Promiscuity

 Vinod Haaran thinks maybe we've got it all wrong.

Take a moment to contemplate this: has our society become more promiscuous? Have our lives been filled with sin that shrouds our judgment which we don't even realise?

Let's try not to take the easy way out and blame the West for this, but let's dive into our own culture. Let's look at what makes our generation and the society at large promiscuous. Our ancestors were one of the most promiscuous, having countless concubines and writing manuals on sensuality; the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. We pride ourselves on Asian conservatism, but is being less-than-sexual really Asian?

Take a good look around you; what do you see? Do you see a younger generation of well-mannered, proactive youths? Or do you see a generation of rebellious, promiscuous, and open-minded youths? Just go into any of the regular hangouts our generation haunts and take a good long look. Short skirts, tight tops, public displays of affection and the lot are what you'd see-promiscuity on the rise.

But it isn't really their fault per se. The modern world we live in is changing so fast that if you can't keep up, you're as good as dead. You have to be promiscuous to fit in.

Not everyone out there has the will to be individual, to have their own opinions and ethics. You'd be surprised by the amount of people who just want to be another face in the crowd and not stick out like a sore thumb.

Let's take guys for instance: most women might not know this, but there are pressures which come with being a guy, especially from friends and society. There is this unwritten obligation for a guy to lose his virginity as soon as possible. To guys, the word "virgin" is a sort of taboo, and thus the promiscuous ladies' man or player is born. In the complex world of being a guy, the more promiscuous you are the more admiration you get.

For girls however, there is a slight twist. Women these days walk a thin line between being wanted by the opposite sex and being pejoratively labeled a slut. Women have to balance being wanted with satisfying their desires and not being labeled. Women wear short skirts, tight tops and extremely flattering clothing because they want to achieve two things: seek the attention of the opposite sex, and increase their self-esteem. This is often misread as the sign of a promiscuous female.

So you see, the generation before you might be as promiscuous as people think. But when your parents were younger, didn't your grandparents see them as promiscuous too? In the end we're all just cogs in an ever-moving machine we call life.