When we were little kids, I am sure that many of us remember our parents covering our eyes anytime we came across a kissing scene in a movie- even if it was a Disney movie! Over time, I saw my non-Indian friends grow out of this phase being able to watch an intimate scene in front of their parents and not seem to feel uncomfortable in any way, shape, or form.
I am in my 30s and I can honestly say that even at my age, it is still odd to see two people kissing on television. I grew up seeing my parents give one another a tiny peck on the lips before either one of them left for work- they still do it now, after 36 years or marriage (hello relationship goals!), but the idea of seeing someone doing the same on television while my parents and I are watching the scene together gets my stomach in a knot.
Sex scenes did not exist in Bollywood for as long as I can remember. You knew something was about to go down between people when they would start rubbing their necks against one another rapidly. The female would then stick their head into the nape of the male’s neck and then it would cut to the next scene. Until just a few years ago, the idea of publicly speaking about sex or showing a couple gets somewhat intimate in a movie or television show was taboo.
I recently watched a Hindi movie, “Made in China,” and while it made for a good comedy, the message it sent was all about how speaking about sex is not something that people should shy away from. Sex is not only about pleasure, it is biological. Society expects that women mothers but speaking of periods and sex is often frowned upon.
When we live in a world where we do not speak of such things, it allows for many things to happen that go unnoticed or not spoken of. Sexual molestation and assault is extremely common in India and while the understanding of what it is is becoming more knowledgeable, the disgusting people conducting such acts do so because more often than not, the victim does not know any better.
Therefore, I challenge you to help be a catalyst in the South Asian community- to help those around us, especially our elders and those with old school thinking to understand that sex education is necessary and needs to be spoken about not only in school but also at home. Children should feel comfortable approaching a parent and asking questions but also bringing things that are not right to their attention. There should be no reason that a child who is molested should have to feel like they were at fault or at not pure because of our lack of understanding of good versus bad acts of sex or the total lack of speaking about it.
After all, we are all here because of two people had sex.
Keep it up. Like all of your posts