# Are Men Hard-wired, or conditioned to not Fart Around Women? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726 "2011-11-12T21:28:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/21 "2011-11-14T22:50:28Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > I overheard a bunch of guys in a bar saying that the only difference between being married or single is that being single you can fart anytime you want to. I myself, find that when I’m among women I have no desire to pass the forbidden gas. Until I get to the bathroom. Then KABLOOEI! > Guys? Around male friends, I usually try to do it silently, so that I can blame it on one of them. Around people I don’t know or haven’t known for long, I try to refrain. Women, not until after we’ve been ‘intimate’, and even then try to refrain. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/22 "2011-11-14T22:55:42Z")
There was this lady who went to her doctor complaining that she farted quite a bit. She said they were silent farts and did not make any noise, but, nonetheless, were disconcerting. He prescribed a medicine and to come back next week. The following week she reported to her doctor that the medicine was not working, and, in addition, they now smelled. He replied, “Good. Now here’s a name for an audiologist you can see.” ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/23 "2011-11-14T23:02:03Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > There was this lady who went to her doctor complaining that she farted quite a bit. She said they were silent farts and did not make any noise, but, nonetheless, were disconcerting. He prescribed a medicine and to come back next week. > > The following week she reported to her doctor that the medicine was not working, and, in addition, they now smelled. He replied, “Good. Now here’s a name for an audiologist you can see.” Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/24 "2011-11-14T23:06:56Z")
My wife and I fart in front of each other…the only condition is that courtesy requires that it be pre warned. Her’s don’t make much noise, but they are deadly. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/25 "2011-11-15T00:14:29Z")
I can’t imagine the idea of being in a long-term relationship with someone and not being able to fart around them (eventually.) For me, that’s one of the milestones of a romantic relationship (and I’m not being facetious here): when you get to the point of comfort that you’re able to do this without being self-conscious. I mean, if we can’t handle each other farting, how are we gonna handle the shit-cleaning years (if we make it that far?) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/26 "2011-11-15T01:12:28Z")
This fascinates me - in that a man and women in a relationship will exchange bodily parts and fluids in any number of manners yet not audibly pass gas in each others presence! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/27 "2011-11-15T04:32:30Z")
I’m guessing the OP has never been in a long term relationship. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/28 "2011-11-15T04:46:04Z")
I often fart in front of women. I just make sure they are stealth farts. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/29 "2011-11-15T14:51:45Z")
Wife and I have been married for 41 years. We both fart in front of one another and get a good laugh out of it. It’s all natural, right? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/30 "2011-11-15T16:15:01Z")
Maybe I’ll eventually get to that point, but I just… I know it sounds silly and probably vain, but I don’t want my husband to ever associate me with the smell of a fart. And anyone at all hearing me fart is fatally embarrassing to me. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/31 "2011-11-15T16:30:06Z")
The Toronto Sun had a “battle of the sexes” type pair of columns. The best line, which I remember from many many years ago: “The difference between men and women is that men revel in their flatulence.” I think we’re conditioned as much as possible to not let’er rip in formal social situations and when among strangers. Like most social rules, this is more of a guideline than a strict law. The more familiar with those around us, the less we are inhibited. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/32 "2011-11-15T17:03:23Z")
My husband was with his ex-wife for almost five years and he never heard her fart. He thought that was insane and at least one indication of why their marriage failed… she was never completely herself around him, nor did she truly let him “in.” I, on the other hand, probably let 'er rip while we were still dating. 😃 I figured if he couldn’t deal with all of me, there was no point in going forward seriously. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/33 "2011-11-15T18:18:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I can’t imagine the idea of being in a long-term relationship with someone and not being able to fart around them (eventually.) Being able to fart freely around my partner is not a day that I’m exactly looking forward to. Some people just aren’t recreational farters, and there’s nothing funny or liberating about the activity to me. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/34 "2011-11-15T19:34:14Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > My husband was with his ex-wife for almost five years and he never heard her fart. He thought that was insane and at least one indication of why their marriage failed… she was never completely herself around him, nor did she truly let him “in.” > > I, on the other hand, probably let 'er rip while we were still dating. 😃 I figured if he couldn’t deal with all of me, there was no point in going forward seriously. **faithfool** ’s ‘signature’ > [@](#): > > I like how you opened the thread just to get annoyed. It’s like hanging around someone’s asshole waiting for them to fart. – DanBlather +1 For having the ‘signature’ that is the most relevant to the thread. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/35 "2011-11-15T19:51:16Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Being able to fart freely around my partner is not a day that I’m exactly looking forward to. Some people just aren’t recreational farters, and there’s nothing funny or liberating about the activity to me. 😕 WTF is “recreational farting”? I don’t think there’s anything “funny” or “liberating” about it, either. For me, it’s just all about being able to be ourselves around one another. Hell, about the only person I’m comfortable farting around is my wife. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/36 "2011-11-17T15:31:58Z")
My ex never once farted in front of me during six years. I suspect that when partners freely fart in front of each other sex has become a chore for them rather then a pleasure. The smell of fecal matter is the biggest turn off known to man or woman. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/37 "2011-11-17T15:57:00Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > I suspect that when partners freely fart in front of each other sex has become a chore for them rather then a pleasure. Well, you’d suspect wrongly then. Very much so. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/38 "2011-11-17T17:24:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 😕 WTF is “recreational farting”? I don’t think there’s anything “funny” or “liberating” about it, either. For me, it’s just all about being able to be ourselves around one another. I don’t consider farting a sign of being myself, so perhaps this is why I can’t relate to what you’ve written. The reason why I don’t like people farting in my presence is because the stench is unpleasant to me, and I appreciate it when people make all reasonable attempts to keep such unpleasantness away from my nostrils. And in return I grant them that same courtesy. It has more to do with good manners and thoughtfulness than anything else. It’s different if you can’t control the farts, but if you can, I don’t think its uptight to expect someone–even someone you’ve been married with for 40 years–to unleash their emmissions in an area free of other people. While I agree that folks in longterm relationships should eventually get to a place where self-consciousness around their mates cease to exist, I don’t consider unrestrained farting to be a proxy for that. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/39 "2011-11-17T18:08:38Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It’s different if you can’t control the farts, but if you can, I don’t think its uptight to expect someone–even someone you’ve been married with for 40 years–to unleash their emmissions in an area free of other people. Eh. I’m a male and my beautiful female partners have always farted and burped much more in my presence than I do in theirs, so I guess I’m used to it and don’t think much of it. It’s flattering to me that they could just let go in my presence. You obviously think differently, and that’s fine. Took me a little bit to get used to it, but I like it. When somebody that is usually so self-conscious and careful becomes so comfortable with you to be completely themselves, it means a lot to me. On the other hand, my mates are the only people I’ve ever felt comfortable farting around. ---
**Author:** ![GeneParmesan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5ac83/32.png) [@GeneParmesan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GeneParmesan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726/40 "2011-11-18T04:49:09Z")
Anytime? What about taking a test in school? Sitting on the witness stand in a courtroom? During a GOP debate? I wonder how an iPhone’s voice recognition software would interpret a fart. If it was a long one, it might dial one of your contacts with time left over to leave a message. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-hard-wired-or-conditioned-to-not-fart-around-women/602726.md?page=3)