Sexologist says that people feel shy to talk about their issues.
By Aiswarya Sriram
Bangalore, April 11, 2019
In a country like India, talking about sex and sexual disorders is a taboo. Various studies state that such cases are underreported due to awkwardness among the people to discuss it with a doctor.
According to Sudhakar Krishnamurthy, the writer of the book “Sex is not a Four Letter Word”, in India, around 50% of men above 40 are impotent due to hypertension, excessive smoking, and drinking.
There are various sexual disorders such as erectile dysfunction, lack of sexual desire, premature ejaculation, and Dhat syndrome. Erectile dysfunction is most common among men suffering from diabetes, while lack of sexual desire is most common among women. There is a lack of study in sexual disorders among women in India. Basheer Ahmed Roy, sexologist, says “Women don’t favor coming to the clinic; they mostly talk to me in calls.” He says that since the last 10 years there has been a growth in awareness and people are slowly coming out of the taboo and are visiting his clinic.
“Most of the patients are hesitant to share their problems with their partner and feel depressed. Then I recommend them to a psychiatrist because I think they also suffer from depression.”
Sameera, a psychiatrist, says “Not exactly depression, but the pressure of the society on women to produce children is too high. If they are unable to, then they are regarded as less of a woman. Sometimes the family pressurizes the male to re-marry.” She also stated that some couple voluntarily decides not to have kids so all of these are changing.
Atharva Ramdurgkar, an engineering student from Bangalore says “Being a boy it is difficult. I might consult a sexologist, but it will be difficult for me to talk about my sexual issues to any of my friends or even partner. I have also heard that most of the men suffer from performance anxiety, which makes it more difficult to talk about it.”
Megha Philip, a biotech student says “Consulting a sexologist is very normal, but most of the women are still shy to consult one and discuss their health issues. I would say at least our partner should know. It doesn’t matter if we tell it to other people or not” She added that women are always pressurized by society, and men are less questioned about this. So the family always considers that women are sexually dysfunctional if they are not able to get pregnant.”
