Spitting in public and other annoyances

Isn’t it a question of social class norms? You’d never see a professional person or someone attending Teatro Colon spitting. Now the loud conversations might be another thing altogether.

No way! Isn’t that metal gizmo what the butler uses, to empty ashtrays and transport the ashes to the scullery?

That’s how our butler uses it. If we caught him spitting in it, he’d be reduced to the rank of footman.

I actually wrote a paper on this for the psychology class in my degree. Spitting is something men (typically young men) do as a kind of posturing, or more accurately as placing a physical barrier between them and something else. This is the reason if you see one man walk past a group of other men, they may spit when getting close and when actually passing the group. Follow that man for five minutes after passing group and they may not spit again.

Now whether this due to an actual physical release to remove the stress of a situation or simply a marker of false dominance. Either way for the most part it comes from men and comes from insecurity. If you see a man walking down the street under normal circumstances and spitting everywhere then it is likely they are extremely insecure. A "normal" man may only spit in scenarios like I mentioned above when facing a group of men. Those in control of their insecurities (none of us are ever really secure) will not spit in any circumstance.

Interestingly, this is why spitting was so associated with lower classes and to a degree still is. Men in these social circumstances face situations where posturing is perhaps neccesary more often. These men would also be more likely to feel insecure in regular situations like walking down the street, which is why teenagers tend to spit a lot.

By the way, I played football for years. I completely understand why footballers feel the need to spit on the field. There's something about that sport (and rugby) that creates a lot of saliva in the mouth. It would requre research to know if spitting was needed or if they are posturing. I also played tennis and never felt the need to spit despite the similar levels of activity.

Very interesting, Semigoodlooking. I never considered that there might be a security element. I’m glad you took that psych class!

Quote from Splinter

As for spitting during sports, it's hard to avoid sometimes when you're really exerting yourself and one wonders if many sports stars are advised to keep it to a minimum, considering how they are closely scrutinised on TV today.

Baseball players have raised it to an art form

Quote from serafina

Semigoodlooking , would you say that spitting can be a form to discharge stress by emulating the suction a newborn does while sucking milk?

I used to have a colleague who, under stress, did a a sort of of movement with his mouth, alike to a suction. He did it as a way to gather his thoughts before speaking, when he was in difficulties. I have always thought it recalled the suction of a baby to his mother's breast, so this sort of nervous tic had a distressing function, imho.

It's an interesting observation and I would have to research it. However, it seems logical doesn't it? In fact, I could take a logical leap and say it links with the element of insecurity some men feel. What I mean is there is enough evidence to at least debate that some men are still attached to the mother in a child-like way throughout life. Perhaps spitting is not recalling or emulating a past action but instead seeking that action in that moment of insecurity.

i.e. Men tend to spit out of insecurity and that insecurity makes them want their mother's breast (an inate memory links the suckling to the most secure they have ever been). If not for social convention, how many men would be racing to the tit at the slightest sign of insecurity?

Whether I am rambling or theorizing I don't know, but I am going to research it more.

We used to spend a lot of time in Hong Kong, and were told that spitting was simply part of the culture, not just in China but in other Asian cultures. A British professor even studied the phenomenon.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-22184499

How or whether all of this relates to non-Asian cultures, I have no clue. Just thought I’d toss it into the mix.

The Chinese do indeed have a reputation for spitting. I've been to China several times during winter time....-15c during the day when I was in Beijing. In their defence from what I witnessed many Chinese seem to suffer from chest problems. I did hear an awful lot of coughing and clearing of throats although most used handkerchiefs to spit into rather than the pavement. Maybe the authorities have clamped down on spitting to stop spreading disease?

Quote from UK Man

The Chinese do indeed have a reputation for spitting. I've been to China several times during winter time....-15c during the day when I was in Beijing. In their defence from what I witnessed many Chinese seem to suffer from chest problems. I did hear an awful lot of coughing and clearing of throats although most used handkerchiefs to spit into rather than the pavement. Maybe the authorities have clamped down on spitting to stop spreading disease?

Exactly! While subsequent studies have shown little if any connection between spitting on the street and the transmission of diseases, I think the Chinese govt’s campaign to promote that thought has yielded beneficial results.

Quote from serafina

Are you practicing, @semigoodllooking?

No, I started a mechinical engineering degree straight out of school but left after six months. Returned to uni a year later and started a psychology degree but left after two years (my grandmother was a psycologist so I grew up with it). Didn't ultimately want to pursue it as a career so I ditched it, went travelling for a couple of years and then went back to university and completed a degree in creative and professional writing with philosophy, finally understanding that I could study what I really loved and leverage it into a career. I always believed I needed to study what would easily make me money, hence the ill-fated attempt at mechanical engineering.

My wife is just about to complete here pschology degree in 2020.

Because I never completed the degree or took it further, I am more of a psycology fan than an expert (not that everyone with a degree is neccesarily an expert).