Knotty Pants

I suppose, unlike a number of Nigerian women whose teeth clamp up once they marry, I am quite open to talk about about sex. Actually, I very much enjoy talking about sex. For one, I love breaking out of the mould. And two, well it's fun to talk about. But, there is a stigma that comes with it. Being called a sex writer (I abhor that!) is one. Another is being afraid you have been cast in a role that you will forever fight to burst out from. And so, while I continue sending articles to Daily Times while I was back in Nigeria, I was quite uncomfortable with continuing writing the column. It was a little easy with DT. Ugo Chime is quite a unisex name, so many assumed I was a man - yep, you guessed it. Men can always talk about it, married or not. It doesn't diminish their professional image. When a man is talking about sex in general, it is not regarded as a 'green light'. He's just being his naughty self. Well, I am a woman and I don't get that ticket. Additionally, I am a married woman - "what does your husband think of this?"

It has been a while I updated my DT column, not because I finally gave in to my discomfort, but because I had new worries in life and heavily in life now and, as usual, something has got to give. But, my school days are gradually coming to an end now, and I have to decide what to do with my writing self. I was asked to blog for a public health/international development platform, but those guys sound so 'smart' and technical, I couldn't breathe. Perhaps with some learning, I could get to sound like that too, but it's really not my style (or maybe I'm giving up too easy without a fight. But, who knows. Maybe I will surprise myself, and you all will read a piece from me that displays exceptional critical reasoning abilities - although I doubt that). I like informal writing. It's more personal - duh! And, my favourite word, non-conformist. I'm a Sagittarian - we loathe boundaries. 

Anyway, so I got this new opportunity for me to write creatively again. As one of the editors put it "Your pieces on erotica proved quite popular". Hehehehehehehe. Okay, I accept that compliment, and pretend it's not probably those clicking on the links that turn around and dub me 'sex writer'. Question is, do I still want to write in this way? While I don't ever see myself seeking a political position, I am hoping to build a career in health policy. And should my plans for PhD work out (the yeye thing has suffered several blows in the past, yet I press on), should I not be more 'serious-sounding'? The good thing is that Ugo Chime is not my official name, and I should still be able to keep my two personas separate. But, that's not a lot of fun, is it? Keeping up with which persona I am to who?

Again, will the world ever get to the point where sex used in the same context as woman isn't equal to easy? 

NB: Would you believe the photo I used for this post was drawn in 1885!!!! Amazing! The world wasn't as conservative as people want to insist it was. 

Ciao