CIt has long been the scourge of dating apps: men sending unwanted, unprompted pictures of their genitals. Now, in what some have said is the ultimate in feminism, clit pics have become the new dick pic.
“The solution has been in front of us, or below us the entire time”, said Jen, 24, a local designer.
Gross, disgusting, weird are the words used to describe dick pics by Jenny and the girls where we caught up at local Surry Hills café.
“What makes guys think we want to see that?” Jen says.
Now, in the wake of the #metoo campaign, and the long-awaited welcome upsurge of feminism, women are literally taking the whole dick pic plague into their own hands.
Quite simply women are fighting back. And their own lady parts are the key.
“Men have been proudly showing off their parts for ages. Why can’t we? We’re just as proud of our lady parts” they say.
Where men have been proud to parade themselves, women have been ashamed of their genitals.
Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Sydney Jackie Gray-Spence, sees this as a defining moment in the battle of the sexes where women embrace their bodies. “It’s a powerful moment of change that women the world over have been waiting for.”
In the 70s the clitorus was seen as a myth invented by the feminist movement. It wasn’t until it was officially discovered in 1979 by Dr Richard Watson that it was universally acknowledged as a part of the female anatomy.
One can only spare a thought for generations of women before that.
‘Millions of women throughout history have lived in a society where the clitorus wasn’t officially recognised. That’s why it’s up to us to continue to fly the flag. The fight is not over’
Interestingly, far from finding this confronting, men the world over have seen this as educational.
Ironically it has been an eye opener for many men who were not aware of the clitorus’ existence yet alone location.
In a recent poll conducted by the World Sexual Health Organisation, only 78% of men were aware of the clitorus, but only 27% of them actually knew where it is.
On the streets of Surry Hills the Surry Hills Times conducted a brief survey, showing a picture of the clitorus.
The results of the survey echoed global statistics.
‘The clitor-what?’ said Jacob, undergraduate Engineering student at ANU. ‘I wondered what that was’.
These figures are alarming and it proves the priority of women’s sexuality needs to be addressed.
We need to demystify the vagina. It would seem as if dating apps are the new frontline in the war of the sexes.
Far from a tit for tat, many see this as an educational exercise can greatly benefit both sexes.
