Nature is obscene ?
Had watched and enjoyed the movie OMG, released almost a decade ago. I was excited for the sequel but was a bit shocked and was curious why it was rated ‘A’. My only guess was the topic around which the film was woven. The plot of the movie starts when a video of a boy masturbating in the school washroom goes viral. School rusticates him as a disciplinary action. The boy’s father realizes his son’s plight and reason behind it. He blames himself for not being able to understand and teach his son. The film unfolds as his father fights against himself, the school and medical practitioners for making false claims. Same as the first part, the story revolves around courtroom proceedings. The film had me pondering over several aspects. The film is based on the necessity of sex-education for EVERYONE! Well, this is not a film review, but a way of sharing my thoughts which were running circles in my head.
The movie takes examples from historical / mythological facts. It tries to push the barriers or taboos. Taboos which are attached with the most natural and biological phenomenon. Which happens to be the base of every existence. Okay, no spoilers over here. But as I watched the movie the question, why was it rated “A" kept spinning in my head. The movie discussed issues faced by children. Though children are not allowed to see it? Our protagonist fights that sex-education is not vulgar or obscene but a necessity. But the central board of film certification found it obscene ! There's a scene in which we see Pankaj Tripathi reading Manto. This scene reminded me of the several trials faced by Sadaat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chughtai. Weren't their work called obscene and several petitions were submitted to ban them ? Society hates any sort of truth that disturbs the false hierarchy it has created.
As the case progressed, the protagonist Kanti bhai presented various arguments in court. To support his case proving that sexual education is not obscene or these acts are not a sin. It reminded me of a piece from an article from ‘the wire’. It was about Ismat emphasizing her stay in Lahore for a court hearing. The essay had a conversation between Mr. Aslam (who was hosting Ismat) and Ismat herself. It read as follows -
‘Wasn’t any religious education imparted to you?’
‘Aslam Sahab, I’ve read Behishti Zevar. Such explicit things are written there…’ I said innocently. Aslam Sahab looked upset. I continued, ‘When I read it in my childhood, I was shocked. Those things seemed vulgar to me. But when I read it again, after my BA, I realized that they were not vulgar, they were important facts of life about which every sensible person should be aware. Well, people can brand the books prescribed in the course of psychology and medicine vulgar if they so want.’
Taboos have always been a way to stop the power which can uproot the current institutions. Taboos are created to stop the discovery of truth. Taboos act as a wall between the marginalized and equality - equity. So, taboos related to the human body and procreation too were a wall. But wall against what? What was ahead of all these infinite taboos. The more I read, the denser it became. Most of these taboos were pointed towards half of the population, towards WOMEN. Whether their body parts, or menstrual cycle. While women were given a high pedestal to sit on, they were like viewers sitting on the top watching. They were on thrones made up of thorns. All they could do was sit and watch their freedom being taken away. Their rights were being taken away first in the name of respect and care, and then for the sake of family and respect.
The taboos hovering over procreation are endless. Needless to say, even talking about it makes one’s character questionable. The only way a teenager or young adult learns about this is through friends. Who themselves know more myths than the truth. Our education system does have “Reproduction in humans " as a chapter. But the taboo is like an atmosphere covering the whole society. The chapter is often skipped. If thaught then with no details. Or in such a discrete way that it becomes as if talking about something very far away. The human body is discussed as if talking about aliens.
When we say that fornication is explicit. Intercourse a sin or talking about it obscene aren't we saying nature is obscene itself. Aren't we all collectively agreeing that we are all results of sins? Well, it makes sense as most of the people are surrounded by hatred. Directed towards themselves which then reflects in the outer world.
Earlier when my thoughts were deep rooted in the myth of matriarchal society. The utopia where women were not chained to their domestic responsibilities. They weren't without any choice or freedom. They ruled the demographic. Lineage traced by maternal bloodline. I had believed in a period estimated 5000 years ago to be gynocratic. The prehistoric period where women ruled. I had relentlessly thought how power dynamics would have worked in that paradise. I read about archeological finding of women hunters, backing up an egalitarian society. But, I also read that no significant proof was available for this woman led utopia.
I went astray from my topic. We were not here for matriarchal society but my thoughts after watching OMG 2. But everything is interconnected. You might have heard of the butterfly effect. Its working was described by Mathematician Edward Lorenz in the 1960s. He suggested that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil could ultimately produce a tornado in Texas; or the idea that small things can have non-linear impacts on a complex. So, it’s only normal that one topic leads to another. Society claims to be organized, cultured, progressive and what not. Still fifty percent of its population have to live in constant fear of the other half? There’s a strong need to address that issue before claiming to be developed or developing. Else this negligence proves society is none of what it claims to be but, declining and rotting.
Again, I haven’t addressed the subject. What are taboo topics? Talking about our own body parts, physical needs. Conceiving without a male partner accepted by society. In fact, not being able to conceive with your partner is frowned upon too. A child can’t be born motherless but can be fatherless. Though single parent fathers will be praised. While mothers would be criticized by society. A child born without knowing its father would be called a bastard. Children are known to be the future of humanity. But, since unknown times or as some say for around 5000 years have been one of the chains stopping their own mothers. And all because of taboos. Aren’t taboos the reason something as grave as rape becomes a sign of showing superiority? Body parts of women become swear words? One’s relation with women becomes a way to mock or abuse some? And all these taunts are added with what to produce shame and regret? An activity which is natural and is the base of all existence and our own existence.
