‘Disgustologist’ Valerie Curtis Looks at Humans’ Revulsion

“Disgustologist” Valerie Curtis–a public health expert and anthropologist–has probed deep into what makes human beings disgusted in a new book.

Reuters reported that she is fascinated by vomit, urine, feces, pus, maggots, and rotting meat, saying that disgust plays an important role in our lives.

“People are disgusted by things without even realizing it. It influences our lives in so many subtle ways, and it’s really important that we understand how great that influence is,” she told Reuters.

She says the reaction determines what foods we eat, what we wear, and other purchases. Curtis, who referred to herself as a “disgustologist,” claims it even plays into relationships and voting.

“I’ve been trying to understand disgust for 30 years, and what I’ve found is that people the world over are all disgusted by similar things: body products, food that has gone off, sexual fluids – which, with a few exceptions, we don’t tend share with other people – bad manners and immoral behavior,” she told the news agency.

She has done research into hygiene behavior in several countries, including India, China, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Uganda, and Indonesia.

In the book “Don’t Look, Don’t Touch, Don’t Eat,” Curtis says the fight or flight response and disgust are comparable.

“Even more importantly for our evolution was disease,” she said. “Disease is something that will eat us up from inside – and what’s important is that disgust keeps you away from them.”

In a description of the book, it reads that Curtis “builds a strong case for disgust as a ‘shadow emotion’—less familiar than love or sadness, it nevertheless affects our day-to-day lives. In disgust, biological and sociocultural factors meet in dynamic ways to shape human and animal behavior.”

It adds: “Through a deeper understanding of disgust, Curtis argues, we can take this ubiquitous human emotion and direct it towards useful ends, from combating prejudice to reducing disease in the poorest parts of the world by raising standards of hygiene.”