"Savita Bhabhi - The Sexual Adventures of a Hot Indian Bhabhi" is a popular Indian comic by Kirtu. The erotic webcomic is described to be “about the adventures of a bored and emotionally neglected housewife”.

The comic has been a huge hit and has even been translated to multiple Indian languages, Mandarin, and French. 

When it came under scrutiny and received flak by various conservative Indian bodies, many activists were quick to jump to its defence, stating that they wished to make sure the door remains open for pornography in India.

This... is a huge issue.

Savita Bhabhi, while lauded and appreciated for making erotica accessible to the Indian masses, is frequently seen toeing the lines of consent and exploring subjects like blackmail and coercion. At best, the comic is a false idol, one that is full of triggering content that has been normalised for Indians and impressionable young adults, while still being backed by trusted names and content creators.

Is this about infidelity or a promiscuous person?

It’s neither. Savita Bhabhi isn’t a feminist icon no matter what articles you’ve read on it from pop websites or paid collaborations with influencers.

We went through almost 50 episodes of Savita Bhabhi. We won't share details of all of them. Excerpts and issues from the second episode, 'Cricket', should help encapsulate it.

Trigger Warning

The following slides contain

R*pe

Absence of consent

Coercion & blackmail

Set of graphic designs, illustrations

Example 1

The main character inappropriately touches the genitals of an 18 yr old without his consent. 

When the boys in the story start touching her without consent, she tells the viewers that because she started it, they have the right to do whatever they want to her.

She says no repeatedly but the men in the comic do not stop, and instead force themselves on her.

They add to the myth that because Savita is ‘wet’, it means she wants it. And the boys continue even though she clearly wants to stop.

 

The later episode plot lines even dive into themes like blackmail and rape.

Is this what we want to rally behind to make people more accepting of pornography in India?

How many times have we heard people positively talking about these comics and how it’s "opening the minds of Indian people" to pornography?

This, believe it or not, is not about Kirtu, Savita bhabhi or the countless minds who put Bhabhi on a pedestal.

This is about ethics in pornography, holding writers and creators accountable for the messages they endorse in their content, and refusing to settle for ‘representation’ or ‘progressive content’ when the harsh reality is that the content is disturbing or harmful.

Porn is not sex education

To be perfectly clear- if porn or porn-like content is your primary source of sex education or sexual discovery, this post is not written to target you or critique you. You wanted information and you sought it in the best way possible.

The problem here is the lack of direct access to ethical and comprehensive sexuality education that uses multilingual and multicultural approaches. That some of us get to learn online or are lucky enough to learn through healthy life experiences while so many others learn primarily through toxic content like this, is the true problem here.

That creators, writers, artists and self-acclaimed progressive individuals or entities can support such content without pausing to challenge the messages it sends to younger audiences in the absence of ethical sex education, is a problem.

Porn is not, and should not ever be sex education. True sex education goes beyond the act of sex and dives into healthcare, relationships, physical and emotional self-care that affects us outside the bedroom and outside our relationships as well. Sex education encompasses far more than the act of sex, and therefore, sex education can never be fully discussed or explored through pornography alone.

What constitutes ethical erotica?

In the case of written erotica, ethical content involves:

• Exploring characters, relationships, interactions and environments where consent and boundaries of all involved characters is clearly established
• Consent of readers is also vital. A quick summary of what the post contains so readers can choose what stories to avoid to protect themselves is a great way to make the process healthier for everyone involved.
• It may also be time to ask for ways to hold our erotica creators more accountable. For example, if a homophobic writer repeatedly portrays gay characters in a poor light, wouldn’t it be nice to know who’s writing those stories and characters and be able to ask them to do better? While anonymity in this climate is understandable, it’s hard to grow when we don’t fully know who we are critiquing.

What do you think comprises ethical erotica and porn? Leave a comment or send us a message and we would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!