--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something reassuring about the…" description: "\"There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits.\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg" --- # There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily… ![“There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg) > “There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even mundane bodily needs remind us of our shared humanity, offering comfort in equality. **In simple terms:** Toilets show we all share basic needs. Key Takeaway Find common ground in simple things. Themes equality humor humility Mood lighthearted reflective Type observational humorous When to use this quote - public restrooms - office breaks - travel - community gatherings Key Concepts democracy shared experience social commentary Questions to Reflect On - How can shared basics foster empathy? - What other daily rituals reveal equality? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay serious inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bodily functions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodily-functions/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Everybody Shits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-shits-5261992/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Reassuring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reassuring/) [Reassuring Toilets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reassuring-toilets-5261993/) [Shits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shits/) [Toilet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toilet/) [Toilets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toilets/) [Toilets Bodily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toilets-bodily-5261991/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps the most sophisticated and highly evolved system is that originated by Joseph Scogna. I was impressed by the profound insights into the relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-ballentine/perhaps-the-most-sophisticated-and-highly-evolved-system-is-that/) [Rudolph Ballentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-ballentine/) > [Centuries of secularism have failed to transform eating into something strictly utilitarian. Food is still treated with reverence...To eat is still something more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-schmemann/centuries-of-secularism-have-failed-to-transform-eating-into/) [Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-schmemann/) > [If you don't do any self-examinations or see a doctor ever, you'll live forever. That's how you do it. The diagnosis is what gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/if-you-don-t-do-any-self-examinations-or-see-a-doctor-ever-you-ll/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Be as though you don't exist. Let the bodily functions unfold, let thoughts come and go but don't follow them. Be only the awareness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/be-as-though-you-don-t-exist-let-the-bodily-functions-unfold-let/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) > [You love the person for who they are, flaws and all. You can't help who you love, either. It comes from a different side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/you-love-the-person-for-who-they-are-flaws-and-all-you-can-t-help-who/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [If anybody wants to engage in any kind of sexual activity with any consenting partner, that is their business. Anybody can do anything they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-anybody-wants-to-engage-in-any-kind-of-sexual-activity-with-any-2/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [When a pastor continually makes light of the character of our Lord by speaking in scatological tones about the Son of Man's bodily functions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-camp/when-a-pastor-continually-makes-light-of-the-character-of-our-lord-by/) [Steve Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-camp/) > [I don't like jokes about sex or bodily functions or drug use or the difference between New York and L.A. I never do any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-don-t-like-jokes-about-sex-or-bodily-functions-or-drug-use-or-the/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [In India in particular, where millions have no home but the streets, virtually every life event is carried out in public: prayer, eating, sleeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mccurry/in-india-in-particular-where-millions-have-no-home-but-the-streets/) [Steve McCurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mccurry/) > [A sociosphere of contact, control, persuasion and dissuasion, of exhibitions of inhibitions in massive or homeopathic doses...: this is obscenity. All structures turned inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/a-sociosphere-of-contact-control-persuasion-and-dissuasion-of/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [Most men I know rely on women to do all the literal dirty work. Anything involving poop, vomit, or blood...always handled by women. Men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-banks/most-men-i-know-rely-on-women-to-do-all-the-literal-dirty-work/) [Elizabeth Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-banks/) > [You're dealing with the body, and you're dealing with bodily functions. We romanticize everything about people in movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/you-re-dealing-with-the-body-and-you-re-dealing-with-bodily-functions/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [If I had bodily functions, I think I would have peed my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/if-i-had-bodily-functions-i-think-i-would-have-peed-my-pants/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“Fortunately, most of our vital physiological functions are involuntary, as some amongst us would forget them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/fortunately-most-of-our-vital-physiological-functions-are-involuntary/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [You can't suppress Bodily Functions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheech-marin/you-can-t-suppress-bodily-functions/) [Cheech Marin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheech-marin/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Bodily functions quotes > [Perhaps the most sophisticated and highly evolved system is that originated by Joseph Scogna. I was impressed by the profound insights into the relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-ballentine/perhaps-the-most-sophisticated-and-highly-evolved-system-is-that/) [Rudolph Ballentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-ballentine/) > [“Fortunately, most of our vital physiological functions are involuntary, as some amongst us would forget them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/fortunately-most-of-our-vital-physiological-functions-are-involuntary/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [If I had bodily functions, I think I would have peed my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/if-i-had-bodily-functions-i-think-i-would-have-peed-my-pants/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [You're dealing with the body, and you're dealing with bodily functions. We romanticize everything about people in movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/you-re-dealing-with-the-body-and-you-re-dealing-with-bodily-functions/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [Most men I know rely on women to do all the literal dirty work. Anything involving poop, vomit, or blood...always handled by women. Men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-banks/most-men-i-know-rely-on-women-to-do-all-the-literal-dirty-work/) [Elizabeth Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-banks/) > [A sociosphere of contact, control, persuasion and dissuasion, of exhibitions of inhibitions in massive or homeopathic doses...: this is obscenity. All structures turned inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/a-sociosphere-of-contact-control-persuasion-and-dissuasion-of/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [In India in particular, where millions have no home but the streets, virtually every life event is carried out in public: prayer, eating, sleeping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mccurry/in-india-in-particular-where-millions-have-no-home-but-the-streets/) [Steve McCurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mccurry/) > [I don't like jokes about sex or bodily functions or drug use or the difference between New York and L.A. I never do any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-don-t-like-jokes-about-sex-or-bodily-functions-or-drug-use-or-the/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [When a pastor continually makes light of the character of our Lord by speaking in scatological tones about the Son of Man's bodily functions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-camp/when-a-pastor-continually-makes-light-of-the-character-of-our-lord-by/) [Steve Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-camp/) > [If anybody wants to engage in any kind of sexual activity with any consenting partner, that is their business. Anybody can do anything they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-anybody-wants-to-engage-in-any-kind-of-sexual-activity-with-any-2/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [You love the person for who they are, flaws and all. You can't help who you love, either. It comes from a different side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/you-love-the-person-for-who-they-are-flaws-and-all-you-can-t-help-who/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [Be as though you don't exist. Let the bodily functions unfold, let thoughts come and go but don't follow them. Be only the awareness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mooji/be-as-though-you-don-t-exist-let-the-bodily-functions-unfold-let/) [Mooji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mooji/) > [If you don't do any self-examinations or see a doctor ever, you'll live forever. That's how you do it. The diagnosis is what gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/if-you-don-t-do-any-self-examinations-or-see-a-doctor-ever-you-ll/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [Centuries of secularism have failed to transform eating into something strictly utilitarian. Food is still treated with reverence...To eat is still something more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-schmemann/centuries-of-secularism-have-failed-to-transform-eating-into/) [Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-schmemann/) > [You can't suppress Bodily Functions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheech-marin/you-can-t-suppress-bodily-functions/) [Cheech Marin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheech-marin/) [Browse all 28 Bodily functions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodily-functions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-something-reassuring-about-the-toilets-bodily-functions-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bodily functions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-something-reassuring-about-the-toilets-bodily-functions-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/margaret-atwood-40_bodily-functions_there-is-something-reassuring-about-the_1458407.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something reassuring about the toilets. Bodily functions at least remain democratic. Everybody shits.” — Margaret Atwood", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is something reassuring about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-something-reassuring-about-the-toilets-bodily-functions-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-something-reassuring-about-the-toilets-bodily-functions-at/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```