This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Oh, yeah, I had the same experience a long time ago. It happens, I guess.
We really do need the bidet in the west. I have basically trained my digestive system to be almost perfectly regular, and I shower every time I have a bowel movement so I can keep things clean.
This made me remember that the topic of bidets did come up during our conversation. Both FG and I agreed that they were the mark of civilization, and that TP was a barbaric practice.
He added comments about having a hairy ass that I will not reproduce, at the moment.
But you end up with your posterior dripping wet. Wat do? It just didn't seem practical to me when I tried it.
You can wait a few seconds to let the worst of it drip off. Or you can take some TP and dab off the moisture!
I have a butt that can be called a hairy one. TP leaves me with swamp ass far more often than a bidet does.
Forgive me for being disgusting (he said to the trained doctor) but loo paper is water-absorbing. If you wipe a wet bottom with loo paper, you’re going to get lots of shreds of paper stuck between your legs and what I can only describe as bum juice all over your hands. Whereas dry loo paper keeps everything on the right side of the barrier, especially if you fold it double.
Is loo paper different in India and other bidet-using countries? Thicker?
Most people don't even use TP in India! When it's there, it's present as an adjunct to the bidet.
My provisional guidance is:
Use the bidet
Wait up to a minute for the majority of the water to drip off
If it doesn't seem to be dry enough, use TP. I rarely need to do this, waiting long enough dries it up naturally as far as I can tell. I would assume that using multiple strips and folding them would help with the flakiness. Even if you don't use TP, whatever residual dampness remains is readily handled by underwear, without causing swamp ass)
(You were in Japan, you've seen bidets that look like they came from the 22nd century. I don't know how they solve the issue there, but it's probably more elegant)
That's where I'm coming from. I tried it a couple of times - there's a wand that comes out under you and squirts - but it felt like having a water pistol shot at my tender regions. Then I was dripping wet for five minutes. It seemed so obviously inconvenient that I'm mystified by their popularity, but lots of people keep telling me it's the best thing since tummy rubs and they aren't all cultural bidet-users so I figure there must be something to it and maybe I was using it wrong.
In general though it seems to me that paper works far better. Of course you can make it sound disgusting, in the same way people who only had showers growing up will recoil if you talk about baths being 'lying in your own filth' but in practice it's fast, hygienic enough, self-disposing and requires little equipment.
Or to put in another way, I never got past the first stage of this clip from Thermae Romae.
Hmm.. The bidets in use in India, at least, aren't so fancy. It's basically like a hand-held shower, one where you can control the pressure/volume of the jet and target it to the right spot. I would presume that's probably more efficient than a pre-fixed jet.
Unless you're operating one in a place with very high pressure in the pipes, it shouldn't feel painful.
I say that next time you have an opportunity, look for one of those. I guess your best bet would be an Indian restaurant, probably the highest chances of having those about. Let as much drip off as it will, and if you're still not comfy, then gently dab with TP. I seem to get away without any TP at all, and trust me when I say I don't get Brazilian waxes done!
Thank you very much for the advice. I will see what I can do :)
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link