Doniger takes on a favorite subject

[Guest guest]

Doniger titillates with Kama Sutra lecture

By Caelyn Cobb

 

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

 

Wendy Doniger, a professor at the [university of Chicago]

Divinity School specializing in the history of religion,

discussed the Kama Sutra in a presentation Thursday sponsored by

Sexual Education Activists.

 

Doniger, who re-translated the third-century classic Sanskrit text

in 2002 with psychoanalyst and writer Sudhir Kakar, discussed

the Kama Sutra's take on the romantic, social, and sexual lives

of men and women, and its implications for a more traditional

understanding of ancient Indian culture.

 

The Kama Sutra, according to Doniger, often gets the reputation

of being a repressive and sexist text, focused primarily on the

happiness and pleasure of men. There certainly are portions that

seem to reflect this view. Men are advised on ways to cheat on

their wives, and sexual harassment and rape are sometimes

encouraged or condoned.

 

However, Doniger feels that taking these passages as

representative of the Kama Sutra as a whole is an

oversimplification. " The Kama Sutra was extraordinarily

enlightened for its time, " she said. Women in unhappy marriages

are encouraged to leave their husbands, and Vatsyayana, the

Kama Sutra's author, advises husbands to make sure their wives

are satisfied sexually and emotionally to ensure that this does not

happen.

 

There are also whole books in the Kama Sutra directed

specifically at women, from a chapter on how to meet a man to a

book commissioned by high-ranking courtesans detailing the

laws of education and behavior for future women in their

profession. Though it was penned by a man, Doniger claimed

that the Kama Sutra clearly incorporates the voices and

concerns of women.

 

" It's doubly exploitative, " she explained.

 

Since much of what is now known about early Indian culture

comes from the Kama Sutra, Doniger expressed the importance

of this take on the text for a greater understanding of the way

women lived in India at the time. " The Kama Sutra was

supposed to be read by women, " she said, calling for her

audience to consider the fact that women during this time period

lived intellectual lives with more kama-or pleasure in

Sanskrit-than we would have previously believed.

Permanent URL:

http://maroon.uchicago.edu/online_edition/news/2007/11/13/doniger-

titillates-with-kama-sutra-lecture/