Abstract
Toiletting is still one of the great taboos in our society. This taboo is lifted for a short time when a new baby is born and the proud parents can boast their competence at nappy changing. For most people however, this period of nappy wearing or changing is brief and involvement in toiletting becomes again something personal and private. Bringing up the subject in general conversation tends to be avoided. Many people even shun the use of straightforward words both about the function and the facilities, referring to ‘spending a penny’, or ‘going to the cloakroom’ as polite descriptors. This avoidance is played on by comedians who use our human embarrassment and tendency to enjoy being risqué, when they sink to ‘lavatorial humour’.
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References
Borzyskowski, M. and Strode, M. (1984) The neuropathic bladder and bowels in The Physically Handicapped Child, (ed. McCarthy, G.), Faber & Faber, London.
Bradshaw, J. (1978) Incontinence: A Burden for Families with Handicapped Children, Disabled Living Foundation, London.
Mandelstam, D. (1978) Incontinence, Heinemann, London.
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© 1987 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Halliday, P. (1987). The management of continence. In: Profound Retardation and Multiple Impairment. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7146-3_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7146-3_18
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-34630-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-7146-3
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