EDITORIAL - Lingam and yoni, one final time

The Cebu Provincial Board has approved an ordinance banning establishments anywhere in the province that offer the controversial forms of massage called lingam and yoni. Lingam is applied on the penis and the regions around it, yoni on its vaginal counterpart.

To those who have their feet planted squarely on the ground, the ordinance is of course all sound and fury, signifying nothing. It will only ban establishments that formally offer such services but cannot stop what goes on behind closed doors.

Actually, the furor over these types of massage started when certain establishments did have the temerity to come out in the open with such services. What where they thinking? Did they think they can get away it?

Had these establishments not tried to dare the heavens, they could have gone on merrily offering these very same services on the sly and it would not have made any great and crucial difference.

But for whatever reason, the operators of these establishments stuck their heads out, as if daring the lightning to strike. Well, they asked for it, and they got it. So, back to the sly for these folks.

What the ordinance only truly achieved is to keep these things under the rug. At least you will not see signs going up anymore advertising services with exotic names that can only arouse the curiousity of those who do not know it, and drive them into finding out.

Eventually, however, everyone will come of age, and embark on new voyages of exploration. Perhaps, to the delight of some, they will innocently stumble on new discoveries, and believe it or not, these will not be in the realm of prostitution masquerading as massage.

These things will happen in the private lives of most couples, the only difference being that they will not be calling it lingam or yoni or anything with “binastos” connotations. They are just nameless rituals of discovery couples discover along the way.