[Guest Author : Saakshi O. Juneja]
“If you are above the age of 18, a male and seeking a job that combines work with pleasure, here is an unusual opening that promises a combination of both. The post of a condom tester is up for grabs as Durex, one of the world’s largest condom manufacturer has announced plans to recruit Indian males above the age of 18 to test their products. [Link]
Interesting. Encouraging. But sexist, without doubt.
My annoyance with the above ‘modern’ initiative is with the fact that women have been so easily excluded from Durex’s consumer involvement programme. This to me is nothing but just another example of what our society perceives is a woman’s worth in matters related to S-E-X: The man is in charge of the sexual act, the woman is merely the means to reach an orgasm.
They are manufacturing male condoms, so I understand their primary targets are men. So Gay couples are covered, but what about heterosexual ones? Agreed, it is the man who wears it but then again it is the woman who takes that rubber film within her. And so by all means, she has an equal right to choose and evaluate the kind of rubber film she wants entering her (extremely) personal space. I mean come on, so many outside objects coming your way, one definitely deserves some privileges.
Therefore ideally speaking Durex’s highly enterprising offer should have been open for both the sexes.
But let’s take reality into account. I’m referring to the stuck-up mentality of the society we live in. I, for one, can totally understand the hesitation on the manufacturer’s side; in a country where a woman gets snubbed for even saying the word “sex” out loud, it’s literally a death wish for a company to promote ideas that encourage women in sexual matters.
And unfortunately for the time being, playing into such societal prejudices seems to be the only way to move forward. Hopefully tomorrow will bring forth an unbiased perspective.