Is the majority India, which is still confused about consent in seх, ready for p0rn?

I’ve written several articles on the subject of rape – the ones that highlight the failures of the system get fairly popular. And then there’re those which have tried to solve the riddle of the predatory behavior of Indian men – they often touch a sensitive nerve among Indian people – and draw flak. People get extremely touchy when you propose that the same bhartiya sanskar that don’t stop us from beating our chest over “I’m Proud to be an Indian” could be drilling subtle sexism and misogynist behaviour among Indian men.

There’re two views prevalent on this extremely complicated subject – one which states that p0rn has got nothing to do with rape. Rape used to happen earlier as well – before the internet. Also, there’ve been several studies in Europe and in America which provide evidence to some extent that p0rn-viewing could reduce rape and seϰual vio1ence in society.

This theory holds water and is quickly becoming acceptable in the world as well. It states that during the high-tide of seхual frustration when you can easily achieve release via erotic material, you’re less likely to take the pain of going through the risk of raping a woman. It is fairly logical.

The second view is the feminist view – which views p0rnography from women’s perspective. Though, yes women do watch p0rn sometimes – but achieving gratification through watching seхual acts is more of a subject of male entertainment. Feminists are in principle against the objectification of women – p0rn in feminist view is just another term for virtual prostitution. All in all, p0rnography is considered degrading towards women, hence dirty and disgusting in feminism.

It should be understood what constitutes p0rn. Is any naked female-form p0rn? Universally no – but in India, yes. We don’t have a concept of tasteful nudity. Nude female equals p0rn for us. Though, strangely, nude male could mean a yogi, sadhu, body-builder etc. Within p0rn, there’re several varieties – from tame to extremely violent – and some could have devastating effects on human psyche. There’s a kind which may actually make you cringe. From “rape”, “incest”, “gangrape” … there’s no line which hasn’t been crossed.

Since we’re analyzing the role of p0rn in India – we should also understand what constitutes “India” as well. One fact that we need to understand is that we’re not liberal. We’re tightly conservative – I’m talking about the majority here. And it’s a big majority. What has liberated us to some extent, seхually and otherwise, is English education – which exposed us to the American culture.

My right-wing readers are already thinking “STOP APING THE WEST” in the minds, aren’t they?

Yes, it’s good to be proud about your customs – but we shouldn’t be blind. If you want to hate the west, hate it for the right reasons at least. Western liberalism largely resides on the foundation that does not oppose what’s natural. Don’t suppress. They’re pro-Choice – let people make their decisions. Democracy (choosing who rules you) is just another form of the same principle. Since, they’ve been practicing it for a long time – seхual liberation has made their society’s attitude open and healthy about seх.

If you compare it with the spread of liberalism in India – it’s mostly limited to secularism only.  Seхual liberalism has appeared only in spurts in India. The difference in how people see seх is so vast that it’s bound to create friction.

For example, if you say the French are seхually liberal – this fact is an entirety. Same goes for Americans who might be slightly prudish compared to French – but they too have fairly homogeneous attitude towards seх issues. Compared to the US and France – Saudi Arabia is a complete opposite. Though repressive – Islamic conservatism is firmly present. On the other hand, Pakistan is very similar to us. They’re Muslims – yet they secretly love American culture. There too,  seхual liberation is limited to the educated. Pakistan is the top subscriber of p0rnography in the world.

P0rn and internet go hand in hand. P0rn was never so popular and easily available before the internet. And now mobile internet is making it even more popular. Is this also the reason for the increase in number of rape cases? Believe it or not, it is a valid inquiry.

Effects of p0rn vary with its users. Where we’ve seen a positive outcome of p0rn in the west – it is possible that the east is not ready for it. When a user – who has liberal ideas about seх watches p0rn – it is a fun erotic activity. This user already has fairly open views about seх. While he engages in the use of p0rn – he often gets opportunities to get laid in real life too. Including all this, in his day-to-day life, women around him show enough skin that he’s used to seeing women as seхual beings. That is why you don’t have to explain the importance of consent during seх to him.

On the other hand, you’ve men in India – whose first association with the word woman is “Devi”, “Mata”, “Behen” – how do you think he’d react to the idea that women like giving and receiving 0ra1 seх? There’s an instant in the life of every young man in India – when he is introduced to p0rn. In today’s age, it’s happening fairly early via the internet. Compared to his American counterparts the naked form of a woman hits him with a bag of bricks. The transition from innocence to seх is so sudden that it comes as a shock. Biologically, it’s not an unpleasant shock. Off course he likes it – he likes it so much that he doesn’t know what to do with it.

It can go towards only either of two directions from here – either he becomes a p0rn addict, or he is bombarded with extreme seх-images in his mind that it may culminate at seхual harassment – in its worst form it becomes rape. There’s just no period for young boy to explore his seхuality in a healthy way in India. Actual interaction with the opposite seх in a lot of parts is bare minimum. As a matter of fact so many co-ed schools in India still control  healthy interaction between boys and girls. They do it thinking a responsibility towards the parents.

During the debate of “P0rn Ban” there were too many jokes about p0rn being a staple in Engineering colleges in India. Since most engineering colleges are fairly male majority – with no real skills to engage with real women, young men take refuge in the virtual world. Is this the generation of tomorrow? While they make computers, do they also have seх with them?

Not just limited to Engineering students – but young, middle-aged and old men – everybody is so caught-up between traditional values and seхual-imagery that it can only lead to perversion.

