I think I have just been a victim of STM, otherwise known as Sharing Too Much.
It used to be that one could get to know someone else by asking ” what kind of movies do you like?” or “what kind of books do you read?” I’ve noticed that lately it is perfectly acceptable to just ask someone “what kind of vibrator do you use?” or “How many hundreds of dollars do you owe on your credit card?” This used to be the kind of thing that was never polite company according to my mom and dad who can’t believe how candid my generation is …
I suppose all of this honesty is due to the long-term effect of watching shows like Seinfeld and Friends where the hippest characters always have something to confess of a personal nature. Also did you just see that cover of Nylon with Lindsay Lohan on the cover where she is covering her mouth and saying “ Sometimes, I say too much …” It is cool to come out with it all and perhaps even say too much. I guess we share too much to seem quirky an interesting to other people.
My mom was also telling me that when she was younger it was also a lot more unusual to hear a girl say something like “I have to pee.” She would say I have to go to the bathroom or excuse me but not use words that refer to any kind of act of excretion. A euphemism was always used such as “I have to powder my nose.”
I just went out with a guy with a bad case of Sharing Too Much who tried to impress me by telling me a ton of little quirky details about himself. Instead I ended up being completely grossed out. He told me all sorts of little things that I guess were to make me think of him as being more interesting but that actually turned me off. For instance I am not that impressed with a guy who confesses that he must open the medicine cabinet in the bathroom when he visits someone – it makes me want to put a padlock on mine. At one point after he complimented my make up he also told me about the time he put mascara on his lashes to see how long he could get them. Too much information Mr. Future Drag Queen of the New Century! Then he started telling me all about all of the root canal work that he had done and the temporary bridges he had put in and then he started demonstrating how he had difficulty in flossing in some places. All of this was much too personal for me. Sometimes when you are getting to know someone you can get to know them too much! What is it that my Dad always said – “familiarity breeds contempt”. Or was it “familiarity breeds consent?” I can’t remember.