The Unseen Body: A Doctor's Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy

by Jonathan Reisman

We defecate and clean ourselves afterward not only in a cultural context but also in a socioeconomic one. Traveling in India put on stark display for me the class ramifications that surround how we use the bathroom. I had initially assumed that all Indians’ bathroom habits were the same, but later in my trip, I learned that KK and some of the other Indian students could not squat. Like other well-off Indians, they grew up using “Western” toilets instead of squatting over holes in the ground. KK’s ankles and knees refused to bend—even mine were more flexible—forcing him to rest on the balls of his feet. The inability to squat was a marker of status and education level, as the positions our bodies assume while stooling reflect a medley of upbringing, culture, and socioeconomics. Only a very small proportion of humanity has the luxury of access to toilet paper and utilizes it as we do in the States. The Indian method is how much of the world’s people clean themselves after defecating, and in other regions, even using water is considered a luxury. A medical colleague of mine who grew up in rural Tanzania told me that, as a child, he could not have imagined using water to wipe himself. “People would have thought you were completely crazy,” he said with a chuckle. In his village, people went into the bush to stool, and afterward used leaves or a rock, or “whatever was available” to clean themselves.