This is a Man's World
He stepped into the shower, one foot after the other. His clothes were left by the door in a unkempt pile. This was his ritual, the water flowed down his body, droplets collected on various parts of his sculpted anatomy. Pools of water gathered in the depths of his collar bones. He saw me watching him, but he was distracted by my presence. He wanted to put on a show. If I wasn’t so close I would’ve kicked back and grabbed a beer. I didn’t even like beer, but he made me want one. The water droplets kissed every curve and cut on him, some water rejected its community to splash off his abs like they were afraid of the definition. He was wetter than I was in that moment. And that’s just it. It’s almost taboo to think of men as objects, as sex toys, as talking dildos, but men can think of women in similar terms, a lifelike blow up doll except the blowing goes the other way, or pussies you keep in your contacts list instead of your pocket. Females, as soon as they begin to enter womanhood are looked at in a sexual manner. Their chest are not being prepped to feed children, but something to play with while men practice the process of making children. Their lips are no longer used to whisper innocent thoughts, but kissed while men fumble around the idea of making love.
When the human body is examined through an erotic lens, culture does not suggest images of men, of sculpted pectoral muscles, of penises. Society will suggest images of bare breasts, feminine curves, delicate edges, of women. Perhaps this is because historically speaking women should have been taught to be subservient, to be ornamental. It is the “bad girls” that have made history by ruining this preconceived notion of patriarchy. These “bad girls” have ruined our culture's view of subordination and now women are still living in patriarchal societies, but no longer fit into their molds. The way that culture combats the strong woman and inherently combats feminism and gender equality is by oversexualizing the women of today. The various issues with this thinking are that it, like in history, does not only apply to women, but to little girls as well. This thinking creates the ability of minority women to be fetished. This concept allows women to be chained to their anatomy.
Young girls are no longer taught to play with toys, they are toys. In many cases we are reverting to the older societies in which girls at the age of twelve are married off to men double, if not triple their age. The general society no longer cherishes childhood. “Thongs [are] marketed to 6-year old girls…[and are] dancing...to their favourite pop star’s very adult lyrics” (Hypersexualization). Girls are taught, not how to be women, but how to be objects, to be slut shamed, to be toys. They are not playing with barbies, they are becoming them.
Pretend now that these girls grow up in this world and become women. What are they to know? They will not know a world outside of their sexuality, they will not know a world outside of being hypersexualized. They will sit on benches and try to read books while men make comments about their appearances (Klinkenberg). They will get into physical fights with men they do not know because they cannot clinch their tongues (Klinkenberg). They will walk into gas stations trying to be normal individuals of society and they will get called “babygirl,” or “hun,” or something else that isn’t “miss” or their name. They will not be able to express their sexuality without being called a slut, or a whore, or anything that isn’t “miss” or their name. Their name won’t matter to anyone except their families and even then it still may not be relevant to the conversation at hand. They will go to parties and will not be able to trust anyone. They will go to parties and will not be able to leave their drink. They will go to parties and won’t be able to drink too much. They will be told they cannot dance the way they would like to. They will be taught that they are still the barbie that they never got to play with.
Cat calling will not always come in the form of whistles by construction sites, Sometimes it’s the way a boy looks at you, knowing he’s undressing you with his eyes. You might as well push your cleavage up and wear the shortest shorts you can find because it’s the less time you feel their eyes staring past your clothing, past your curves, but just above your soul. They don’t want to know you, they don’t want to be with you, they want to be inside of you. Get used to the fact that everything you do is being thought of sexually. You can’t dress like that or else you’re a slut. You can’t dance like that or else you’re asking for it. You can’t talk like that or else it was your idea. Society will be the devil on your shoulder telling you that you are never going to be good enough to make your own decisions. If you fuck him, you’re a slut. If you don’t, you’re a prude. Society will be whispering that you can NEVER win.
It get’s worse for women, not better.