I was talking to a friend the other night and trying to convince him that there is a huge business opportunity in sex-toys. I mean, I've read enough stories about how the Chinese sex-toy industry is booming, but out here I've never seen a dildo on sale even in the shadiest of shops I have been to. Well, actually I did see a 'Fleshlight' on sale once at Palika, but it looked fairly cheap. I mean, this is the land of the Kama Sutra and all and people rave about Tantric sex out in the West, but Indians on the face of things seem like a very repressed culture, north to south. Why this is surprising is that Indians are on general hornier than most other cuiltures - and I'm not just talking about the men over here. We may talk about the social malaise of call-centres (Phooey!) but unless BPO management starts some sex-education classes in their call-centres soon, a certain epidemic could spread far faster than it already is. OK, with costs being cut the way they are, I would just suggest that they at least start condom vending machines. Have you ever been to a Abortion Clinic in India? It is unbelievable how many abortions Indians have every year (especially after festive seasons?) - and I'm not even looking into the deliberate abortion of female embryos over here. In hedonism central - Bombay - its like a sex-festioval sometimes, even when you step out of glitz and glamour world.
And then, when a woman advises young people to use condoms, a bunch of frustrated people go denouncing her? I don't get it. We bang like no-one else on earth (and bang a lot - there are a billion of us) and there is no concept of sex magazines, or even good sex advice columns. Heck, Playboy in India will be 'bunny-less' because they don't want to offend 'Indian sensibilities'. But what on earth is this much vaunted 'Indian sensibilities'? A millenia ago, when our ancestors were putting up scupltures of naked people banging, no-one spoke of sensibilities? But nowadays, even a slight show of nipple is said to effect the minds of our young. I have no idea why a bunch of 50-year olds get so offended, when their sons and daughters are going around fucking like rabbits.
What is even stranger in the way we treat sexual content on TV. We'll ban cable operators from playing the movies but not control the sale of DVD's and VCD's at railway stations. Not unless some cop hasn't been given his cut. If you want to find porn in this country and don't have access to broadband, you still can (but I doubt a housewife can find a good dildo).
Because sexuality is seen a thing that must be hidden, it has been driven underground and we all knew it was there - HT and ToI have been carrying Massage and Friendship adverts for years. Only now with the advent of Mobile Phone cameras can we get a glimpse into this world. And my god, giving Indians cheap video cameras has taken the sexuality out of the bedroom and onto the mobile phone. The amount of porn video clips available is not funny. And a cursory glance at my keywords also alerts me to the fact that Indian men are obsessed with seeing naked celebs - Mallika Sherawat, Sania Mirza, Priety Zinta etc. The vids that are out there - other than the Riya Sen (ugh!) clip are all so obviously fake its not funny, but people still want to see them - so much so that people will go to great lengths to make a new 'mobile-phone blue film' as these are called nowadays. The only way to combat this is to somehow liberalise the entire 'sex' business in India - I'm not saying legalise prostitution (though that would help too) but allow a porn magazine into the country for gods sake. I mean, why are we in denial over here.
By the 2011 census it is predicted that a quarter of India's population will be between the ages of 15-24 - prime banging age. Hopefully, the moral policing of the golden oldies would have stopped by then, but just like the 'stop sex' advocates of today were frustro's in their youth (not getting any in the 60's and 70's), I wonder if the frustro's of today won't become the moral police of tomorrow. All I know is that banging will continue, hopefully we'll just be a bit more open about it and lose as much of the sense of denial of sex that we have nowadays. Being a repressed nation any longer will only make us even more perverted.
Which is why I think my idea for a sex-toy chain will do very well. I must get some VC funding for this. Where is Scott Adam's desperate VC Vijay when you need him?
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A city boy once went to a seemingly innocent Indian village. And was surprised. All he could do was blush. We speak of sexually-liberated metros, but some of our villages can give them ample competition. Sans the ultra-low jeans and the tank tops, rural India is bonking and bonking hard and wide.
