Amidst all the new dating terminologies, one word that men feared and women experienced is the ‘ick’.
The term has taken the internet by storm of late. Ick is nothing but a fleeting annoyance, or a sudden feeling of disgust towards the action, appearance, or gesture, one experiences in their romantic partner.
Why is the ick?
The
ick is a sense of annoyance, often irrational, feeling of repulsion or disgust that someone experiences toward a romantic partner or potential partner.
In simple words, it is losing romantic or
sexual interest in a person, whom you earlier found attractive.
A specific behavior, action, gesture, or even an appearance-related detail could be the root of the
ick.
The ‘
ick’ is truly crucial in the dating world, as it can quickly shift a person’s perspective, turning initial attraction into an overwhelming sense of disinterest.
Though it is often hard to explain, it is a gut reaction one cannot move past.
Some instances could be:
- Loud chewing with open mouth.
- Wearing flip flops.
- Over-explaining a joke.
- Revealing too much too soon.
- Clumsiness or overly self-deprecating humor
- Something as simple as using a debit card instead of a credit card, could cause the ick!
What is the reason behind the ick?
Though the ick might come all of a sudden, it’s deeply rooted in primal survival instincts. Yes, that’s right. Some theories suggest that the ‘ick’ is a subconscious way of detecting traits that feel incompatible or undesirable in a partner. According to National Geographic, women are more sensitive towards things they find gross, and this trait is seen in all female primates. This repulsion is a defense mechanism, protecting them from potential dangers.
According to a study published in The Year in Cognitive Neuroscience in 2012, a sense of disgust can even help individuals avoid diseases or choose suitable partners. “Disgust is characterized by a remarkably diverse set of stimulus triggers, ranging from extremely concrete (bad tastes and disease vectors) to extremely abstract (moral transgressions and those who commit them). This diversity may reflect an expansion of the role of disgust over evolutionary time, from an origin in defending the body against toxicity and disease, through defense against other threats to biological fitness (e.g., incest), to involvement in the selection of suitable interaction partners, by motivating the rejection of individuals who violate social and moral norms,” the study says.
