Orgasm! The big ‘O’ word is not talked about often. Sex is a taboo in India, a country with the second largest population in the world. However, if by any chance we get to talk about sex here, it is more about pregnancies, STDs, even men, but never about the act!
Orgasms are not really talked about here but when it comes to women, for us the big ‘O’ word is more talked about than it has ever been attained!
When ‘faking it’ becomes routine
Women do orgasm and sadly, not most men know about the existence of this whole phenomenon. For them, you need to have male reproductive organs to achieve orgasms. In most homes, it’s not talked about and sex is still about just men. Our society looks at women being the only tool which keeps expanding the family.
For women in India, the first thing after adulting is marriage and the first thing after marriage is the ‘good news’. They are brought up and have lived in an environment where women talking about sex is a shameful act and sex is mostly about men. Here, women pretend that they’ve had an orgasm, not because they enjoyed it but, because they want to tell their man that they enjoyed it.
In a country where all the sex education comes from sneaky porn sessions, men not being able to figure out women’s orgasm is very obvious.
So, here’s the deal- more than 70% of women in India don’t orgasm every time during sex. Fake orgasms, believe it or not, are a part of every woman’s sex routine.
If 70 per cent of Indian women are not orgasming every time they have sex, there is a problem. If women aren’t enjoying sex, it isn’t sex — it is something entirely different and patriarchal.
From a young age, women are told orgasms and sex are not things to be thought of. Most women don’t even know that penile intercourse is not the only way to reach an orgasm. Or, that an orgasm is like a happy pill, not a shameful excess. And most men aren’t taught that equality exists in the bed too.
Durex Condoms: Talking out loud about orgasm inequality
Durex, the condom brand, has been around for decades now and is known the best for being the most successful in talking about sex without objectifying women. Popular for its quirky social media and fiercely bold approach to sex and related issues, Durex India has added a new feather to its cap with #OrgasmInequality. The new campaign is based upon a survey which confirms that 70% of women don’t orgasm every time during sex.
The main motive behind the campaign was to introduce a the ‘mutual climax’ condoms. These condoms are specifically designed to reach the end goal: men and women coming together.
The conversation opened up a window for thousands of people across the country voicing their opinions and sharing their point of view on this matter.
A lot of celebrities including Swara Bhaskar, Pooja Bedi, Karan Kundra and Kenneth Sabastian jumped the bandwagon, being out and loud about orgasm inequality.
The backlash against inequality in bed!
This campaign, with obvious consequences, was really well received by women and is being highly criticised by men.
Indian men are calling out names, questioning feminism, slut-shaming and mocking women for even bringing up this topic. According to them, the condom brand smoked something up to even mention this topic.
Men in India are now demanding for a ban on Durex!
A netizen tweeted, “all jobless actress are promoting @DurexIndia #FakeOrgasm for their livelihood. new syappaaaaa.”
While another one wrote: “Sex Guru banoge ab aap. You guys will now to dig into people personal life. #shameful”
One woke user tweeted against the campaign saying, “In India almost half of the population don’t get to eat three meals a day and people are talking about orgasm, man we people in cities don’t have any idea of our country.”
Female celebrities were slut shamed, without even considering what they are talking about. In India, sadly, women orgasm is lesser about sex and more about male ego and patriarchy.
That’s why when Durex puts Indian women’s orgasm crisis in their ads, they face a backlash. Magazines like Cosmopolitan still have to write articles on “Types of female orgasm explained” and condom companies have to talk about the orgasm gap.
Male tweeters took it as an affront to their masculinity, while women appreciated it as pure gold. According to women tweeters, “#BoycottDurex because your fragile Indian male ego cannot handle that your 15-second performance didn’t get the respect it deserved.”
Funnily, men have also been tweeting #SayYestoKohinoor, unaware that Durex and Kohinoor brands are owned by the same company! Men have also tagged the Prime Minister and Home minister, demanding an apology from the company.
Imagine how hard a mere social media campaign can hurt the Indian male ego
When it comes to sex, we are the least educated population. Here, women don’t know about their own bodies, the have no clue about the whole existence of ‘G-spot’ and ‘O-word’. This initiative by Durex was the need of the hour and the backlash acts as a catalyst to explain how bad we needed to talk about equality in bed. We need to understand that this has nothing to do with feminism.
Women ought to stand behind the concept of destigmatising sex, and that the more they talk about the sexual health, the better it is for women!