Defending the Truth

My thoughts on this.
Women have been objectified since the dawn of civilization, taught to develop certain attributes in themselves in order to gain the protection of men, when they were no longer allowed access to the full rights of humanity,
which some may view as a primitive state, such as the right to provide for themselves and defend themselves.
Women are finally gaining back some of what was lost thousands of years ago, and there are those who are going to feel threatened by that, especially those that still feel a need to be superior to others, and when they are the most afraid of this, feeling cornered, they will strike out the fiercest.
This may not be in a direct violent manner, but I think I sense this being strongly presented in modern youth driven American culture.
In our music, you can definitely hear a violent and sexist tone being directed at women, which is not just done by men. Women endorse this in song.
Then on the other hand, the religious right is firmly telling women their place.
There are women who are content to live this way, fine, as long as you can afford it, good for you, glad you're happy.
And we still have the madonna vs. the whore attitudes. Women use slurs to insult members of their own gender, reinforcing sexual mores of women based on gender and the way men view women sexually.
And finally, the visual media. They're a lot of help to plastic surgeons nationwide, but certainly not adolescents self-images. Here again we have women reinforcing an ideal.
Women simply have to be who they are, and not what everyone out there says.

Excellent point, Chris. However using women to provoke thoughts of sex in advertising has been around for a long time. But, who are we to decide morals for others? Personally, I think it's disgusting, but again, who am I to decide this for others?

I agree, Teeth. But what you say was lost thousands of years ago by women actually never was ( at that point in time). Women had no such thing as individuality that long ago; they were thought of as adornments for men. Sadly, this is still true in many parts of our society and the world today.You are correct about the sterotyping. Women are particularly inundated (also by other women) with the thought that they must look and act a certain way. I agree- the only ones who profit by this are plastic surgeons.

In ancient Egypt and in a few other ancient civilizations, women had the rights to own property independent of men and draw up their own legally binding contracts and inherit. Those things were later lost as the more patriarchal religions took over.

The biggest idiots are the women who allow thenselves to be used in this way ! If they do it for money - then they are as bad as whores !

Harsh, but I agree.

There you go. The old double standard still exists. Guys are respected for their sexual prowess, gals are vilified and thought of as whores still today.

Anyone who really bought the lie that this could be different doesn't understand human nature.

It's perpetuated by both males and females alike, as just demonstrated in this thread.

True. Also, in other societies lineage and name was established through the FEMALE line rather than the male. Some early societies, as I have discovered in studying the concept of the SACRED FEMININE held a divine reverance for women since they were able to issue forth new life.

Out of curiosity, what do you think of men that allow themselves to be expose in a sexual manner?

Societies discomfort, IMO, with allowing ourselves to be openly sexual/sensual beings is firmly rooted in the Abrahamic religions. Not to say that they are bad or good, but that they have created a climate of discomfort with certain aspects of human existence.

One of the others was Ireland where women were educated on an equal level with men, even serving as lawyers, doctors and judges. All of this ended when the ancient Pagan religions were replaced by Christianity. (The RCC)