The other case is of men who’re poor, or the ones from the lower-middle class. Seх prospects of these men are the lowest. Everybody wants to marry their daughter into families financially better than them. It is our culture – like they say in old bollywood films “Badey ghar jayegi, raj karegi hamaari bitiya”. What does this do? Leaves a large number of poor men at the bottom, with no mating prospects. Seх-ratio is already screwed up in India due to female infanticide.  Prostitution is also illegal and unregulated. Here comes to the rescue – the easily accessible p0rnography on every mobile phone now. Don’t even need the computer knowledge now. This is the bag of bricks which has struck the lower-income male group in India.

Women look better when they have more money. These men see fair, good-looking women performing various seхual  treats on their screens. They lose their frikkin’ minds. Their hand is not enough for them. They don’t care that rape is a serious crime – and may bring death penalty. If they get an opportunity they’ll take it. City college girls look closest to these p0rn-goddesses to these men. P0rn at the end of the day changes a man’s expectations from real seх and changes how they see women. This artificially charged testosterone makes them open to vio1ence. She’s alone, it’s night time, and there’s a chance that they can get away with it. They’ll do it.

The dangerous part of this whole picture is that there’s no dearth of this group of men in India. Their lives are already difficult – they live on day-to-day wages. They have low mating prospects. Now with the advent of seхual entertainment, that too in white flesh. Their libidos have sky-rocketed. Morals and strict punishment can’t put enough constraints to control this out-of-control situation. These men are angry – they’re angry and frustrated that they don’t have enough. The difference between classes is extremely wide. They see a relatively good-looking woman, wearing western attire – they wonder that the only way they can ever have a woman like her is through rape. Sometimes they go for it.

What is the need of the hour is that realizing that freedom of choice with p0rnography is only fueling already frustrated men in India. Our social dynamics are completely different. Though we need to constantly work towards seхual liberation of India as a long term plan – it has to be better. Unregulated vio1ent p0rn can’t be the source of this seхual liberation. It has to be educational only.

If you’re thinking – “I watch p0rn and I don’t rape, so how can p0rn be blamed for rape?”.

People who’re already liberal – they have a healthy attitude towards p0rn and seх issues. These people don’t go around raping women. Ones who rape, have deep repressed ideas about sǝx in general. When these people watch p0rn – they don’t process it as a healthy fun erotic activity. The effect of p0rn on these people is completely different. Since India contains a big majority of these people – a widespread p0rn is going to result in rape, whether you like it or not. The question is why add more fuel to an already uncontrollable situation? It is definitely not an ideal situation – but ground realities suggest that p0rn is regulated if not banned.

The liberal, city-people argument to retain p0rn is as flawed as the traditional old-school seхually-repressed argument. India is still in a transition phase – and it’s going to take long before economically and ideologically any homogeneity is achieved. We need to achieve maturity towards seх in steps. This process shouldn’t be titillating. And that includes the soft p0rn that Bollywood and Ad-industry has begun to showcase. Yes, we don’t have to go back to traditional prudishness – but seхual liberation first needs to be achieved at relationship and interaction level.

About the ban on p0rn, I don’t know how feasible it is going to be. What’s the use of a law that can’t be enforced right? It’ll give more fodder to our police departments to harass people further through corruption. Still several steps can be taken to regulate p**n – it is possible only if a regime is ready attend to this problem in it’s entirety and not partially.

Rigorously classify p0rn – not all stuff can be under the ‘A’ symbol. Keep categories of safe p0rn and differentiate it from the violent variety. A censor law needs to be made to regulate these different levels. Read about extreme p0rnography law in UK.

Make p0rn publication without license an offense. Encourage entrepreneurs to setup an organised p0rn industry to produce media for seхual entertainment. Anything outside this should be illegal.

Once the p0rn is regulated – we know that it has an audience – embed messages of seхual education within this media. For example, in the story of film you could emphasize how consent is important is seхual relationship.

Make censor board stricter on Bollywood. Clear guidelines to promote intimacy on screen which is real and not titillating. That should be the mandatory constraint for the movie-makers to explore the seх theme. Also, “item numbers” should be tamed from becoming too wild.

While adults get educated via popular media, make seх education compulsory in schools and colleges. This way, at least the next generation will be ready to function as better adults.

P0rn is not a simple subject. Allowing it to spread it roots uncontrollably could bring havoc for the safety of women and general moral health of Indian men. Putting a blanket ban will be an even bigger mistake since that would just put us in denial and stunt the growth of our society. There’s a big difference between arresting people for watching p0rn and regulating p0rn content at the publishing source. In fact, it is not a freedom of expression issue at all. People are free to do whatever they do in their bedrooms. Even films and ad-films follow some kind of code – then why let p0rn go free on the internet. Isn’t p0rn produced to earn money too? It can’t be expected from p0rn producers to self regulate.

Also, does anybody else have any plan to contain the “rape” situation right now – except rigorous punishment? Rape is a crime and it still happens. You could punish a rapist only after the crime has happened. But, how do you contain rape? India is a complex society and one size fits all approach won’t work. This logic applies to free-unregulated p0rn too. P0rn may be a positive activity for some people – but majority isn’t reacting very well to it. Middle path needs to be found between ban and no-ban.

Like alcohol, for example, is regulated. It is a known fact that it leads to various crimes in society. Yet it’s effect totally depends on the user. So, it’s not banned, but closely watched. Equilibrium can only be achieved through responsible regulation. We’re not alone – many countries in Europe too – including Iceland, which is extremely seхually liberated, controls p0rn content. And UK even has a law for “Extreme p0rn” regulation. So, it’s not a new concept. Just maintaining the status quo and looking other way in denial won’t stop rapes. Only a willing and mature political regime can take this bull by the horn, else the future of seхual balance and moral fibre of our society is bleak.

Written by Ishaan Mohan Bagga

Political Analyst. Social Visionary. Editorial Journalist. Founder of open-magazine Indian Exponent.

Follow him on twitter @IshaanMohan