Oh, what a bold but necessary topic of discussion is underway, today! For readers who frequent the blog section, Misters is a men’s health platform. When it comes to libido or sexual desire in its most fundamental sense however, it is challenging to portray it from a male perspective while doing justice to the larger discourse present in society about the same.
The extent of discussion regarding male sexual desire is limiting. It is either represented as a toxic manifestation of masculinity or posed as harmful to others’ safety, and in many situations, rightly so. Having said that, the domain of desire, if there can ever exist a thing such as that, is so vast and nuanced that one has to look beyond conventional notions of it to attain a more comprehensive understanding.
If I were to bat for the male side, I could say that women’s sexuality is viewed as enigmatic, even the aspect of growing age only augmenting their sense of worth and self. If I were to bat for the male side, know that I am simultaneously batting for all sexes.
Popular sociological discourse vehemently highlights the degree of control men exert in all decision making spheres of life, public and private, on a global level. Yet, efforts to understand nuances in their behaviour often remain reductionist. The Bailey Review on the early sexualization of children is an apt example. It comes off as saying that girls have problems and that boys are the problems. Comparatively speaking, the amount of research that exists on body image issues pertaining to girls and women, far outnumbers the body of work surrounding let’s say, the unrealistic impact of an early introduction to porn faced by boys and men, leading to unrealistic expectations and performance anxieties.
To reiterate, that speaking of sexual desires of a certain sex does not undermine but in turn help all sexes in an interconnected manner, is ever so important. Just how with feminist movements and women’s emancipatory politics taking over the world, a lot is yet to be done to achieve female equality in it’s truest sense, the male question needs some interrogation too.
