# women, men, and farts **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349 "2009-12-07T19:35:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/1 "2009-12-07T19:35:02Z")
Is it an established fact of physiology that men and women fart with about the same volume/frequency? Or are things really as they seem to the casual observer, i.e. women fart less than men? If women do in fact fart less/less often than men, what is the reason for the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/2 "2009-12-07T19:40:00Z")
Volume. Actually, we’re just sneakier. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/3 "2009-12-07T19:44:08Z")
Um, perhaps NSFW. [The answer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxxsP7VWVN8&feature=PlayList&p=0379F294F8EE2EBC&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=100) to all our questions. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/4 "2009-12-07T20:05:45Z")
Mythbusters actually did this. They tested the myth that “pretty girls don’t fart.” Even though Discovery allowed them to film the episode, they later refused to air it. You can however find it on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/5 "2009-12-07T20:12:40Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Mythbusters actually did this. They tested the myth that “pretty girls don’t fart.” Even though Discovery allowed them to film the episode, they later refused to air it. You can however find it on youtube. Have seen that, thanks, and yes, I’m aware that women are not fartless - but I’m curious to gauge their performance relative to that of men. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/6 "2009-12-07T20:28:03Z")
I recall a column in a Toronto paper about the eternal questions of why men and women are different. The female columnist pointed out that the difference between men and women is that “…men revel in their flatulence.” Too true. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/7 "2009-12-08T01:20:43Z")
Women do not fart until you marry them. Then they fart just as much as a guy. Fart in bed and giggle. We have a little sign, like the kind you buy in a knick knack shop. You know, ‘God bless this home’, ‘Life is too short to drink bad wine’, etc. We have one that says ‘Welcome to our home, feel free to fart’. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/8 "2009-12-08T01:33:50Z")
I actually saw some study on this. It said women fart 20% less than men. But I doubt I can find the study. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/9 "2009-12-08T04:06:11Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > Women do not fart until you marry them. Then later, when they get pregnant, they try to _compete_. Do pretty well, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/10 "2009-12-08T04:28:15Z")
We fart just as much as guys you just don’t notice because ours are quiet and smell like pretty flowers. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/11 "2009-12-08T05:11:11Z")
I expect that men really do fart more. All things being equal the volume of gas is dependent on the volume of food eaten. Since men eat more I’d expect they also fart more. Exercise also increases flatulence by forcing food through the gut faster. So if men exercise more that might also play a role. I imagine there are also deliberate factors at play, such as women avoiding foods that give them gas, whereas men don’t avoid them, or even go out of their way to eat them. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/12 "2009-12-08T05:19:41Z")
This episode of South Park would seem appropo: [Eat, Pray, Queef](http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/220761) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/13 "2009-12-08T05:21:38Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > \whereas men don’t avoid them, or even go out of their way to eat them. My husband has a formula for maximum gas production - high protein followed by high sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/14 "2009-12-08T06:59:56Z")
Imho, women fart less than men _in public._ ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/15 "2009-12-08T07:29:58Z")
You, sir, have not met my wife. She farts a lot, and she’s good at volume, distance and odoriferousness. She’s been know to bring grown me to their knees. All this, and she’s a mere wisp of a thing, five foot nothing and about 100 lbs. Pound for pound, I think she could be the world champion. This said, she’s pretty sneaky about it when not at home. She’ll wander off somewhere and then come back with a satisfied grin. Most strangers think she’s a perfect little angel. Sometimes she’ll forget and unintentionally “crop dust”, though. Then everyone looks around for someone to blame. It could be the big guy in the room, or the dog, or the nearby waste management plant, but never her, oh no. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/16 "2009-12-08T23:44:38Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > You, sir, have not met my wife. She farts a lot, and she’s good at volume, distance and odoriferousness. She’s been know to bring grown me to their knees. All this, and she’s a mere wisp of a thing, five foot nothing and about 100 lbs. Pound for pound, I think she could be the world champion. > > This said, she’s pretty sneaky about it when not at home. She’ll wander off somewhere and then come back with a satisfied grin. Most strangers think she’s a perfect little angel. Sometimes she’ll forget and unintentionally “crop dust”, though. Then everyone looks around for someone to blame. It could be the big guy in the room, or the dog, or the nearby waste management plant, but never her, oh no. Yea, why does everybody blame the dog? It ain’t fair. Signed, **Spartydog** ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/17 "2009-12-09T01:42:29Z")
Physiologically, there’s no reason whatsoever why women should fart differently than men, all things being equal. The all things include volume and type of food, body and intestinal size, colonic flora and anything else that a specialist might think of. That means that the within groups differences would be far larger than the between groups differences. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/18 "2009-12-09T02:42:32Z")
Women have been trained from birth how to swallow farts. They must appear as ladies in public and have to get a husband. But they are all saved up. Once they get married it all breaks loose. After the honeymoon, you can expect to get up 3 times a night to peel the covers off the ceiling. A fuel years later they settle down to dock worker status. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/19 "2009-12-09T03:32:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Physiologically, there’s no reason whatsoever why women should fart differently than men, all things being equal. The all things include volume and type of food, body and intestinal size, colonic flora and anything else that a specialist might think of. But we know that all those things are not equal, never were equal and never will be equal. Men are larger than woman, they do eat more than women, they do eat different diets, they do have different shaped abdominal cavities, the do have different gut flora and so on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349/20 "2009-12-09T04:31:02Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > But we know that all those things are not equal, never were equal and never will be equal. Men are larger than woman, they do eat more than women, they do eat different diets, they do have different shaped abdominal cavities, the do have different gut flora and so on and so forth. All true. But I stand behind the important part of my quote, the past you didn’t repeat, that the range of differences among all women and the range of differences among all men are much larger than the average difference between the average man and the average woman. I checked my copy of [Wind Breaks: Coming To Terms With Flatulence, by Terry Bolin and Rosemary Stanton](http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Breaks-Coming-Terms-Flatulence/dp/0553375377). The book is light and aimed at a popular audience, but Dr. Boyle is a [serious researcher in gastroenterology](http://www.terrybolin.com/mypractice.html#my) and cites his own research projects in the book. Dr. Stanton’s no slouch, [either](http://www.aihw.gov.au/eventsdiary/ah04/speakers_rosemary_stanton.cfm). > [@](#): > > Some limited research suggested that both sexes produced similar volumes of gas. However, the volume does vary with the amount and type of food eaten, so anyone of either sex who eats more foods high in fiber and starch will produce more gas. Own our study found that men passed gas more often than women. > > Some types of bacteria in the colon convert a large volume of hydrogen to a smaller volume of methane. This uses up more of the volume of gas, leaving less to be passed. More women than men have these bacteria and those who have them may pass less gas. > > Women generally have a slower transit of contents through the intestinal tract. They also form smaller stools that are more alkaline. These factors may favor the growth of methane producing bacteria. We still don’t fully understand who women are different in this respect, but it could be due to an interaction between the many gut hormones and female reproductive hormones. Any possible benefits or disadvantages are also not yet understood. > > In our study, women had fewer emissions of gas than men, but the variation in gas in both men and women covered a wide range. The range for men was three to thirty-eight emissions a day; for women it was three to thirty-two. [The daily average among women was seven, for men it was twelve.] Women said that gas had an odor less than half the time; men reported an odor more than two-thirds of the time. That whole quote has a lot of similarity to what I said, listing why differences would appear, even though I didn’t hunt down the book until after that earlier post. The conclusion also holds: Seven is much closer to twelve than three is to 32 or to 38. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-men-and-farts/520349.md?page=2)