Monday, December 10, 2007

Sex appeal and feminism

Sex is a major factor in people’s behaviour by either practice or abstinence. The sexual revolution of the 60s seems to have left a great impact on today’s girls. They seek more freedom from their parents or family. It has become natural in many societies to see single mothers whose children’s father may be unknown even to them.

Advertisement and fashion also play a great role in how girls should look and behave. In the past, many areas like bars were exclusive just to men. Today in the name of equality, girls are indulging in behavioural activities to assert themselves. It is no wonder if priorities are given to sex appeal , as it is in fact a woman’s nature to seek admiration and open compliments.

Many women find it difficult to get what they want through “logical” persuasion or qualifications. They use their sexual powers at the place of work with their colleagues and employers to advance quickly profiting from their own advances and the advances of the males around them.

In developed countries, it is a foregone conclusion that, in most cases, if a man is set on marriage he will meet a career woman since women have become a major force in the market although discrepancies still remain for top jobs. But this fact is creeping in developing countries. Some work areas recruit more women than men such as the textile industry and nursing.

A lot of men are resentful to see women at the top because of their chauvinism. When it comes to marriage, a man likes to be the boss in the house. For that, a woman with a career -especially superior to his- finds it difficult to have the last word.

A man still sticks to his sense of superiority to women. It is no wonder if the majority of men prefer for their marriage a woman who is less old, less tall, less rich, less educated, less situated in work than them. Some women, if not the majority of them, take pride in marrying men superior to them to show themselves and their surrounding how valuable they are. In a sense, women brandish the equality law just to have a status in society and to be independent. When it comes to relations or marriage, it is nature that dominates. A man feels pride in protecting a woman and she, too, takes prides in being protected. A man seeks protection from a woman emotionally, rather than financially.

As career is about income and responsibility, some men find it difficult to adjust to the fact that the women with whom they share the same roof can be a person inside the house and another in the place of work, where they have professional responsibilities entailing professional relationships. Men, in other cases, resign to women with a career just for economic reasons or fir fear of not being able to have any prospect of marriage at all. It has now become rare to find a woman ready to sacrifice her career to be blessed by marriage, which at any time can end in divorce.

Listen to part of BBC WHYS show on the topic.

Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA

10 comments:

Jillian said...

While I don't disagree with your comments about men, your comments about what women want (in developed countries, anyhow) are off the mark.

Among my friends and colleagues (professional women aged 24-40), many are married to or dating men who make less money than they do and have no problem with it. While I realize that this particular issue often bothers men, women are less likely to care if they make more money than their significant other. A woman who is secure in her career may intimidate men, but she is not intimidated by being the one who makes more money.

You're correct that nearly all women seek out men who are "providers," but this does not have to be in the financial sense. I currently make more money than my husband, but he provides for me, I feel protected, etc.

A man does not have to make more money than his wife to still be considered her provider. That is a third-world fallacy.

Looney said...

The traditional Christian view regarding man-women relationships was a bit of a two-way contract: Wives were to respect and take second place to their husbands, but husbands were to love their wives and give all of their energy, to the point of dying, for the benefit of the family. The feminists have successfully rebelled against the first part of the contract, but what of the second part? Do the men still have obligations if the women don't?

One result is that the women tend to vote much more for political parties who will provide social benefits and security via taxing society as a whole. In contrast, men prefer parties that tax less and give more freedom. This is the main reason for the difference in gender based voting for the Democrats and the Republicans in the US.

There are a lot of secondary consequences to breaking a social contract, but I am not aware of anyone discussing this much. (Alexis de Tocqueville did 200 years ago.) One that I have seen in my teaching is that you can usually tell that a child is from a dysfunctional or divorced family by his misbehavior.

Jillian said...

One that I have seen in my teaching is that you can usually tell that a child is from a dysfunctional or divorced family by his misbehavior.

As a former teacher, both in the US and Morocco incidentally, I agree with this statement, however that is not to say that there are any "symptoms" for a child whose parents both work. A family can be nontraditional (in the sense of gender roles, anyway) and the child still perfectly normal and functional.

Abdelilah Boukili said...

Hi taamarbuuta,
I agree that women have no problem in earning more money than their husbands. But many men don't accept the notion of being provided for by their wives or partners. A wife can for example bear being jobless or leave a job if the husband has enough sources. But a man who still holds the views of gender differences can't feel manly if provided for by a woman.

Abdelilah Boukili said...

Hi Looney,
Women are not seeking just equality equality but also political power as you have stated. But it seems that many trust men than they trust other women. If not how can it be explained that in many countries women are just a minority in political institutions. Perhaps when it comes to decisive matters at the local or national level they trust masculine power more than feminine one.

Jillian said...

Abdelilah,

Thank you for your comment.

To add to the last comment you made to Looney, my opinion as a woman is that I simply haven't found a female candidate worth supporting yet. I find that many, like Hillary Clinton, are too involved in competing with the men to compete for my attention. Although I have supported local female candidates in the past (for mayor, governor, and such), there are very few female politicians right now that I would trust to run my country. Unfortunately, that's just how things are at the moment.

Abdelilah Boukili said...

Not at all, taamarbuuta.
No we seem to have some common points. Gender difference is here to stay, no matter. Equality between the sexes is just for political correctness. Old habits or inherited ones will die hard, I suppose.

Looney said...

Abdelilah, we also have some related issues that something like 55% of the college student population in the US is female. The top performers tend to be male, but the larger group of bottom performers are also male and the women usually out-perform the men.

Unknown said...

Well, I think this gets down to a man's confidence in himself. Having now lived in Morocco 15 years,I FINALLY understand why so many women here are marrying men a lot OLDER. the men who are a few years older than they are are ready to get married and have families. If a man is in his thirties, and between five to ten years older than his wife, it is natural he would expect to take the lead in the relationship. In the U.S., there is far less average age difference. Most women are not marrying men more than one or two years older, and they expect equality in the relationship. Insecure men want a woman to stay home and take care of them and the house. Secure men are happy with whatever their wife wants to do. I think it's the same here in Morocco. But I think fewer men here are secure with a wife who is equal because they are criticized by other men. They have to be really secure emotionally to be able to stand up to this criticism.

Madame Monet
Writing, Painting, Music, and Wine
winewriter.wordpress.com

Abdelilah Boukili said...

You are right Madame Monet. In Morocco, sexism is still prevalent. Traditional views still affect even the highly educated men. Moroccan women still have a long way to go to assert themselves. Men still need decades to shake off sexist views. The hope may be in the future generations.