgust,hesaid:
MaybeitmightbebecausethetitleWaste,Disgustand
Management
,itskindalikepeoplethinkwasteisgross[]
AtthispointintheinterviewJay
hadinternalizedhisviewsontheclassasmainlyconcerningissuesofwastemanagement.
ThisnarrativewasstronglyidentifiedinShirleysstatementaswell,whoisconcentratingin
FilmandPsychology.
Ithastodowithtakingsomethingreallypersonalandexpandingitto
thepublic,whichseemslikesomethingIddefinitelybeinterestedin.
Privatevs.Public
Theinteractionsbetweenthepublicandprivatedomainswerealsoobservedasfactors
ofinfluenceintheconstructednarrativesaboutthecourse.Above,Shirleydemonstratedthat
shewouldbeinterestedtotakethecourse,duetoherinterestandfamiliarityinsubjectsthat
dealwiththesedomainsbothimplicitlyandexplicitly,evenafterherinitial
squeamishness.
Duringherinitialdescription,shefondlyreminiscedofabookthatshehadattheageofsix,
titled
EverybodyPoops.Ilovedit!Itsjustdifferentanimalspooping.Itsanawesome
book.
Asbecomesclear,Shirleywas,attheveryleast,comfortablewithfecesatayounger
age,howeverasanadultshedoesntwanttodiscusstheissueinthepublicdomain.This

indicatesthepossibilitythatShirleyspersonalityisinfluencedbyanalfixationsduring
2

childhood.
Jay,whocomesfromacountrythatisconfrontedwiththeissueofopendefecation,
demonstrateddifficultywhenspeakingaboutissuesintheprivatedomain.Hewentthrough
lengthstofindeuphemismsforthewordshitandintheoneinstancewhenhesaid
shitting
outside
,todescribepersonalexperiencewithopendefecationheloweredhisvoiceand
chuckledafterwards.However,whendiscussingpublicissuessuchasopendefecationandthe
inadequatenessofwasteinfrastructuretosupportcontemporaryflowrates,Jaywasfarmore
openandrelaxedyetstillshiftingawayfromthepublicdomain.
Iveheardpeoplesay
theyretalkingaboutshitinonoftheclasses,andIthinkthiswastemanagementissueisso
important.
MatterOutofPlaceorMatterInPlace?
3

[]Allmarginsaredangerous.

Whenconsideringthesenarrativesasmatteroutofplace,
thereisevidencetosuggestthattheindividualsmostreluctanttotaketheclass,weretheones
thatweremostunclearaboutthetopics.AsMelissaputit:
Itwaskindaunclearwhatthe
classwasabout.
WhereasShirleystronglyaffirmedthisview:
Asmyfrienddescribesit,
itsherpoopclassandIwasconfusedastowhatexactlytheywouldbestudying.
Jay,onthe
otherhand,expressedabsolutewillingnesstotaketheclassandwasveryclearinhisthoughts
aboutclasstopicsandmaterials,despitehisaccuracy.

Freud,S.,&Gay,P.(1989).TheFreudreader(p.294).NewYork:W.W.Norton.

Douglas,M.(1966).Purityanddangerananalysisofconceptsofpollutionandtaboo(p.122).NewYork:

Praeger.

InlinewithMaryDouglassargument,astheclassmaterialisvieweduponwithgreat
ambiguityitmightcauseindividualstothinkthattheywillbedisgustedormightevencause
disgustitself.However,Melissachallengesthisargumentwhendeclaring:
Ifeelliketalkingaboutitinanacademicsensewouldbealittledifferentthanjusthavinga
conversationaboutit.TalkingaboutitacademicallyIdbemorecomfortablewith.

Inturnthischallengecanbeexplainedbytwotheoriesofdisgust.First,Douglas

herselfcouldarguethatthenatureofAcademiaprovidesapropercontextforthistopictobe
studiedwithoutarousingdisgust.Melissasstatementcontradictsthishypothesisasshestill
expressesreluctance,evenafteradmittingthattheacademiccontextwouldhelpraiseher
comfortlevelwiththetopic.Thesecondandmoreplausibletheorytakesintoconsideration
thelawsofsympatheticmagic.Accordingtothelawofcontagion,itcanbehypothesizedthat
theacademicsettingisapositivecontaminatorofthecourse,whichwouldbetterexplain
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Melissasattitudetowardstheclass.
Conclusion
Acourseconstructedondisgustisnotcapableofescapingtheaffectivestatesthatare
createdbythatsameemotion,unlessconsideringthelawsofsympatheticmagic.Thispaper
demonstratedthatfromthenarrativesdevelopedregarding
Waste,DisgustandBody,
relatabiltyisthebestpredictorofthewillingnesstodiscusstheseissuesopenly.However,
stronglimitationsarestillinplacewhentheissueisframedwithintheprivatedomain.After
readingthecoursedescription,participantpointedoutthewords
privateintensely
personalanddisease.
Indicating1)theirreluctancetomixtheprivatewiththepersonaland

