Silent but Deadly

Silent but Deadly

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Cultural differences in complaining: 'moaning' vs 'whingeing'
An anthropological analysis of the difference between English and Australian attitudes towards complaining.
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Kirsten Bell
6
Til death do us fart: Farting and social relationships
Anthropological reflections on the relationship between farting and intimacy and farting as a map of social relationships.
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Kirsten Bell
1
Obituary: Suzanne Helen Bell (1950-2024)
Obituary for Kirsten's mother, Suzanne Helen Bell.
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Kirsten Bell
8
Urinals, the Shewee and peeing standing up
Do men universally pee standing up? That is the focus of this week's article, where I delve into the intricacies of urination - a simultaneously…
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Kirsten Bell
3
Scents and sensibilities
An anthropological exploration of scents, bodily odours and scent-free policies.
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Kirsten Bell
3
Farts, burps and queefs: A semiotic analysis
Drawing on the work of Charles Sanders Peirce, I present the definitive (well, the only) semiotic analysis of the similarities and differences between…
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Kirsten Bell
'Assholes', 'wankers' and the cultural specificity of insults
Anthropological reflections on insults, especially the terms 'asshole' and 'wanker', which are not the straight synonyms they appear.
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Kirsten Bell
7
Dishwashers, dish washing and disgust
An anthropological analysis of why washing dishes is such a loaded topic.
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Kirsten Bell
1
On not using headphones on transit
Anthropological reflections on some of the reasons why a growing number of people don't use headphones on transit and why we find it so annoying.
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Kirsten Bell
Parentese and speaking in the third person
This piece reflects on illeism (speaking about oneself in the third person) and why on earth it's so common amongst parents.
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Kirsten Bell
3
Bathing, dirt and cleanliness
An anthropological of examination of showers, baths and bubble baths and the fact that our daily ablutions are more about purity than hygiene.
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Kirsten Bell
5
How to deliver a paper at an anthropology conference
Tips (with a wink) on how to present a paper at an anthropology conference.
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Kirsten Bell
© 2025 Kirsten Bell
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