This is Master's toothbrush. Mine is the same except that it is pink or red or some shade in between the two.In the last little while, He seems to have become confused about which is which and, on a pretty regular basis, He grabs mine and uses it. That really does "tweak" me at a very basic level. I have to stop and think about it and talk to myself to find the place where it is really just OK for us to be sharing a toothbrush. I find that interesting and curious. After all, we share a good bit more intimately than the mutual use of a single toothbrush, so why fuss about it?
I'm quite sure that my gut level response is all about years of indoctrination in the "germ theory" of disease. The house in which I grew up was fanatic about toothbrush privacy. We didn't share -- we never even let the various toothbrushes come in contact with one another. It would have been the ultimate "gross out."
As I think about it, and I'll admit this is likely not the sort of thing most people contemplate deeply, I also am aware that within the context of my M/s lifestyle, ownership of something even as simple as a toothbrush is questionable. A point of nit-picking philosophical discourse perhaps...
I was curious about if/how others might view this particular set of intimate boundaries, and so I went back to my old friend, Google. Check out these links:
Intimate Gestures and Habits
Mouth Rules
Answer Bag
The Toothbrush Holder Tells All
So... clearly, others have contemplated the significance of toothbrushes in relationship. I didn't find any specific discussions of toothbrushes as symbols or tokens of power-dynamics. There is plenty of information about electric toothbrushes as scene toys, but no sense of how they might be shared within these dynamics. Anyone care to share?
swan
In my freshman year psych course, we had a unit on intimacy. The professor said..."You would spend all evening with someone's tongue in your mouth, but yet you are grossed out by the thought they would use your toothbrush."
ReplyDeleteYes, well, we hadn't thought of that. I guess it has something to do with context.
I think there's a Seinfeld episode about this subject.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should bring this up. My Ron called me to task about using his brush just as we were preparing for a spanking. It did alter my mood temporarily as I reassured him I'd never do such a thing. Seems I had used my manual brush, not the electric, and he had felt his electric brush head--damp from the last usage--then felt my dry one, and had jumped to conclusions.
No, I wouldn't care if Ron used my brush or I used his. As you said, a lot more intimate exchanging goes on than that. We simply aren't that fastidious, but then, cleaning up after a myriad of incontinent animals tends to make you complacent where bodily fluids and functions are concerned.
Hugs,
Hermione
after living with various people over my 57 years, i'm not quite so squeamish about sharing a toothbrush as i used to be.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is still that little bit of 'euww' when i think about it.
It's all in the cultural/social context, huh?
Sir's pet