I just had to share in my disgust, really. I can read almost anything without getting grossed out. I’ve read a LOT of horror. I’ve also read a lot of survival and travel narratives that describe various bodily functions, and though I don’t revel in such descriptions, I read through them quickly and move the hell on.

It seems, however, that stories about elderly women seem keen on describing in AMAZING FUCKING DETAIL the protagonist’s defecation and urination. I call thee out, The Stone Angel and Remnant Population.

Okay, I get it. In our winter years having a decent bowel movement is a pretty big deal. But if you’re writing, spare me the paragraph about burying old lady shit in the woods or the soiling of the granny panties. I shouldn’t have to suppress a gag reflex for a whole goddamn page per chapter. Stop.

The counter argument, I imagine, is that women considered to be “old” (and this age varies quite a lot) are invisible and thus the talk about their shit and piss is a mere backlash against the bullshit silence and mystery around women’s bodies. Word. I can respect that to a point. But fuck you if you think that anyone actually wants to read that garbage for an extended period of time. Pointing it out is one thing, making us languish in the intestinal tract of your narrator is another thing altogether. The woman poops. Noted. Let’s move the fuck on.

Or, shit or get off the pot, if you will.