#ask a mortician

[theabigailthorn]

NEW EPISODE IS HERE!

It's about death, including mass death (Gaza, COVID, climate change) and why we ignore it. And it's a collab with Caitlin Doughty AKA Ask A Mortician!

[thedapinna]

I like history, memes and American girl dolls. Here's the union of all these.

[whilomm]

to help spread the word a lil, ask a mortician just put out a new video, this one specifically about proposed FTC regulation changes for U.S. funeral homes, and theres a comment period that closes October 10th, 2023 to ya kno. comment on em. tell em to help make funerals a lil cheaper.

I would really reccomend watching the video as she explains it a lot better, but the TLDR is that the FTC is thinking of adding some rules to the regs on how funeral homes disclose a couple of things, like prices (making them list prices online, so you dont need to drive to 7 diff funeral homes to price shop the day your son died, and cause hidden prices=more expensive), and make it clearer WHEN embalming is required (that is, that its NOT required by law, but might be required by the funeral home themselves)

like i said, watch the vid for a better explaination, but both of those things contribute to funerals being Mega Fucking Expensive, so. if you feel like it, go to the FTC and tell em to implement the changes!

comment period ends october 10th, 2023!

[a-typical]

At almost any location in any major city on Earth, you are likely standing on thousands of bodies. These bodies represent a history that exists, often unknown, beneath our feet. While a new Crossrail station was being dug in London in 2015, 3,500 bodies were excavated from a sixteenth- and seventeenth-century cemetery under Liverpool Street, including a burial pit from the Great Plague of 1665. To cremate bodies we burn fossil fuel, thus named because it is made of decomposed dead organisms. Plants grow from the decayed matter of former plants. The pages of this book are made from the pulp of raw wood from a tree felled in its prime. All that surrounds us comes from death, every part of every city, and every part of every person.

Death avoidance is not an individual failing; it’s a cultural one. Facing death is not for the faint-hearted. It is far too challenging to expect that each citizen will do so on his or her own. Death acceptance is the responsibility of all death professionals—funeral directors, cemetery managers, hospital workers. It is the responsibility of those who have been tasked with creating physical and emotional environments where safe, open interaction with death and dead bodies is possible.

— From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty

[the-goya-jerker]

In light of my most recent review (Piss Christ), I wanted to talk a little bit about a personal pet cause of mine. There's over 300 of you, I can subject you all to my favorite little interests. >:3

Since I discussed our revulsion and distance from death, I think it'd be good to mention The Order of the Good Death. If you don't know about them, you probably know of one of their founder Caitlin Doughty or, as you might know her, Ask a Mortician over on youtube.

One of their big things is Death Positivity, basically encouraging people to speak about death frankly and without any stigma. Being able to have proximity to our dead can help us mourn. Different cultural groups should be able to practice their funerary practices even if we think they're weird or gross.

They're big on green burial (being buried not in a concrete box in the ground, without chemicals harmful to the environment), and legalizing human composting. Which, ik, that sounds kinda scary to some people, but y'know that "grow a tree with your ashes!" thing? 1. That shit is bullshit, cremains won't help a tree, they're sterile ash. 2. It's basically a version of that, but it actually works. It's just giving your body back to the earth. Not for everyone, but it should be an option!

They're also working on guides for queer people in like, end of life care and self advocacy for your death plan.

Also, if anthropology is your jam, check out From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty, cause it's a great book on death practices around the world.

Anyway, overall I just recommend checking them out. I talk a lot about death here and the eroticism of rot, I figure some of you may have an interest. I'll link some of Caitlin's videos that I really like below the cut, cause she's funny, and death is super fucking interesting.

[chaoticintellectual]

i think that the more weird and vaguely spooky a mortician is, the more trustworthy that makes them. Like, if your mortician dresses goth or like an old-timey doctor, then you know they’re passionate about their jobs. If your mortician is just an old man with a boring suit, then he’s probably just in it for the money.

[maureen-corpse]

“Do you not like deep water? Claustrophobia? Darkness? Well, you’re not going to like this!”

I love Ask a Mortician. I never would have thought to ask a mortician about a 19th century submarine but I am excited to learn anyway

[queer-boo-radley]

What Did Cromwell Do to Deserve This?

[purplesugarplum]

With and Without Glasses because blue eyed people are hilarious. Based on my favorite ask a mortician screencap

[lilbabysy]

Dead dummy, great for organ study! 💀🪦⚰️

[ripeteeth]

i would love to grab a drink with caitlin doughty and just listen to her talk about dead bodies

[kindsoulbuddy]

Caitlin Doughty (Ask a Mortician) does such important work with her youtube channel and her nonprofit Order of the Good Death, as well as the books she’s written (I’ve read them all).

She is also bringing awareness to how cruelly animals are treated in this video she just posted. Animals continue to perform for people to this day.

Please keep in mind it’s heartbreaking and hard to watch but I think it important.

Also, youtube is treating her and her channel like a pariah and she depends on her patrons.

YouTube has taken her videos down before.

Even if you don’t watch this particular video I think she’s doing such vital work and changing the way we confront death. So check her channel out!

And check out:

[jr-skeleton]

Shout out to the incredibly specific but not insignificant amount of autistic goths with special interests in death/mortuary arts and historical fashion I know you're all watching the fuck out of Caitlin ask a mortician Doughty and Bernadette Banner

[a-typical]

In Toraja, during the period of time between death and the funeral, the body is kept in the home. That might not sound particularly shocking, until I tell you that period can last from several months to several years. During that time, the family cares for and mummifies the body, bringing the corpse food, changing its clothes, and speaking to the body.

The first time Paul ever visited Toraja, he asked Agus if it was unusual for a family to keep a dead relative in the home. Agus laughed at the question. “When I was a child, we had my grandfather in the home for seven years. My brother and I, we slept with him in the same bed. In the morning we put his clothes on and stood him against the wall. At night he came back to bed.”

Paul describes death in Toraja, as he’s witnessed it, not as a “hard border,” an impenetrable wall between the living and the dead, but a border that can be transgressed. According to their animistic belief system, there is also no barrier between the human and nonhuman aspects of the natural world: animals, mountains, and even the dead. Speaking to your grandfather’s corpse is a way to build a connection to the person’s spirit.

— From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty

[usercannibal]

Honestly shout out to Caitlin Doughty for being the funniest mortician in the entire business while also not being afraid of giving honest answers

- excerpts from "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals about Death" by Caitlin Doughty

[gossamermoth]

corpse disposal - the elements

air: sky burial

water: aquamation

fire: open air funeral pyre

earth: composting