Let’s now start with the question, Why Sex become taboo? Well, it’s all because of the curse of reproduction. In the time unknown, same as polygamy, polyandry was common. (Yes, some tribes still practice polyandry, but in some minority tribes. Though polygamy is accepted even today. A male switching partner often is a ‘Playboy' . While women ‘characterless and gold digger').
Now, if we assume that during the time of hunters and gatherers due to the menstrual cycle women stayed in. So, women were on rest for five days a month, then again during the maternity period. Someone has to look after the offspring too. The person who had them also had to look after them i.e. women. Now, they might have divided the work into domestic chores and the earning / resource collection around that time. The beginning of never-ending oppression.
Then at a point men were the ones earning. Women knew their own children, but men didn’t. N number of men and women slept with N number of partners and performed coitus. The women gave birth, and they knew they were the mothers of the child but as for men they didn’t. Hence, the women centric civilization .(Which is still not proven but widely believed.)
Children had mothers and they carried their names. While the said father never even knew their offspring. They were the ones with land, the ones earning bread and yet didn’t even know the child they had. This ignorance and questions might have entered the sons too. So, to know the heirs they snatched the rights of women.
How do you make someone give up their freedom? How did men stop women ? How does the taboo work? How do you stop women from going out with more than one man? Simple, tell them it’s wrong. It's a sin. Now someone can question that too. An atheist won’t fear God. A revolutionary won’t care for rules. Then? Create a taboo, cover the physical contact with emotional terms. With moral values and ethics. If you can’t talk about something, what are the chances you’ll go against it?
Both the sons and fathers worked against their own mothers and daughters. I want to believe in the start they might not have known what they were doing. Women were taken away from the outside world for the sake of children. Now, made dependent on a single man. The children started carrying their father's name. This was the beginning of the dark age which hasn't ended yet.
The system was created. Humans were divided between Men and Women. The only thing which could be a problem to this machine was homosexuality. If two women like each other, they won’t need a man. They’ll withdraw from man’s world. If two men like each other, the whole reproduction plan would fall. Also, they might exit the position of oppressor. I read that section 377 was imposed by Britishers so that the soldiers won’t astray from their path. It might not have been the first time.
Eliot Schrefer in his book Queer ducks talk about sexual orientation. He describes behavior of different animal species. This book answers many questions while proving that in nature sexuality is fluid. Not accepting it is the only unnatural thing.
We need to unlearn all the ideas of gender and sexuality. We must then relearn the natural order. Going against nature only leads to disturbance and disasters. Nature does not shut us in some rulebook of identities. These taboos and rules are created to establish control. We grow up listening and accepting them. Believing anything other than this is unnatural.
Some argue that if, people start talking about “SEX” it’ll lead to rapes, sexual assault and other social evil. But don’t they exist today? Knowledge is not the cause of social evils but ignorance is. As a society if we keep denying the physiology, we’ll be creating more such evils. A brother kills his own sibling. Why? Because, she got her period. Here, it’s not the brother who killed that innocent girl. But, the society who taught him repeatedly that physical intimacy is wrong. At the same time filled his mind with the idea of male dominance/ masculinity. Society transformed him from a brother to protector of the clan, But, kept him completely unaware of the menstrual cycle. About human anatomy. Had he been given sexual education, would he have killed his sister? But it’s a topic off limits ?The society killed that girl and it keeps on taking several lives every day. Ignorance is one of the main reasons for STDs (sexually transmitted disease) , unwanted pregnancies. Not knowing about hormonal changes creates stress and results in violence. Much of the domestic violence, feticide is also the result of selective ignorance. Women subjected to violence for having a girl child. When the man chromosome is behind that. Who'll teach all this ?
This unawareness is a main cause of distress and needs to be addressed. It doesn't matter if in the past people talked about certain topics or lived in a certain way. No matter what sculpture of Khajuraho represents or what books like Kumārasambhava or Kama Sutra say. Whether society has been patriarchal since the beginning. Or at some time was it matriarchal? Recent history, both technological and social, proves that innovation is possible. We are not forever condemned to find our future in our past.
While we now can talk about gender equality, caste system, and religions this one topic is untouchable still. Because we are afraid of our own demons and of the taboos. We perceive how people will see someone talking in favor of sex. The person speaking out loud of SEX will be deemed to be either lustful or shameless. But it's better to merge and clear our thoughts. To get over with living as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Let's stop seeing the reason behind our own very existence, shameful and disgusting. Let's understand our body and not treat it as if it is some alien or deformity.
And if slight chances this piece seems explicit or obscene for you. Then nature is obscene to your eyes. And as Manto said, “If you cannot bear these stories then the society is unbearable. Who am I to remove the clothes of this society, which itself is naked. I don't even try to cover it, because it is not my job, that's the job of dressmakers."
