(no subject)

[highlyeccentric]

I was going to make a post warning you all not to band-aid cotton wool balls soaked in undiluted dettol to your skin, because while this *may* disinfect the wound or infection in question, it will also kill off all the surrounding skin and give you a lovely flaming red infection all around.

But instead, I'm going to direct you to this distressing post at Scribal Terror. I quote:

Throughout Indonesia, a majority of women regularly engage in a number of practices to "clean," "dry," "tighten," or "deodorize" their vaginas. These practices derive from longstanding traditions designed to achieve conformity with expectations about the appearance, function, and sexual performance of the vagina. These are rooted in a widespread belief that "tight sex" or "dry sex"-vaginal intercourse without any or with minimal lubrication in the vagina-is more pleasurable for men and gender norms that require women to "please" men. . . .

Among the Javanese and Sundanese, and many other ethnic groups, a bride is prepared for the nuptials by a professional wedding dresser ( tukang pais ). There is no standard way of preparation, but jamu is typically used to reduce vaginal odors and any "excessive" secretions. Occasionally, the dresser will advise the bride to undergo a special pre-wedding beauty treatment. At a beauty salon or spa, the bride might have her vagina "smoked," by sitting on a chair with a whole in the middle over a charcoal fire on which special herbs are placed to create a fragrant steam.

Because of the common belief that sexual pleasure, especially men's sexual pleasure, relies on friction, married women are often anxious about having an "excessively moist" vagina. A large proportion of women wash the outer genitalia with a betel leaf solution, purported to clean and dry the vagina, when they practice the routine washing cebok . Betel leaf solution is now commercially packed in the form of moistened tissues or liquid soaps and shampoos. Many women have also started using Jamu Sari Rapat (literarily means the essence of tightness ) or other jamu products that promise to tighten and dry the vagina. . . .

Um, WTF? I get the 'tightness' thing, but *dryness*? Surely that would chafe the man in question, too?

Comments

[areyoustrange.livejournal.com]

... dry?!

I am having sympathy pain.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Yup, yup, same here.

I just... *surely* lubrication makes things more fun on the manly side, too?

[areyoustrange.livejournal.com]

It does! Chafing does not discriminate!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

madness. madness, I tell you.


also, may I take this moment to tell you how awesome your icon is?

[areyoustrange.livejournal.com]

You may! I recommend vintage_sex.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

why thank you. If my NakedPhilologist icon album fills up with victorian sex icons, and my reputation as a SRSMEDIEVALIST is ruined, I will blame you.

perhaps this (http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/1451/26ta3.jpg) will amuse you in return?
more here (http://iconzicons.livejournal.com/tag/movie+:+the+little+mermaid)

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Although perhaps it's a clever plot aimed at reducing the frequency of fricative activities? If tellin' your man it's no fun doesn't work... make it no fun for him, too!

[areyoustrange.livejournal.com]

Tricksy, tricksy. Surely there would be some deviants who forgot to smoke up their vag one evening and discovered that sex was supposed to be squishy and fun?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Bollywood Condom Song (http://dailybedpost.com/2008/05/telugu-condom-song.php)

There are puppets in *that*, too. Giant, costume sized condom puppets.

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

Augghhrhhh that is horrendous!!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

isn't it just?

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

(shakes head) No words.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

mind you, apparently you can buy deodorant for your nether regions in your average chemist. I've never seen any, but then, I don't pay attention to the world around me. Point is, this particular class of madnesses is not restricted to Exotic Parts Of The World.

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

I've seen those! I just always think....those areas are so sensitive, it CAN'T be good to be sticking chemicals all up in there. Along the same veins I've never understood the whole brazilian wax ordeal. NO ONE has particularly pretty nethers, they just aren't built that way. Just let them be!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

*high five*

amen to that!

I have in recent weeks discovered that a high proportion of my fellow residents here think that *men* should be deforesting themselves, too. I do not understand this- male nethers are stupid enough anyway, you don't want to be seeing them more clearly!

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

NO NO NO NO! Don't deforest them! I feel as though they just shouldn't be messed with. It can't get only better, only...weirder and artificial.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Solidarity.

[(Anonymous)]

it does sound horrible. but i think i see the rationale. it sounds like it's about cleanliness. menstruation is sloppy, infections can be sloppy etc. if infections are unpleasant and menstruation "unlcean" (bear with me in a culturally relativist kind of way for a sec), then dry must be sanitary, clean etc. And maybe it comes back to the whole fear of womens' pleasure too. i know friction can't be good for a man, but the moistness itself is a consequence of female arousal (a protective response to anything entering the vagina. in arousa, it predicts subsequent entering and makes a pre-emptive strike). Girly arousal bad. evil. must smoke the demons out.
Hope you all figure that this isn't so much my opinion. i'm all for squelchy squechy mutual loveliness.

ps. that was me above. love, pix

[(Anonymous)]

.

Re: ps. that was me above. love, pix

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Ah, the sloppy moist thing might make a sort of sense... After all, most of the time bodily secretions *are* unhygenic.

a protective response to anything entering the vagina. in arousa, it predicts subsequent entering and makes a pre-emptive strike
Sounds dangerous. Might eat you alive.

Re: ps. that was me above. love, pix

[(Anonymous)]

yep. but it would be a justified eating, on account of the person it eats was planning to eat it first.
hopefully.

Re: ps. that was me above. love, pix

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

I doubt one is that lucky in Indonesia...

[(Anonymous)]

well, not when it tastes like betel anyway. Lets just hope people don't get confused and start chewing on girly parts...

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

ew, no, chewing is not appreciated...

[ulfruna.livejournal.com]

I have words; EFFING OW.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

eeeexactly.

[blackbuttoneyes.livejournal.com]

Those are actually some good words, I might take those.

[suojure.livejournal.com]

I could speculate that perhaps it's some localised thing, that Indonesian penis happens to prefer dry vagina, and then further speculate peculiarities of the penis happen all over the world, but ... I've had enough foreign penis to know PENIS IS PENIS. IT BELONGS IN MOIST VAGINA, whether it be from Australia, Egypt, or butt-fuck nowhere in Java!

While I don't pretend to understand and definitely don't condone cutting of the clitoris, I can at least identify the premise behind it. It does not, afterall, effect a man's enjoyment of sex, and if one believes a woman's enjoyment of sex is wrong, well you pretty well solve the issue by removing her clit. But dry vagina? That can't be fun for anyone.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

I've had enough foreign penis to know PENIS IS PENIS. IT BELONGS IN MOIST VAGINA

you tell it like it is!

But dry vagina? That can't be fun for anyone.
Exactly. As patriarchal prejudices go, it's a pretty darn stupid one. They think sexual pleasure relies on friction? Have none of them ever *had* sex?

[owlfish]

Skin burn with cotton balls and TCP: Yep, I did that once. I had a skin thing, probably fungal, on my shoulder. After a few days, it still looked irritated. I went in to ask the nurse. She said that there HAD been a fungal infection, but now I had a chemical burn.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

oh, i'm so GLAD i'm not the only one...

[ahsavka.livejournal.com]

Ow owie ow.

I've heard of this sort of behavior causing problems for folks trying to educate re: AIDS in Africa, too. The idea that friction is great makes condoms seem even less fun (no friction at all for the fellow in a rubber!), and because this is so much more likely to cause abrasions in women ( :( ! ) it makes them that much more likely to contract HIV. Augh.