Let me explain. A little earlier this very night, a Shameful friend and I spent hours talking about Shameless Shitting and some of the ideas presented here. And he agrees. He told me that sometimes in public bathrooms he was ashamed that if anyone came in the bathroom, he leaped up on top of the toilet so that no one would know he was in the stall.
Have you ever thought about the root causes of Shameful Shitting? What, exactly, makes people behave like this in the first place? Let me put forth my hypothesis.
From birth until they begin toilet training, children have no shame. No embarrassment about their bodies or their bodily functions. And then toilet training begins. Suddenly kids are being told that the bathroom is a "private" place and to close the door when they are in there. They are told to keep their clothes on because certain body parts are "private parts." Parents won't even use the proper names for those parts -- instead, kids hear stuff like "pee-pee place" and "wee-wee" and "bottom" and "rear end." Parents also use fantasy words for natural body functions: "#2," "doo-doo," "big job," "poo-poo," and any other number of euphemisms.
So when the child is told that the bathroom is a private room and he or she must close the door and lock it when they're in there, what do you think the child infers from that about his or her own body?
These kinds of things all implant themselves in the child's mind -- often permanently. The child goes through childhood and begins adolescence covering up, hiding, embarrassed about their bodies and their natural functions. Then puberty and adolescence hit. Their sexuality explodes, and they don't know how to express it healthfully and naturally and without shame. They become repressed, inhibited, and embarrassed all over again -- because the very same body parts that they were told to cover up and be embarrassed about are now the ones turning them on sexually and being used to express their own sexuality. I believe that Shameful Shitting creates Shameful Sexual Expression.
Now, a possible solution. We need people out there talking about Shameless Shitting. We need people teaching Shameless Shitting. And we need people out there demonstrating Shameless Shitting in action. "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
I propose a plan that starts in our own homes, with our families, roommates, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, and friends.
STEP ONE. Get together and discuss Shameless Shitting with those in your home, and collectively determine to no longer be ashamed of your bodies or their functions. Sign a Shameless Pledge (like this [2]) promising to be Shameless in thought, word and action.
STEP TWO. Immediately go Shameless in your bathroom conduct. No more closing the door or being ashamed to talk about it. If a person has problems at first being Shameless directly in front of others, it would be acceptable to start by leaving the bathroom door open at times when others won't be in there with them or looking at them. This way, the person can get used to making noises with other people around to hear them. Then the person can move on to shitting in front of others.
STEP THREE. Begin using public bathrooms with no shame. Don't be afraid to "walk in and out with your head held high" and to "not disguise the nature of the visit," as the Shameless Shitting Manifesto puts it very well. You should not be afraid to make noise and let loose with other people in the bathroom.
STEP FOUR. It is very critical that everyone in your group immediately implement Shameless Shitting in their lives by just doing it -- and not waste time thinking about doing it. They must "feel the fear and do it anyway." The results of these steps:
It is my opinion that Shameless Shitting could lead to Shameless Farting, Shameless Pissing, then Shameless Nudity, and then, finally, Shameless Sexuality. All kinds of personal inhibitions could be knocked out of people. Shameless Shitting could actually be the start of some kind of new youth movement, in which young people refuse to be ashamed of their bodies, their bodily functions, and their sexual expression. Prejudices could be torn down; if everything's out in the open, not hidden away and repressed, we actually see that we're all human, we are all One People, we all have pretty much the same body functions, and that we all do the same things.
All people in the world copy what they see each other doing. We're all just imitating each other, in everything. So if one person comes up with a new concept and floats that idea out there, demonstrating it in thought, word, and action, people will begin to notice. Soon some will start to imitate what they see. And the more who imitate, the more who imitate them. Then more. And still more. The idea spreads like wildfire out into the world, burning down the old idea and replacing them with the new.
We have to get it out there. Start thinking about Shameless Shitting every day. Talk about it with your family, your husband or wife, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your friends, even your co-workers. And be Shameless yourself -- and demonstrate it.
It takes courage to step up to the plate and do this stuff. In fact, fear will stop some people before they even start. But still others will feel the fear and do it anyway. You can't care what other people think and say about you. Just do it. Make it your personal mission.
I've been listening to the '80s channel on XM Radio, and the Pet Shop Boys song Domino Dancing just came on. "All day, all day / Watch them all fall down / All day, all day / Domino Dancing." Shameful Shitting ends when one person decides to become the first domino. This person decides to reverse the Shameful cycle, to lose their shame in their body and its functions, and to pass that knowledge on to others.
The friend with whom I spoke tonight: I talked to him about Shameless Shitting. I told him to talk to his friends and his brothers about it, to start doing it himself, to get the message out there, and to get people he knows imitating his new Shamelessness.
When you start demonstrating Shameless Shitting, not only do you become the first domino -- you become the force that tips the first domino over. And yes, you will watch them all fall down.