Juvenile Sluts and Adult Virgins

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This short note is just an observation. I have been quite disturbed by watching the popular dance reality shows produced in Malayalam and broadcast internationally. I was also quite puzzled by a certain contradiction one can see in the way our society understands and imposes sexuality and restriction in public sphere. In prime time, Malayalam reality shows must be a pedophile’s delight where one can see ten-twelve year olds gyrate their pre-puberty bodies to raunchy Malayalam-tamil-hindi songs. It is painful to see little kids (I would personally prefer to call a ten year old a kid) dressed up in skimpy cheesy outfits and trying to woo each other while the Reality Show Judges watch in awe. The sexier and nastier is the better according to the Judges. Seriously, whatever happened to the cuteness of children, I don’t understand!
Interestingly, you can still find these kids rather cute, precisely because they don’t understand the wider meanings the audience or the judges ascribe into the ‘shake your butt; thrust your pelvis’ dance moves.
I just want to look at this situation as a trigger to look into a problem which is running deeper in the social fabric of ‘Mallu Morality’. Anyone can look around at any popular clothes store and see that the cute frilly lacey frocks and skirts are no longer the popular dress style for kids. Look around to see tiny girl children decked up in sexually suggestive clothing. Last vacation, when I was home, I even saw a fake bra strap on a ten year old! (The horror!) Even while this is problematic, the scenario becomes unparalleled when you see the amount of frigid restriction the society imposes on an average adult woman in Kerala. You don’t have to wear a sleeveless top or a mini skirt to get lewd comments on the streets. Even a nun’s habit will get you vulgar comments on the sly.  This is a paradox I can never understand. You dress up your innocent little girls like sex sirens and once they hit puberty, even if they cover themselves up from head to toe, you mutilate their self respect in every possible way. This is a mad society indeed!
This note is also an appeal to bring back the cuteness in kids and also bring a healthy sultriness in the adult women. Let there be a logical balance in the sexual expressions of the feminine. Let her be a kid to begin with, and let her take her own time to understand and be comfortable with her sexuality.

-Prabha Zacharias