Rozin,P.,Millman,L.,&Nemeroff,C.(1986).Operationofthelawsofsympatheticmagicindisgustand

otherdomains.
Journalofpersonalityandsocialpsychology
,
50
(4),703

2)theprospectoffeelingdisgustedduetothecoursematerial,asthemeresightofpictures
canelicitdisgustbyofferingtheprospectofcontamination.Theseideasarecongruentwith
Curtissmethodologyofelicitingdisgustbypresentingparticipantswithstrongaffective
5

pictures.

Ihaveflashbackstohealthclass,lookingatdifferentslidesofdiseaseitwas
awkwardandgrosstolookat.
(Shirley)

References
1. Schroeder,D.P.(1999).
MozartinRevolt:StrategiesofResistance,Mischief,and
Deception
.(p.133)YaleUniversityPress.
2. Freud,S.,&Gay,P.(1989).TheFreudreader(p.294).NewYork:W.W.Norton.
3. Douglas,M.(1966).Purityanddangerananalysisofconceptsofpollutionandtaboo
(p.122).NewYork:Praeger.
4. Rozin,P.,Millman,L.,&Nemeroff,C.(1986).Operationofthelawsofsympathetic
magicindisgustandotherdomains.
Journalofpersonalityandsocial
psychology
,
50
(4),703
5. Curtis,V.,Aunger,R.,&Rabie,T.(2004).Evidencethatdisgustevolvedtoprotect
fromriskofdisease.
ProceedingsoftheRoyalSocietyofLondon.SeriesB:Biological
Sciences
,
271
(Suppl4),S131S133.

Curtis,V.,Aunger,R.,&Rabie,T.(2004).Evidencethatdisgustevolvedtoprotectfromriskof
disease.
ProceedingsoftheRoyalSocietyofLondon.SeriesB:BiologicalSciences
,
271
(Suppl4),S131S133.

Appendix1
Interviewquestions

WhatdoyouknowaboutWaste,DisgustandtheBodyandhow?
Didyouconsidertakingtheclass?
Whatisyour[intended]areaofstudy?
Afterpresentingtheparticipantswiththecoursedescription
Wouldyouchangeanythingtoyourpreviousstatements?
Wouldyouconsidertakingthecoursenow?

Appendix2
CourseDescriptionfortheclassaspresentedtoparticipants

Waste,Disgust,andtheBody:
ThinkinginSocialScience(PSY2110.01)

RonaldCohenKarenGover

Wealldoitmultipletimesadaywithoutgivingitasecondthought.Everyonehastogo.Butwhile
easyaccesstoaprivate,safetoiletissimplytakenforgrantedinourpartoftheworld,twothirdsof
theworldspopulationdonothaveadequatesanitation.2.6billionpeoplelivingtodaydonothave
accesstoatoilet.Asaresult,millionsofpeopledieeveryyearbecauseofdiseasespreadbybodily
wastemorethananyothersinglecauseofdeath.Inthiscourse,studentswillbeintroducedtothe
basicmethodsandprinciplesofthesocialsciences.Wewillfocusonatopicthatisintensely

personal,andyethasfarreachingsocial,cultural,andpoliticalsignificance:bathrooms.Wewill
examineourtopicfromhistorical,anthropological,psychological,philosophical,political,and
economicperspectives.Studentswillgainagreaterunderstandingofoneoftheworlds
leasttalkedaboutyetmostpressinghealthproblems,andatthesametimefamiliarizethemselves
withtheanalyticaltoolsandmethodologiesthatwillaidtheminthisunderstanding.

Prerequisites:None.
Credits:4
M10:10am12noonTh10:10am12noon
MaximumEnrollment:20

Thiscourseiscategorizedas
2000
,
Allcourses
,
Anthropology
,
FourCredit
,
History
,
KarenGover
,
Philosophy
,
PoliticalEconomy
,
Politics
,
Psychology
,
RonaldCohen
,andtagged
writingintensive
.