If moral policing was helping, we'd just be half a billion... Those who've got to do it, will always find ways. Look at Gujarat for instance. The abortion rates after garba nights hit the roof. Repressed, undoubtedly so. I wonder why we have to be so prudish when we all know we're only too likely to give in to curiosity sooner than we expect.
wow ... u write brilliantly on sex!! Looking for a change in beat ;)
I must say though that I have noticed that male blogs on sex don't quite make the mark ... I wonder why?
K,
Forget about the big man VC. Any woman would be ready to fork out money for this laudable venture! Tell us the account details! :))
I'm a bit confused. So what exactly is there to "abort" the day after you had sex ? Biologically, it takes somewhere between 2-3 days for even the best of the egg getter sperms to actually reach the fertilization zone through the cervix and the uterus. Using the "morning after pill" would be the logical way out of unwanted pregnancies than abortion in these cases. So why visit the clinic at all ? Just buy and pop a pill. To be double sure, aren't there do-it-yourself pregnancy-test kits available in the Indian market ? If not, this seems to be a much bigger (and essential) market than dildos.
Bengali Guy : The problem is that those pills are rather tough to get in India - and surprisingly, Durex survey or no Durex survey, there is more unprotected sex that one imagines. Ergo, the Vatican would have palpitations on how many embryos Indians 'dispose' of every year.
However, you're right in pointing out that there would be a massive market in 'do it yourself' preggo kits.
Shankari : Show me the money.
Give me a business plan!:))
& yes, I keep saying this ad nausea-um(!), there is by far too much abortion in India. Abortion as means of birth control is NOT the best option howeve pro choice 1 be. Anyway theres 'policy' for all that. Dildos are not sarkari sponsored, yet in this repressed nation!
The more we suppress this 'Basic Instinct' the harder it gets to be ignored.And thus so many Indian resort to rape, voyeurism and other such activities. Toys and books might be of some help.
MoodsandColours - That is an unintended consequence as is incest. Even a low-level discussion post on incest will go into 10,000 words. I mean, just look at the number of badly made KamaSutra books that you can find at every bookstore. But will you sell 'Hustler' Noooooo.....
Shankari : The moment anyone tries to promote Condom-usage or goes to a girls college promoting 'The Pill' the result is an uproar or righteous indignation. "You're promoting SEX, you evil bastards", they'll scream and then want to burn you (or your effigy). Buying the rubber or the pill is seen as 'embarrassing' - asking someone for protection is seen as 'humiliating' (which is why vending machines and mail-order should start). So abortion becomes the only way to avoid an unwanted pregnancy.
"entire 'sex' business in India - I'm not saying legalise prostitution (though that would help too) but allow a porn magazine into the country for gods sake. I mean, why are we in denial "
I am not sure about it buti think Prostitution is legalised . Otherswise the Sona Gachis of kolkata,G B Roads of Delhi wont exist.Somewhere I heard they get permitts from authorities.
Biren, prostitution is still illegal, just because we turn a blind eye to it most of the time doesn't make it legal. If you did legalise prostitution you'll also prevent to a large extent the mass-scale exploitation of women and control the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS.
The cops raid brothels across the country whenever they don't pay hafta or something else goes wrong. But otherwise as long as the cops get to bang for free once in a while they don't care.
I mean all Indians smoke up marijuana, but if you get caught (albeit with a large amount) you can be locked up under NDPS.
You need to lookup Palika better to have an idea of the existing market :)
What is illegal is soliciting for prostitution in a public place and trafficking of women for the purposes of prostitution. Otherwise, the mere exchange of monetary resources for sex does not fall within the ambit of the law. So all those hotel raids are actually on very slippery grounds, and more often than not the result is just some adverse publicity, not any actually prosecution.
To put it simply, pimping is illegal, whoring is not.
That means I will have to change my intended career path!
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