"Sex: the thing that takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble." -John Barrymore
"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go it’s pretty damn good." -Woody Allen
"Sex is a part of nature. I go along with nature." -Marilyn Monroe
"Sex education may be a good idea in the schools, but I don’t believe the kids should be given homework." -Bill Cosby
"Sex is emotion in motion." -Mae West
"Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty good questions." -Woody Allen
Why sex of all things
AM I THAT promiscuous to even discuss it in class? The answer is, N.O.Then why did I choose sex as my "cultural commodity"? Well, the answer is simple. Almost everybody in the world experience (or will experience) sex, in one way or another. May you be in Africa, US, Europe or even Alaska, sex is one thing that defines our existence as human beings. With our creative and imaginative ingenuity reflected in the creation of sex manuals like the Kama Sutra, it is one tasty reality that everybody wished to take a bite into, save of course the chaste clerics and nuns or other religious people.
Unlike perfumes or shampoos or cars, sex is free and yet it is so pleasurably exalting and addicting, or so they say. When it comes to this activity, the world is an equal playing field - everything could happen. People invented toys, practiced and mastered positions and even popularized sex out of the context of love and affection.
Indeed, sex is one those very few things that we can all relate into. With or without orgasmic experience, sex is sex. How we experience it is subject for analysis and discussion, and that is where I come in.
If we are going to study sex cultures around the world, we will all realize that there is no universal thing on how to go about it. Other societies have rituals. Others are conservatively bounding it with the idea of marriage. While others, take it as a liberal, human experience that must be shared to all peoples of the world! Indeed, sex is a cultural commodity. We need to transact into the larger "market" and make ourselves palatable for it. May it be by being rich enough to procure it or too hot a person to score it for free. It is also an investment. We don't force sex upon someone, that is called rape. We make ourselves worthy of the experience - we invest on our looks, reputation and so on.
What makes it unique for me is that it is not only a cultural commodity but also a cultural representation. Sex patterns around the world vary. And to some degree, how people engage in sex reflect the socio-economic conditions that they are in: if your society is liberal - sex is no big deal; if your environment is deprived of space, then sex is not as pleasurable; if the your society is conservative, well then, you have got to court, get married before you have sex; but, if your society lives by the traditional means - then sex is as primitive as ever.
Sex is a representation. Sex is a commodity. Sex is culture. And it is one primal human activity that anyone should not miss for it has the capacity of snatching a piece of heaven here on earth. ✻
0 comments:
Post a Comment