The Promotion of Masculinity and Femininity through Ayurveda in Modern India

Abstract

This article argues that, although men’s sexual health has been presented in classical ayurvedic texts as associated with semen, physiology and reproduction, ayurvedic companies in modern India relate men’s sexual health to the ‘power of masculinity’ with an emphasis on sexual prowess, focusing on premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, etc. Women’s health is presented in the classical ayurvedic texts in terms of human reproduction, but ayurvedic companies today, problematically, redefine women’s health in terms of beauty. Emphasising the ‘natural’ content of ayurvedic medications, pharmaceutical companies target women as potential consumers by promoting products for the enhancement of beauty, associating women’s bodies with nature. This article concludes that a problematic gender distinction and hierarchy is reproduced through appeals to masculinity and femininity by manufacturers of ayurvedic products, so that women’s health is associated with nature while men’s health is associated with power.