The Horrificks of Romance
Words by Anna Mac
Nothing quite says horror and macabre like love. As if the world of romance isn’t scary enough as it is, there are certain behaviours that give people one of dating’s most feared and dreadful occurrences: The Ick. The Ick was first coined in 2017 by Olivia Attwood on a reality dating show, when she got The Ick from her romantic interest.
So, what is “getting the ick”? I recently had a conversation with a friend and we decided it was the opposite of someone who has it. Getting The Ick from someone is basically getting turned off by a minor action or behaviour, as far as I am concerned anyway. Like, if someone were to cheat, and you were turned off them by this action, that is certainly more than The Ick; I call that assholeism.
The counteraction of The Ick is It. Having It is, in modern terms, being a worldie: being incredibly attractive both physically and personality wise. For this article, I asked my Instagram followers (up to a steady 170 since the last article I wrote, thank you very much) some questions about icks, and it appears some of them possibly thought they had It instead…
To start off my data research, I asked my Finsta some yes or no polls. The first question was:
Has anyone ever done something that irrationally turned you off them? (getting The Ick)
92% yes, 8% no from the 25 people who voted. Surprising? Not in the slightest.
Next question:
Do you possess any Icks yourself - has anyone ever turned off YOU because of something irrational?
65% yes, 35% no - seems like I have some super confident friends and honestly, good for them. Maybe they have It which is why I keep them around…
Do you think Icks are rational?
Two thirds yes, 33% no, meaning that the majority of people I know believe Icks are valid and, dare I say, worthy? So what on earth are The Icks these people have that make them believe that Icks are in fact, logical?
“When they don’t do drugs.”
“Fake tan.”
“Stalks me.”
“Anna” (good one).
“Viscerally hating cats.”
“People who spit on the street” (got this one a few times).
“Blackheads in ears, can’t hack it at all.”
“Rude/condescending.”
“Smoking in the kitchen gives me the absolute ick! Get your ass outside.”
“Dick is ick.”
“Immediately sexting after matching on an app.”
“A bragger…unnecessary bragging and overt cockiness sends me!!!”
“Literally the word ick is an ick for me.” (soz)
“Being overly friendly and nice.”
“I was in a car with a fella and he hit the brakes and his head bobbed back and forth, and that DID IT.”
“People who walk while eating.”
“I once got the ick from someone drinking an energy drink."
And lastly, my favourite Ick of all:
“Getting fined on the luas.”
These comments are genuine reasons why people ended a fling/interest/relationship with a significant other. Something that could have blossomed into a magical romance, or ended in a forest of Icks that would take a sexy It lumberjack to get through. My last and final question to the good people of Instagram was:
Is it possible to overcome The Ick?
Instagram is a 50/50 split… which is not convincing or overwhelming in any sense.
So folks, it’s down to personal taste - Ick or no Ick, love and romance is hard enough as is. Give yourself a try to overcome The Ick, but what’s for you won’t pass you, unless they spit on the street or fine you on the Luas.
