The Dilemma of Definition & Orgasm Coercion
One of the practices in the academy that sometimes gets on my nerve is the definition dilemma. Academics will take a concept and apply it in various ways, meandering around different conjectures without finally coming to a conclusion. For instance, we have been debating what democracy is forever. The popular quote is that democracy is the government of the people by the people. And then the debate has been who the people are. Some will argue that the people in that quote are those on the margins; others will say that it is idealistic that the people in the definition are the center (elite). Then others will say, what about non-humans? Then the environment (democratizing environmental governance) would come in, and then before you know it, we have all kinds of fields asking, "Why does the chicken cross the road?."
To my mind, it would seem that the definition of democracy is clear: inclusivity, parity, rule of law, fairness, equity, and more. Also, given that almost every society has been shaped by relations of power that marginalized the Other (women, children, migrants, LBTBQ, and more), I would think that democracy should be about serving these groups and more. While this is how I think about this, other people have different opinions. Hence, academics will continue to debate why the chicken crosses the road from anthropological, sociological, geography, arts and history, and even mathematical points of view. It is one of the ways we move the field forward. Constructive debates are the oil that greases the engine and wheel of intellectual progress.
Yet recently, I have begun to wonder if the definition dilemma is also a problem of hypocrisy. Alagbe said, "Abosi ni ko je ki adiye fo" (hypocrisy is why chickens can't fly). When we debate tenses and syntax, even when common sense solves the problem, could it be hypocrisy? George Orwell suggests, "What is above all needed is to let the meaning choose the word and not the other way. In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them."
Along those lines. One time, I was somewhere where someone was "waxing lyrically" (speaking in homogenizing terms) about orgasm coercion in heterosexual relationships. Reminisce Tesoju song started ringing in my head.
Wa fe ku laleyi
Wa fe ku laleyi
Wa fe ku laleyi
Wa fe ku laleyi
Ma tesojue laleyi
Tesojue laleyi
Ma tesojue laleyi
Tesojue laleyi
I wanted to ask if " wa fe ku laleyi, ma teso oju laleyi" can fall into a sexual threat or orgasm pressure, but I think I might need to be able to translate this lyric into the English language. Several questions were running through my mind about the class, location, ethnicity, and religion of women who feel coerced to orgasm. I was unsure if I was creating another definition dilemma, nuances, or hypocritical.
I say all of these not because there is any lesson, or maybe there is, but to invite you to my panels at LSA; see below for details, timing, and Zoom links. All timings are Lagos (West African Time)
Posted on Facebook on June 20, 2023
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