‘I really feel religion only begins to make
sense when our cocks have ceased to
stand.’
— Upamanyu Chatterjee,
English, August: An Indian Story
Men do not feel obliged to be sensitive to their bodies. They are well aware of the most important part of their body. Very early on in life, they start to refer to it as their main part. When exactly was this term coined, no one knows, but through common consensus by their gender, they came to the conclusion that this just had to be the main deal! It may have something to do with the fact that while women have, at least, ten erotic zones, men have just one. The main part, of course, lives up to its reputation—the Puranas (a compendium of spiritual traditions) are full of stories about how beautiful nymphs seduced the celibate hermits. The mere sight of these apsaras caused the hermits to lose control of their senses and succumb to them.
It is for this reason that the practice of Visha Kanya, the poison damsel, was very common in ancient India. These poison damsels were given small doses of various poisons, just enough to make their bodies immune to it, not kill them. By the time they reached their teens, there was enough poison lodged in their tissues to kill anyone who became intimate with them. The king would invite whomsoever he wanted to settle a score with to a nice feast and present the girl to him to enjoy. Once the guest set his eyes on the damsel, he would be incapable of turning down the offer. Such is the power women have over men even today! Men may rule the world, but it is almost frightening to see how easily they get swayed for want of pleasure.
The most important and essential part of a man’s life revolves around fulfilling the need of their ‘main part’; everything else is secondary. They think of its need every few seconds/minutes depending on their age and stage in life. And this is where women wield power over them. Women are aware of how grateful men are to them for fulfilling this need of theirs. They exploit this need to their advantage and get men to subjugate to their whims and fancies.
‘Sex, as I said, can be summed up in three
P’s: Procreation, Pleasure, and Pride.
From the long-range of view, which
we must always consider, procreation
is by far the most important, since
without procreation there could be no
continuation of the race . . . so female
orgasm is simply a nervous climax to
sexual relations . . . and as such it is a
comparative luxury from nature’s point of
view.’
— Madeline Gray, The Normal Woman
Women take their bodies far more seriously. They are alert to every bit of change it goes through. The moon, with its waxing and waning, dictates her clock. She knows that her body is ultimately a source of bringing life into the world. The magical womb will nest her baby someday, so she must not tamper much with this life-giving source. She simply can’t be frivolous with her body.
According to a South Indian folklore, a woman’s powers resides in her breasts. So, women are just as obsessed with their breasts as men are. Perhaps, a man’s obsession with them makes her feel powerful when she is well endowed. The preoccupation could also stem out of pure aesthetics—it is a painter’s and a sculptor’s delight. Whatever may be the reason, a good pair makes a woman feel extremely feminine and confident.
As for sex, it varies from individual to individual. A lot of factors come into play which decide her relation to it, such as how she feels about her partner, her history of sexual abuse or exploitation, her religious mindset, which is mostly distorted with the notion of sex as a sinful act, and her cultural conditioning, which tends to weigh her down by resting the burden of the family honour on her frail shoulders.
There are days, however, when women crave for it, just like men. Though, unlike men, if they do give in and look for somebody who can satiate their needs outside of marriage, they are burdened with guilt. At other times, sex is a completely emotional experience for her. She is miserable when she falls out of love with her partner because, unlike men, when she falls out of love with her partner, she feels defiled by the act of sex. This is just how she is programmed. Her main part is her heart, full of emotions, for bitter or for better!