Some TMI questions about TMI brought to you by recusen, for TMI Tuesday.

Jack’s Answers

1. When was the last time someone you were talking to crossed the boundary into TMI? How did you handle it?
You know, it’s been awhile. I mentioned last month that I have an aunt who sees no problem with occasionally telling me things about her health (though fortunately not her sexual health) that I’d rather not hear. When this has happened, I usually bite my lip hard, and focus on the pain rather than her words. Then when she stops speaking I say something sympathetic and hope she never does it again.

2. When was the last time you were talking and realized you had crossed into TMI? How did the other person react? What did you do next?
I’m usually very good about not oversharing, because I assume that most people who know me don’t want to know about my bowel movements, my masturbation schedule*, my favorite sexual position**, that weird scar on my groin, or what the voices in my head tell me. Admittedly there are certain friends – mostly female – with whom I will bring up aspects of our sex life, though I am always 100% certain that it’s not going to be a deal-breaker before I do.  However, I have no problem talking politics, and occasionally do on social media and in person. I’m guessing that there are some out there who consider the incredibly progressive views of this dyed-in-the-wool liberal feminist too much information. To them I say tough shit.  (Note:  I’m not as much of a prick as I probably come off here.  However, I have my political opinions, I believe they’re the right ones – not just for me, but for the world as a whole – and while I am open-minded and capable of listening, I don’t apologize for what I believe.)
* Obviously my followers on Twitter are very interested in this topic.
** And this one.

3. Which subject matter is mostly TMI to you, i.e. you don’t want to hear?
a. sex
b. medical treatment or history
c. bodily functions
d. icky food
e. finances
f. political opinions
e. other – tell us
If I had to pick just one of these I’d go with C. I don’t need to know how much you threw up after eating undercooked pork, nor do I want to know about the two-day diarrhea jag you experienced following a stop at a disreputable eatery during a cross-country road trip. To be fair, though, I’m not particularly keen on hearing about your medical history unless there’s something really freaky in there. Had your appendix out? Yawn. Boring. Give me something more interesting. Lost the tip of your penis in a bizarre guillotine-related mishap when you were twelve? I can admit to wanting to know more (though I won’t need to see a picture, thanks). Your finances, though? I don’t give the slightest tumbling fuck. Next time I have insomnia I’ll give you a call and you can tell me all about it. As for politics, I doubt I’ll want to hear your opinions if they differ from my own. You’re not going to convince me that any of the GOP candidates currently running – sorry, make that stumbling – for President are what this country needs any more than I’m going to convince you that they’re all a bunch of racist misogynist dickheads on the payroll of the religious right.

4. Do you ever entice people into TMI, such as try to get them to share something that should be private?
I honestly don’t. I wish I believed that I could pull this off and not be branded a creep. I can’t help but think that an attempt to get the women I fancy to tell me their preferred position for G-spot stimulation would be poorly-received. That’s not to say that there aren’t women I know personally with whom I can discuss such topics; however, I imagine it would go over better if I was single if only because, as a married man, the typical woman would assume I’m acting inappropriately behind my wife’s back. (Notice I don’t mention trying this with men, because having such a conversation with most men would be my own personal sexual Kryptonite.) That being said, though it doesn’t happen as much now as it did a couple years ago, I occasionally get hit up for sex advice from friends and while I’m not one to be offended the subject matter does get into the realm of TMI.

5. Do you enjoy swapping TMI tales–“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours?”
In theory I do, but I’m not particularly gossipy, and most friends and acquaintances tend not to approach me with their salacious stories. (Or if they do there’s no requested quid pro quo.) I have shared certain aspects of our sex life with trusted friends, but generally do not pressure anyone into reciprocating.

Bonus: How do you feel about Pope Francis embracing “climate change” climate science?
I like it a lot better than the last couple Popes embracing pedophile priests.

Jill’s Answers

1. When was the last time someone you were talking to crossed the boundary into TMI? How did you handle it?
A few weeks ago a friend was talking about her gastrointestinal issues. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the discomfort and mortification I felt. This particular friend has a knack for steering a conversation into frankly disgusting waters. I changed the subject as quickly as I could, and was vigilant about ensuring she didn’t attempt to take things back in that direction for the rest of the conversation.

2. When was the last time you were talking and realized you had crossed into TMI? How did the other person react? What did you do next?
It’s been awhile. I was talking to a friend about sex in a general sense, initially without getting personal about it. Over time, I’m pretty sure I told her way too much about my own sex life than she may have wanted to know. She got red and very quiet, and once again I changed the subject as quickly as I could.

3. Which subject matter is mostly TMI to you, i.e. you don’t want to hear?
a. sex
b. medical treatment or history
c. bodily functions
d. icky food
e. finances
f. political opinions
e. other – tell us
Definitely C. I know we all have the same bodily functions and most of the time there’s nothing inherently weird about them. I just don’t want to hear about it.

4. Do you ever entice people into TMI, such as try to get them to share something that should be private?
Yes, though I have to be pretty careful about who I attempt this with. There are certain people in my life whom I can usually prod into telling me more about their sex life. I get a voyeuristic thrill out of learning such intimate tidbits especially if, for example, it’s a friend whose husband I find attractive. Learning certain aspects of their bedroom activities helps me to fantasize about him, or both of them together. I also find it exciting if, in the case of certain of my friends, the person is hesitant to open up at first. Often I find that once the person gets going she (or sometimes he) can’t stop. It’s like a valve of repression has been opened up and she can’t stop talking. In fact, in some cases the person will bring up sex on subsequent occasions without any enticing from me, presumably because I’ve demonstrated myself to be a non-judgmental listener.

5. Do you enjoy swapping TMI tales–“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours?”
Yes, but pretty much only about sex. I don’t want to trade surgery stories.

Bonus: How do you feel about Pope Francis embracing “climate change” climate science?
I love it! As someone who was raised Catholic and still more or less identifies as Catholic, I’m all for the Pope, or any visible church leader, expressing progressive views. Through the years I have found myself at odds with some of the teachings and official positions of the Catholic Church, so the fact that Pope Francis has come out in favor of science is fantastic. But why stop there? We’ve heard a host (no pun intended) of sensible things from the Pontiff, definitely more than we did from his predecessor.

How to play TMI Tuesday: Copy the above TMI Tuesday questions to your webspace (i.e., a blog). Answer the questions there, then leave a comment below, on this blog post, so we’ll all know where to read your responses. Please don’t forget to link to tmituesdayblog from your website!