The Invisibility Myth part 8 What's Taboo for you?

Taboo: Noun.“A social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place or thing.” 

    ➨I’m thinking around what is taboo in our modern society. There is nothing we cannot have instant, direct access to via the internet for clarification, gratification or therapy and I cannot think of many topics that have arisen in my own life that I haven’t chewed over with friends/family/strangers on a train/bus/plane at some point…My offspring even think the My Dad Wrote a Porno podcasts are hilariously brilliant…(FYI - my kids Pa didn’t write it, someone else did - and has attracted a degree of fame and money by so doing.)  Can’t imagine my generation knowing about, let alone recording their Pater’s dodgy stories..at least not without social services getting involved…

   ➨I’m curious about this, as I’m shortly to be attending an event via The Advantages of Age. It is labelled; Taboo Night and part of the evening will involve a Tabooathon where guests will be invited to share and tell…..Well, heres the thing; Gobby, opinionated me is struggling with the concept! 

shy, retiring moi

What will I be compelled to spill out on the night?  I know I will, because I cannot body swerve a microphone… I’m a 70’s Turn on, Tune in and Drop Out (thanks Timothy Leary) kinda gal. However, even though I think of myself as one of the most liberal people I know, I find myself cringing just a bit at the thought….Are the topics that come to my mind taboo because I am uncomfortable sharing them? Is it an age thing? 

Standard night out

 Or are my thoughts even really worthy of the taboo tag? One persons taboo it would appear, is another’s beige walls…Hmm. 

 

   ➨Months ago when I was thinking around the concept of my book The Invisibility Myth, I wrote in my blog that sex sells….and we know it does….So, I was not altogether surprised when the first association that came into my head with the 'T' word was all things sex linked, with a spattering of deviancy thrown in for good measure. Heres a few examples… It’s not my personal taste, but thoughts of our local Hanwell Dominatrix immediately sprung to mind… so suburban, but so extreme in her practices - or are they? She kindly and matter-of-factly points out the closeness of our local hospital on her website, just in case…In case of what?  Gerbils - yeah that one had passed me by before training to be a (failed as it happens) Samaritan. It came up on the list of sexual preferences the Samaritans get phonecalls about…

And only this morning my man casually mentioned over coffee, women putting ground up wasp’s nests into their vaginas to tighten them up - google it if you don’t believe me… Howsabout Yo-Yo’s? - No, not the toy - its a Japanese sex speciality…I discovered it back in the days of dial-up internet when searching for new tricks my kids could do with their oh so innocent toy.  

Maybe i’ll just talk about food…oh wait, theres a huuuuuuge sexual niche for that one. In fact, there seems to be a sexual connection to be made to any word you come up with.  

Taboo is maybe about NOT talking, but staying silent? Like the women of the new world order in The Handmaids Tale.  Nope. There is a whole industry revolving around that too…Oh well…Viagra? Dry vag? Bondage (Up Yours)? Sex and the older generation? Fisting? Voyeurism? Dogging? Swinging? Religion?

Incontinence? Death? Not being bothered with any of it and preferring a cup of tea? There is a sexual niche for just about EVERYTHING - I know this to be the case cos I googled extensively in the interests of research and i’m still non the wiser about what to grab that microphone to show and tell… Sausage sandwich anyone?