Suddenly, everybody is talking sex in Tamil Nadu. Whichever place you go, there seems to be no escape from the humongously under-rated S word. More than a month after actor Kushboo unwittingly (?) rode the tiger, it is as if people cannot stop talking about whether or not PMS (pre-marital sex!! no punning intended) is part of Tamil culture.
Ironical indeed, coming from a population which has been almost single-handedly raised on a staple diet of bawdiliciously lewd Kollywood lyrics which foregrounded PMS in all its
here-today, gone-tomorrow suggestiveness. Remember *Kalyaanandhan kattikittu odi polaama's' `thaaliayadhaan kattikittu pethukalaama, illa pillai kutti pethukittu kattikalaama'? (For the uninitiated, this translates something like `shall we tie the knot before begetting children or shall we beget children before...well, you get the picture). Now, go beat that in the PMS stakes! And to think that this was the song on every Kandasamy, Munusamy and Palanisamy's lips till not long ago...
Well, what has gone wrong...(or is it right)? Just this: sex sells and nothing sells like sex.
And more so, when a woman is caught at the wrong end of this bottomline. It WOULD be interesting, wouldn't it, to see how the circulation figures of those vernacular dailies which spearheaded this new talkathon changed in those days they published the latest episode of the burn-Kushboo-at-the-stakes soap opera.
I should also tell you perhaps of the double whammy I have been facing ever since this thing surfaced. People think just because you are a woman journalist, they can ask you questions they would not have dared ask another woman. They expect you to
have too thick a hide that you are supposed to answer even the most supercilious questions with a smile (``You ask others uncomfortable questions...what's with you when you are faced with some yourself?'')
A few days back, I received this rather interesting series of SMS-es from a male journo who-- don't hold your breath--belongs to the liberal Left. ``What is your stand on the Kushboo issue?,'' the first one wanted to know. Too tired by then of having repeated the answer ad nauseum over the past few days, I nevertheless messaged back. The next one was more direct: ``Do you approve of PMS?'' Another reply sent. Then came the bouncer:
``Would you do it yourself?'' Oh, well?
So, that's it folks....so much for this libertarianarism. All it means is this: a woman is nothing but the sum total of her sexuality. As long as she is perceived to be liberated, she is game for anything and you can hit her where it hurts most. She asked for it, didn't she, so don't leave her alone, just spear her till she moans in pain. Then put her on show and watch the audience self-pleasure itself and climax.
In the end it is all about communal self-pleasuring....
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Oops, that S word again!
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9 comments:
Good post. Yeah u're rite...every1s talking about the S word. And, as u say, we already have Tamil song lyrics that approve Khusboo's logic.
I guess the whole episode revolves around one point: Do you wish to impose your beliefs on others?
This november, last, during election campaign in USA, there was this heated debate on abortion b/w kerry & bush.
kerry's point was i personally will not support abortion, but will not impose it on others: not exact words, but this is the crux of the matter.
The point is do not impose your judgement, on others, and make it a rule of law.
and kannagi's example: what if kannagi had chosen to remarry? we would have lost an icon, so what, but there would have been a happily remarried woman. we want people to sacrifice their happiness, so that we can deify them.
I hope me being anonymous, does not bother you. If so please let know.
Better the issue came out now, I mean instead of being locked like that for ages, maybe people will start realising how mean they have been, there is always a victim/a sacrifice but I guess Kushboo will get her support group eventually and the double standards and hippocracy will end soon (say in years to come), you should have told the male reporter to ask his sisters the same repeated questions, that would be a slap on his face. When someone is trying to hit you where is hurts most, you need to hit back with double of what they have done..Came here thru suds blog..I am just wondering why will someone send an SMS on PMS (pun intended)...Your post is a bang for a start.
Hi Vani,
I came here through Swahilya's blog.
Very interesting write up.
Like your style of writing.
Yes, Unfortuntaley Liberation in this society means "Girl, Come let's have fun", whatever that fun means to them. Pretty Bad.
Women need to define themselves
and especially in this episode, I would expect more and more support from women and Men who have some commonsense to pitch in and reveal.
I watched the interview of Aamir Khan on NDTV this morning and was glad to see a person like him standing up for the right thing. What happens to all these other Chauvinistic Men from Tamil Nadu. Well, that kind of only reveals what I have heard from my friends from Tamil Nadu about male chauvinism persistent in the soceity.
Many people in this country do not know "to stand up", even though we all cherish the freedom provided by Mahathma who did only one simple thing "Stood up for what he believed in"
Anyways, Nice write up again,.
with best wishes,
Suman
Dear Anonymous:
The point made about Kannagi is sure interesting. However, let us not forgot one thing: Silapadhikaram is a narrative by a man written about a woman: of necessity, the virtues the man thinks a woman must possess must have been reflected in the writing too. Ever wondered what would have happened if a woman had written it?
Avvaiyar, that most well-known of Tamil women poets, had a thing or two to say--about sharing a drink with a man, for example--that would have sure been considered highly immoral by our new moral police.
It is true that most of our icons would have been much happier, left to themselves.
It is just that most of our histories are written in a linear fashion and have been accepted as such. Just think about this: we have always thought about the Taj Mahal as a symbol of a man's love for woman. Me thinks there is more to it: Shah Jahan loved building a building more than he loved his wife. It was his love for architecture that brought about the Taj rather than Mumtaj.
Seen this way, most of our histories would assume an entirely different layer.
Your being anonymnous is just fine with me. Just keep posting, that's all.
Navin:
Did not ask the male reporter to ask the same question to his sister because....well, why insult his sisters for his own cussedness?
I gave him another answer which had him blushing to the roots of his greying hair...the answer is too wicked to be published here.
You are right about hitting back.
Thanks for your post. It sure is a tremendous morale booster that I should be able to make friends with
so many people through this blog.
Suman:
I don't think Tamil Nadu alone should have the unique honour of being an excessively male chauvinist society. The disease is very democratic, it spreads across all geographical areas.
Maybe you have noticed that as far as the Kusbhoo episode is concerned, much of the mudslinging against her was done by women themselves. Some gender equality, this! Just points to how women become passive excuses in a semi-feudal set-up.
Thanks for the post.
I also heard about kusbhoo's episode.Unwanted issue and Suhasini also agrred what Kushbhoo said.Any way media gets good stuff.
Good wordplay ! Though I personally can't see what the fuss is all about. BTW, what's communal self-pleasuring dear ? Sounds like an orgy... though I am sure you di d not mean that ! hehehe :D
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