Friday, January 14, 2011

Objectification: Two Sides

Too often I hear how porn supposedly degrades women, and how every expression of male sexuality aims to objectify women, transforming them into a commodity that exists to be used up and then discarded. This is the line where equality feminism steps over into misandry. I wouldn't claim that there are no men who mistreat women, but at the same time, it is unfair to blame male sexual biology as the cause of some social deformity (the inability to treat women like people) and proof that males are animals and morally inferior to females.

Not every man who submits to lustful thoughts is committing objectification - or at least, those attitudes regarded as "objectification" are a healthy component of a sexual attraction that includes other components, such as regarding the object of attraction as a human being. It's simply too much to condemn the male sexual impulse as something wrong and disgusting. Some men abuse it, this is true - just as some women abuse their sexual impulses - but most do not.


The "drooling male horndog" is a natural part of a healthy sexual culture. One should not be ashamed to be found sexually attractive - do not assume that it is a requirement that this attraction go hand in hand with an animalian disregard for your basic humanity, or an excuse to throw all civility out the window. As long as I hear about men objectifying women by responding to their sexual appeal, I will complain about women objectifying men by reducing them to unthinking brutes who can't control their sexuality, and can't think of anything other than consumption when amidst the throes of sexual arousal. There are two sides to objectification, you see.

2 comments:

  1. Much truth, much truth. One of the many double standards still existing between the sexes (both in our favor and out of it).

    The thing that infuriates me most is the widely-held belief that ejaculating on a woman's face is attractive for men because it degrades women. This really doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I'm sure a minuscule outlier enjoys it for that reason, but not more than that.

    Case in point: what man wants to ejaculate on the face of an unattractive woman? To most, that would just be disgusting. It's really quite preposterous to think that men enjoy this act as a means of degradation. What are they supposed to be thinking "Haha, she got goo on her, that's so pleasing to me because she'll have to take a few seconds to wipe it off which is a mild inconvenience and I hate women so I want to inconvenience them."?

    In truth, it holds the same incentive as ejaculating on any other part of the body, say the breasts. Men (who like to do so) like to ejaculate on a woman's breasts because they are attracted to the breasts. Well the face is another of the most attractive parts of a person.

    I mean, many men would love to be ejaculated on by a female. And some would argue "oh that's 'cause men are disgusting" but what is to be said for appreciating the special worth of bringing your lover to fruition?

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  2. Haha, I lolled. True indeed. I can admit that I like bj pictures, but mostly because I think a girl's face is one of the most attractive parts of her body (by far), so it's a natural juxtaposition of beauty and sexuality for me.

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