The Indian philosopher Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra, which serves as a manual for seemingly every sex position known to man, has received much attention for its role as such. However, the ancient Sanskrit literature is much more than just a guide to complex genital acrobatics, the East as being static, without history, and hypersexual, "Mitral adds. However, she continues, "Unfortunately, people continue to think about Indian sexuality in the past and now using these constrictive, racist conceptions.
According to Mitral, the works that made up the Kama Sutra's initial collection "were truly about everything from urban life to statecraft, from fragrances to gardening." She claims that the "distortion" of the book was caused in part by Richard Burton, an Orientalist and colonial enthusiast who published the first English translation of the Kama Sutra in the late nineteenth century. By depicting individuals from the East as hypersexual, unchanging, and without history, Burton "intended to create a dream for his English-speaking audience," according to Mitral. But she continues, "Unfortunately, people still think about Indian sexuality in the past and now using these simplistic, racist conceptions."
What precisely is the Kama Sutra, and what can it teach us about sensuality, sexuality, and other topics if it isn't merely a sexual playbook as many sources in Western society have claimed? Below, expert discuss the fundamentals of the ancient book.