Sex has always been a taboo in Indian culture. Remember all the blood gushing to your cheeks when the biology teacher said the word ‘penis’ in class 7? Yes. That. It is not talked about as much as it should have and unawareness amongst most of us is often alarming. Well, that being said, what is even more alarming is the detrimental reality that:-
(a) Men are living in complete oblivion on how they can satisfy women (because they somehow can never find the damn clitoris.)
(b) Young women and girls are typically shamed for celebrating their bodies and enjoying sexual pleasure.
All we’re saying is that — it is okay. We get it. There is nothing to be ashamed about at all.
This misery might have just marked its end (well, a part of it!). This September, the world’s first open-source, anatomically correct, printable 3D clitoris would be available for primary to secondary level students across France as a part of their sex education, tackling gender inequality in the same amongst other important lessons.
This wishbone resembling replica of a clitoris — the blueprint of which can be downloaded and used anywhere — has ben created by a Paris-based socio-medical researcher Odile Fillod in collaboration with photographer Marie Docher, as The Guardian reports.
Considering how far we have come with all the technological advancements where scientists are now on the brink of discovering the fifth dimension, this might have taken a bit too long.
All hail 3D printing technology which has made the distribution of this model possible. What is even more intriguing is the fact that a detailed portrayal of the clitoris was produced only recently. Just how recently are we talking? Try 2009.
In an interview with The Guardian, Fillod said
“It’s important that women have a mental image of what is actually happening in their body.”
This independent researcher’s tiny sculpture will help students learn that the clitoris is made up of the same tissue as the penis.
She added,
“In understanding the key role of the clitoris, a woman can stop feeling shame. It’s also vital to know that the [female] equivalent of a penis is not a vagina, it’s [a] clitoris. Women get erections when they’re excited, only you can’t see them because most of the clitoris is internal. I wanted to show that men and women are not fundamentally different.”
If it interests you, you may watch the development and printing of the 3D clitoris by Marie Docher on vimeo below.
The French have undoubtedly inspired us Indians in ways more than one; feminist sex education can now be added to that list. This has been a major step towards strengthening sex education in the region. The question is — how soon will this be adopted in the Indian sex-education system and given the kind of importance that it deserves?