4 reasons it's ok to fart in front of your partner (it may even be a good thing)
There’s nothing that makes you wish you didn’t have a digestive tract more than a new and exciting relationship.
You've only been dating a little while, everything's hot and tasty and starry and sunny and next-level. The last thing you want is for farts to encroach on your glimmery, markedly un-smelly bond.
Maybe you hold them in, and it doesn’t feel like a big deal. Or maybe you hold them in while occasionally panicking about the unsustainability of it all. Maybe you’re even clogging up your whole system out of fear of letting one rip. Or, better (worse) yet, you accidentally lose your impeccable control at the juiciest of times—while your partner’s taking you to O-town. Been there.
Farting can be super embarrassing. But we're human, and we forget that undeniable fact a bit too easily. According to one study, many hetero women are actually less likely to fart in front of men because they’re worried about seeming less attractive. In other words, not even farts can escape gendered politics. Not even farts.
The truth is, most of the time, farting is actually good for your relationship.
Not convinced?
Consider the following 4 reasons why letting your toots travel may actually be a good thing for your love life.
1. Nothing says I love you…
According to a 2016 survey, being comfortable enough to let loose a big ‘ol fart is a critical step in the transition from just liking someone to being crazy in love with them. The survey found that 51% of respondents had farted in front of their significant other in six months or less of dating—29% of them in the 2-6 month window, which also happens to be prime first “I love you” territory. Meanwhile, 22.4% let go the hot air after just a few weeks. But 7% claim to have never farted around their partner. Is that any way to live, I ask you? Hiding around corners and being bloated all the time? While it can be hard to let go initially, it’s likely worth it in the longer run.
2. It’s funny, and you know it
Reminder: the human body’s functions are largely hilarious. Lest we forget as we go about our oh-so-serious adult human endeavors. Farts are funny, and that’s a fact. Once you understand (and hopefully appreciate) each other's sense of humor, and can relate on a more personal level, it becomes easier to fathom farts. Sure, there are funny movies, comedy shows, and the like. But laughing at farts is really where it's at. Embracing the fart can mean creating funny and positive memories. Think true inside jokes, baby. After all, you probably don’t wanna recount that time you farted mid-orgasm to anyone outside of your relationship, ‘cause, hmm, you just probably don’t. Best case scenario: insider fart jokes build a secret layer of snort and snicker-inducing intimacy.
3. It’s a sign you’re comfortable
If you're comfortable enough to fart in front of your partner, there's probably nothing you can't do in front of them—that includes cry, drool, pee, have the flu, have pimples, and, hey, maybe even dance. You can get into a fight with them, reveal your vulnerabilities, your possessive nature, and yet all of those milestones are sure to bow in reverence to the all-holy ease it takes to cut the proverbial cheese in front of them. That's some serious comfort. Moral of the story: farts demonstrate that anything is possible, even true love.
4. It shows you have nothing to hide
Transparency. Personally, I really value honesty in a relationship. Humour is right up there, but so is tellin’ the truth and being real. Just as it’s important not to hold back parts of your personality in a relationship, nothing good can come of perennially trapping your farts inside your protesting digestive tract. If you're unafraid to hide your humanness, you must be unafraid to hide anything, right? Now, while I’m all for creating boundaries and not sharing every single thing (I refuse to ever poo in front of my partner, for instance), a little flatulence never killed anyone, right? It’s time we gain some perspective and honor the irrepressible nature of farts.
