THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is much greater acceptance of pornography in the society today than in earlier years, Sanjay Srivastava, professor of sociology, Delhi University, has said.
Speaking on ‘Streets, Footpaths, Gated Communities - The Cultures of Indian Pornography’ at the Kovalam Literary Festival on Friday, he said recent years have witnessed a ‘mainstreaming’ of pornography, which can be witnessed in the contents of women’s magazines, for instance. What was quarantined once upon a time, is now readily available and discussed.
Beginning his presentation with the poser “What can pornography tell us about social and cultural life?’’ Srivastava said “street’’ or “footpath’’ pornography, which comes in the form of cheaply-produced titillating booklets, reflect the aspirations of the poor urban man. It reflects his shifting, uncertain social situation in the urbanscape.
“These booklets are part of ceaseless circulation. Their publishers frequently disappear, their trades change, sometimes the books get carted away by the police. Their audience are young men of limited means. They feature European women, or westernised Indian women, in positions of rapture.’’ The type of women depicted in such works have a ‘Helen-like’ character. Such books are also reflections of a life where spaces are rapidly transforming, he said.
On the other end of the pornographic spectrum, reflecting the middle-class sexual culture, is the buxom Savitha Bhabhi, sari-clad, vermilion on her forehead. Savitha, the protagonist of the animated hottie site, is a manifestation of the ‘gated community,’ Srivastava said. She is a figure who can safely flit between tradition and the sexual modernity. “She represents a different culture in the social context.’’
trivandrum@epmltd.com