The rise and rise of sexual chaos due to internet porn

At the height of their powers – fifty years ago, Mwalimu Nyerere and Sheikh Karume –Tanzania was about purity and well, some things were unthinkable. I am talking about pornography. In 1968 it would have been the most horrifying news to see sexually explicit films. Twenty years later, after Mwalimu had resigned, Karume assassinated (in 1972), porn- which we are used to see on a minute to minute basis today- was still out of bounds. I personally saw a porn film, for the first time, after travelling overseas in mid 1980s. Those days, cinemas across Europe had these - X films- beamed quietly and discreetly. For me that was pure cultural shock. Letters I sent to my friends were like reporting life on planet Mars. Oh, boy.

Even Hollywood had such stuff, which is, these days, called soft porn. Take “Last Tango in Paris”, starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, the French actress. A very infamous scene in the 1972 film is of Marlon Brando character sodomising Ms Schneider after lubricating her with a piece of butter. Then, sodomy was taboo. Until she died Ms Schneider complained of that rogue, rape scene. She claimed, decades later, that she had been tricked into doing the sequence– which was unscripted and a personal violation by both Brando and director Bernardo Bertolucci. But those were different days.

2018 is another era

Number one; actresses are much more conscious of their rights and women in general have lawyers and therefore, the sex discrimination act is serious. The “MeToo Movement” (plus several other ongoing harsh tags) is a recent example...

Number two: porn, soft porn, hard core porn, sodomy and bestiality films (involving animals and children), are easily available, not just in cinemas and online, but for anyone including youngsters. Were Mwalimu Nyerere and Sheikh Karume woke up from the dead, now, they would be outraged at how Tanzanian youths casually access porn on their personal gadgets; on way to school, streets corners, dining tables, living and bedrooms. Easily available pornography is turning our society into a joke. And that- as we all know- of course, world-wide.

Early this week, some British MPs demanded pornography be treated like a major health crisis, “as harmful as cigarettes.” They demanded for global internet giants, to take action, Monday’s London Daily Mail reported.

The problem in Africa, is not just watching porn. Not ethics, religious beliefs or breaking taboos. Taboos have already been broken by the internet revolution.

The problem is cultural and psychological confusion.

Africa is a continent where sex has never been a problem. Our dances and movements are as sensual as the sea waves and Ngoma rhythms. Now. The confusion is due to over excess of internet porn and its interpretation. Youths blindly imitate. Youths think this “health crisis” is fashionable.

Few days ago, I received a short clip with a very revealing image.

A plea.

The plea accompanied an image of a charred, graphic, woman’s rectum- totally destroyed by sodomy. The narrator -also a woman -says this young female, had been violated several times by guys and was now immobile. Could neither walk, sit, nor perform daily routines including the natural toilet. The request was money to facilitate flying the victim to a hospital in India, where she will undergo emergency surgery.

It ended with an Islamic prayer asking viewers not to ridicule the patient or parade her story. There was a final warning to parents to guide and overseer- and young females to stop doing this. There were phone numbers and bank account details for the financial assistance. It was well done. Anyone who has listened or watched the clip understands the discomfort....

On forwarding the footage to several friends and WhatsApp groups. - I had very sympathetic reactions plus two hostile viewers. One called the clip stupid.

Now that is the problem. These days young people think sexual gymnastics seen online, are a “modern” thing. They copy and fall sick. Cultural confusion. Just like forty years ago, when we had young people wearing T shirts with inappropriate labels. I recall a chap in Arusha putting on a “Washington Mortuary Attendant T-shirt”, and thinking it was cool.

The other angle is even more sinister. Someone in Sweden sent me a message saying as soon as he paid money to help the sodomy victim, he realised that he had already received a similar plea. However the similar plea had a different voice but same telephone M-Pesa number. Meaning or insinuating that some dishonest people are using these images to rake money and fleecing those willing to genuinely help.

A scam, in other words.

Where does this take us?

The internet is a positive tool. It is also a sea filled with sharks. We have to be aware and no wonder the government and CCM wants it regulated.