Talking to Girls About the Good Ol' Number-Two Taboo

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PHOTOS BY FELIX SWENSSON
STYLIST: SARA BROLIN
WORDS BY CAISA EDERYD Special thanks to Ibeyo, Lydmar Hotel, Rolfs Kök, Nosh & Chow, Summit, Marie Laveau, Joel Sundqvist, Femi Frykberg & Titiyo, Hugo Rückert, the Hård Family

The toilet taboo is a widespread Western phenomenon—especially among girls. But the fact that girls take a dump less frequently than boys do is actually a danger to their health. More than 60 percent of women suffer from stomach problems directly caused by avoiding the bowl, according to a report released last year by Swedish scientists. If these issues get too severe, you might eventually end up with rectal cancer. To highlight this, we asked some girls (and boys) how they feel about the good ol' number-two taboo.

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Sindy: I’m cool talking about my toilet habits with friends. I even talk with my boyfriend. I actually just did take a dump, and my boyfriend’s in bed just in front of the bathroom door, so he knows I’m in here. I just turn on the tap and do my thing. But the water needs to be running. If the tap doesn’t work I won’t do it. That’s my cover-up.

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Amanda: I've realized after saying certain things that I’m more comfortable talking about poop than most people are. But I’m not so cool with taking a dump outside. I’ll pee anywhere, though. I’d probably be uncomfortable if my partner didn’t poop. My tip is to turn really loud music on while you’re at it.

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Sara: The weirdest place I’ve taken a dump at is either when I’ve been at some festival in some bush with loads of tents surrounding me or, when I was younger, I liked to poop as I was hanging off that pole you tie your boat around on a pier. I grabbed the pole, put my bum out, and hung over the water. My best friend and I used to do that together, but that was a pretty long time ago. And once I sat in the lap of my boyfriend when he was doing it. I guess you can say I’m pretty open about it.

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Peter: I think it’s rather abnormal for girls to pretend that they don’t do number two. But I have noticed that girls avoid doing it until much later when they’ve eventually dared to tell me. I’m the same, which is pretty silly really. Just do it!

Amanda: I’m comfortable talking about my toilet habits with my friends, but I wouldn’t talk about them with a guy unless we were in a really tight and good relationship. I don’t really have much to say about it to be honest.

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Ivo: Girls taking a dump don’t gross me out at all. I could probably even wipe someone’s ass if it was needed. It’s not something I’d do just for the sake of it, but I mean if she really needed my help, then sure—if both her arms were broken or something. I’ve hung out with girls for long periods of time and noticed that they don’t feel the need to use the toilet. So it’s happened that I’ve told a girl that you know, "You’re allowed to go to the bathroom, lady." But the answer is either “No I don’t need to,” or she jokes about it with a classic “nice girls don’t use the toilet." I guess I find it a bit provoking when girls think that guys are that stupid to believe that guys are the only ones who need to take a shit.

Manna: I shit just as fast as other people pee so everybody always think it was the person who used the bathroom before me who took a shit, if it smells. It bores the hell out of me to shit. I don’t think that any of my boyfriends have ever noticed that I’ve done number two, so I guess they’ve thought I’m the kind of girl who never shits. But once I had a boyfriend who had some serious issues with his poop. So we talked a lot about it, and it appeared as if I was the normal one, because he was shitting all the time and I wasn’t.

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Malin: Maybe I’m not that cool with talking about my toilet habits. But all right, I’m OK with using public restrooms, although it definitely stresses me out if there’s a queue. I find outhouse bogs really cozy.

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Nadia: I don’t really feel weird about using public restrooms. I just fill the toilet with tissue if I’m doing number two, and I use plenty of soap when I wash my hands. I guess it’s not the first thing you want to talk about on a date, but I don’t think it’s a romance killer.

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Beata: I think it’s pretty horrible that girls can get health issues from not using the bathroom, but I’m not surprised at all, considering that a lot of people talk about not wanting to use the bathroom when they’re at school, work, or at their boyfriend’s house. I just flush water at the same time by instinct. So it’s not really an issue for me.

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Jennifer: Don’t make a big deal out of it—I’m pretty relaxed. What is there to say really? Just go in, do your thing, and leave.

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Johan: Why on earth would girls’ toilet habits gross me out? It shouldn’t be taboo, and it doesn’t ruin passion. However, I probably wouldn’t shit in front of my girlfriend, unless it’s necessary for some reason. But I wouldn’t prefer doing it. My trick to hide what I’m doing is to put loud music on.

Johanna: I’m cool with using the toilet anywhere. There really isn’t much to talk about. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

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