What do a chair, table, lamp and woman all have in common? Answer: They’re all objects, and if you’re with one in bed it just lays there.
Women have always been subjected to unfair treatment because, historically, if the entire world were seen as an autocracy, man was the ruler. Our culture and society have advanced significantly since that metaphorical time I just made up, but in some ways, the situation of women has only worsened.
Although men created the institutions that subjugate and objectify women, all the while normalizing the behavior of doing so in the eyes of society, women are the ones who purport this degradation today.
In the glitter and glam of Hollywood, diamonds are a red carpet staple, but for a man, no accessory beats having a pretty young thing in tow. Women have become commodities, like fancy cars, and by growing up in a society where we are bombarded with images of beautiful women, we grow up believing in that as the ultimate standard, as if that is the highest achievement a woman can attain. Women embrace these roles and girls grow up wishing to be like those women.
There are bikini-clad woman who prance around the boxing ring carrying a sign indicating the coming round. How about wet T-shirt contests (alcohol just exacerbates everything)? There are dance crews of women with exploding bosoms and junk in the trunk for almost every professional sports team. It’s entertainment for men (like pornography), who aren’t appreciating the choreography of their dance routines, but the geography of their bodies. Cheerleaders are sex symbols and many girls aspire to be one. It seems like girls grow up wanting to be objectified.
Beauty pageants were invented by men. The Miss America pageant operates under the guise of celebrating women in “other” ways. The fact that there is a bikini portion to the contest undermines this thinly disguised vessel for the objectification of women. Many women use the pageant as a launch pad to a career in entertainment — the ultimate sex sells industry (besides pornography).
It seems like a lot of women these days are selling themselves short. Women need to flaunt it to feel beautiful, but they’re only dehumanizing themselves in the process. Those guys checking you out are appreciating you, but in the cheapest way possible. Getting an invite into your pants party is the cake, while getting to know you is really the icing. It’s way more rewarding to be desired for who you are as a person, but that’s just a guess since I’m only ever wanted for my body.
Women who are considered prudish are sometimes ostracized by their peers, but those are the women men want to end up with in the end. Men want to be with as many women as they can, but eventually, when a man doesn’t want any more temporary parking permits, he’ll want to find a garage he can park his car in that hasn’t been renovated because it’s overused. What matters most is the person on the inside, but there are fundamental differences between women who have sex often and with many partners, and those who don’t. Lauryn Hill said it best in her song about “That Thing.”
An attractive girl looks attractive regardless of what she’s wearing. Girls look great in (my) baggy sweat pants. It doesn’t even matter, really. You might as well call me Superman because I’ve got an X-ray imagination.