Historical Dictionary of Lesbian Literature by Meredith Miller

Author:Meredith Miller
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780810849419
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Published: 2006-01-12T03:00:00+00:00

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KAMA SUTRA. Dates for the Sanskrit text Kama Sutra are unclear, though it seems to have been compiled sometime before 600 C.E. (some of the material may be older) by a scholar whose family name was Vatsyayana in Uttar Pradesh. Kama refers to the material, sensory pleasures of life and Sutra to a book of guiding principles. The Kama Sutra contains sections on food, cleanliness and music, as well as acts of sex. It thus denoted a cultural period and place when sexuality was not necessarily protected, isolated or valorized above other sensual experiences and abilities.

The Kama Sutra is relevant here for two reasons. First, it classifies women as sexual objects and actors in a number of ways. Vatsyayana categorizes women as single, married or widowed, thus defining them patriarchally through their relation to men. It also describes women of various temperaments. As Vanita points out in Same-Sex Love in India, however, it also characterizes women as swayamdutika, one who represents herself, samasyabandhu, a woman who lives in relation to another woman and svairini, a strong woman who stands alone. In addition Vatsyayana also describes what he terms a “third” sexual nature, which might either manifest as masculine or feminine.

Secondly, the Kama Sutra has a long tradition of cross-over into other cultures. It first entered English in the orientalist Sir Richard Burton’s translation in 1883, and has been a major focus for Western myths about “Eastern” sexualities. Mira Nair’s 1996 film bearing the title Kama Sutra and playing on associations with the ancient text was accused of obscenity and censored in India. Many scholars both inside and outside of India labeled it an internalization of orientalist ideas about Indian sexuality.

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