Faculty of Design

Illustration

Thamara Perera

The Fools' Position

“The Fools’ Position” is a play on a traditional Kama Sutra illustration to address the issue of sex education in South Asian culture. Sex and sexuality are topics ridden with taboo in contemporary South Asian culture and are hardly discussed as a result. The lack of sex education fuels the societal stigma and repression of sexuality, leading to many severe issues that harm South Asian women and men, such as sexual health issues and sexual violence. This taboo of sexuality is a stark contrast to the ideas presented in the old and infamous Indian text on eroticism, the Kama Sutras. In ancient South Asian culture, sex was believed to be a natural and even spiritual act, and giving in to one's pleasure was met with affirmation instead of shame.

“This illustration is a part of my Thesis series, May the Yakshi Rise Again! that contrasts South Asian women's issues with various feminist aspects of ancient South Asian culture. “The Fools’ Position” contrasts the lack of sex education in South Asian culture with the infamous erotic text, the Kama Sutras.”