Beach side boners

I've noticed throughout my time in India the mixing of Eastern and Western cultures. Walking down the street it's so obvious. There are giant billboards advertising Coke and Pepsi, right next to thousand-year-old temples. In India there are 22 recognized languages. Officially Hindu is the state language, however, in reality English is king.

Still, India has very distinct ways and traditions. Sexuality is one of these areas that is resisting foreign conquest mightily. Arranged marriages (which are technically illegal) are more common than not. Women (especially in rural areas) dress traditionally and rarely talk to men outside of the family.

Western and Eastern beliefs and practices around modesty and sexuality collide on the beaches of India. Here, western tourists wear their culturally appropriate swim wear. For men this isn't a problem, however, women have a more difficult time.

The typical bikini shows more skin than many Indians see in their entire lives (this is just what I've heard and shouldn't be taken for the absolute truth. Things are much different in big cities). So you can imagine how exciting it is for Indian men to see scantily clad western women.

The beach near Pondicherry where I've been going is an interesting sight. The ocean and beach itself are very beautiful and inviting. It's a huge tourist attraction. Additionally it is right next to Auroville, which has a large Western population. So, it's thronged with westerners.

Westerners come to swim and soak up the sun. Indians come to swim and soak up the sight of the westerners. Indian men of all ages will stand on the beach their eyes (and other things) bulging out of their heads (and other places). They have no shame when it comes to watching Western women. And it's obvious. Generally it's younger men that partake in this activity, however, I've seen middle aged men joining in too.

I feel a couple different things when I see all this. First of all I think it's pretty funny. These guys are so awkward and dorky in their lust and desire. I also think it's terrible in a way. These women can't enjoy being on the beach at all. But at the same time they should dress more modestly I suppose. I know that if I had a girlfriend and these guys were staring at her and following her around I would get kind of angry (when my mom went swimming, very modestly dressed, some guys immediately swam out into the ocean after her, I yelled at them). But then again, these girls that these guys are gawking are usually the same women I'm noticing, I'm just more discreet and less excited about it.

In a way it's a perfect example of the fundamental difference between India and the west (that I've observed). In the west everything is so hidden. People live very separate lives. We all have our own little spaces. The stuff we do show the world is usually only the clean and 'culturally appropriate' stuff. In India there simply isn't the room or money to live like this. Everyone lives next to everyone else. Love and beauty aren't hidden. Neither is shit and piss. It's all out in the open. So it makes sense that when boys see white women almost naked they don't hide their boners.

But wait, I'm going to contradict myself. Things are very out in the open in India, except some things aren't. Or, it might be more accurate to say some things are very structured while others aren't. Sexuality for instance has a very strong structure around it while defecating in public (for men at least) doesn't.

So maybe it's better to say that many things that are hidden in the west (e.g. poop, passion, power etc.) aren't hidden in India. However, those things that are structured in India are much more structured than the things that are structured in the West.

Or I could be completely wrong. What I do know is I saw some Indian boys that weren't worried about their beach side boners in the least.