When a young person makes a scientific breakthrough, we all sing their praises but when a young woman cracks the unemployment barrel and shows her entrepreneurial talents, she gets called unpalatable names.
Inside Track with Grace Mutandwa
Vannessa Chiyangwa’s spirit of entrepreneurship should be applauded. The fact that she markets sex toys should not be used against her.
Here is a young woman who did her market research and discovered that there is a growing trade in sex toys. She has seized the opportunity to be the sex toys provider of choice and found an innovative way of starting a business.
All Vannessa has done is create a job for herself and offer work to other unemployed young people. Granted, she might not be employing thousands of people, but she has done her part to bite a small chunk out of the more than 80% unemployment statistics. But she could, if she moved from marketing only and actually started manufacturing the sex toys.
When we raise, educate and send our children abroad, we should accept that they will interact with other people and learn more from the world. You cannot keep your children in a cultural box forever. You might not like this but our children know a lot more about sex and sexual gratification than we did at their age.
Some people have accused Vanessa of exposing young people to “toys of sexual pervasion”. It is a sad uninformed argument without basis. Vannessa sells her wares to adults in an adult environment. No one is marched under the threat of a gun to attend the functions hosted by Vannessa.
The fact that so many people attend the events means there are many people out there who are desperate to work on their relationships and also to improve the quality of sex they have.
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It is also wrong to suggest that only couples should attend her events. Single people have sexual needs too and not all single people are going to be single forever. Good sex is like a well-prepared meal — wholesome, filling and pleasing to the taste buds.
It is wrong for people to abuse culture and hide behind it every time they are confronted by something they cannot handle. Even so-called cultural activists enjoy a good bout of sex. The reason why even some of those culture warriors have several sexual partners is because they are constantly looking for some new experience. Some people prefer to remain faithful and work on their relationships with a little help from Vannessa.
Vannessa has not gone to the local supermarkets asking them to sell her wares.
She understands that there is a time and place for everything, and that is as it should be. Vibrators, handcuffs, butt plugs, edible lingerie and whips are sold all over the world but they are sold in specialist shops. You will not find sex toys in Woolworths in South Africa, or in Wal-Mart in the US or Tesco’s in the UK.
When you walk into Ann Summers, a shop that markets erotic stuff, you will find adults of all races, some just browsing but others actually buying. In freer countries adults can feed their fantasies without undue persecution.
The fact that we have people who are hungry for more in the bedroom and that those people do actually have the guts to go out shopping for toys should never be used to judge their morality. We have a lot of real scum in this country and some of them serial rapists but they have never owned a single sex toy!
Self-appointed moralists should deal with their own sexual inadequacies and stop trying to dictate how adults should enjoy themselves in bed. Vannessa has not asked people to have sex in public. Those who own sex toys do not do so, so they can use them in public. Vannessa does not sell her products to children.
And the Censorship Board can censor all it wants but all it does is just criminalise people whose sole purpose is to improve the quality of their sexual relations. Banned or not, sex toys will still find their way into the country. Before Vannessa, people were sneaking in the toys for personal use and as presents for friends and they will continue to do that unless they are able to buy from a reliable local source.
The Censorship Board refused to allow The Wolf of Wall Street into the country but half the country has already seen the film. There is censorship, and then there is turning law-abiding people into criminals.
The Censorship Board might not want to accept the fact that sex and drugs are a part of some people’s lives, but they are. The Wolf of Wall Street fulfils some of our sexual orgies in the office and unchecked cocaine snorting. Not everyone who has watched that film is suddenly going to turn into a raging sex bull and cocaine addict.
We have got to get a grip. Too much control over people’s lives just makes those people want to break the chains. Authorities should never seek to police what adults do in the privacy of their homes. Next we will be told that it is illegal to have oral sex – Uganda has just gone that route!
Ostracising Vannessa or banning sex toys will not create employment or bring food to the table. Have we really lost the plot that much? We do have real problems facing this country that should seize the minds of those who seek to lead.
Grace Mutandwa is a Media Consultant, and published Author. She can be reached at: [email protected]/@GraceMutandwa1/Skype:Wisteria42
