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Sat 25 Aug, 2007 02:29 pm
I've just watched Ali G interviewing a British teacher of femminism, a nice, intelligent lady, btw.
This funny, hilarious interview made me think how unfair some accusations are these days. How stupid we sometimes are. I know, speak for yourself.
But who is never wrong?
I grew up in a shovinist environment, the kind of place that inspired women to start something like femminism. But when I was about 23 I met some great people from the US and as they considered themselves serious femminists, as I liked them as people I did want to understand what it was all about. I guess after a few months I started to understand, I started to look at women with new respect.
I want to mention and discuss this strange unfair thing, a paradox, misunderstanding of contemporary society and culture. I would love to know your opinion. If women are free to choose to walk in public half naked, why are men not free to choose to look at whatever part of their body? I am disturbed by the sight of half naked American women in the center of my town all summer, so that I can hardly read a book in a cafe,
it is like being on a beach. I have never seen such "not-dressed" women as these young American women. I know what some of you will think - deal with it, loser. Get a girlfriend. I do have a girlfriend. I spent two months in a Zen center in US about 15 years ago and sex was something so distant to me those days. I could concentrate on everything, because there were no half naked women around. I remember clearly I was basically not interested in sex. I think that it would be quite nice fo women to not only care so much about themselves and their rights but also care about how we men feel when we are forced to see and almost bump into half naked women in the streets. It would be nice to wear something less sexy from you. When it is so hot I also wear shorts, but they reach almost my knees and my shirt does not reveal my chest or shoulders.
So I can't figure out what is fair about the situation where women are allowed to wear whatever and we men are not allowed to look at whatever
part of their body. It is like a stupid game, like put a hamburger on a dog's nose and expect it to ignore it. If a woman feels annoyed by other men's looks, then she should change her style.
I was accused here some time ago, when things were going pretty well at work and I really enjoyed teaching, that I had fun noticing some beautiful parts of my half naked teenage students. Most people here thought it was inappropriate for a teacher to "enjoy seeing beautiful sexy students".
I was accused of harming these "children" by my attitude or feelings. OK< Ban feelings... impossible. Well, if that is not appropriate, how come we approve of children wearing almost nothing at school? Later I became too busy and had too many things to do to enjoy these looks, I didn't care, cuz I was getting tired.
I think it would make sense that if there is freedom of clothes for women, we should not accuse men of "objectifying" women. That is their choice to be seen. If women freely choose to be photographed and be shown naked
in magazines, it is their choice and freedom to do so. A woman who considers pornography as "objectification" of women is hopelessly silly to me. We do not sell girls at markets any more, we do not make girls marry
a particular man no matter if she wants to, we let women study at universities and become politicians. So it is their choice to become porn stars.
Sex is somehow part of almost everybody's mind. Women are not "morally worse" than men or vice versa. To respect means to respect your legal choice. If I am harassing a woman by feeling something or saying something or looking at her, then I am also being harassed by her inappropriate clothes. I do accept the problem of sexual harassment -it is something that happens when a woman is forced to take part in sexual communication or contact. Not when she is being commented with respect.
And when it is respected that it is her choice if she wants to accept some suggestion or not. If she has no choice, then it is harassment.
Little too much thought into this...
Any woman who dressed like that knows she's going to get checked out. That's why she is dressing like that. If she acts disgusted about it, it's just her way of patting herself on the back.
And there's no law against looking at people.
i read somewhere that women actually dress sexy to compete with other women - in order to get the most attention - which all comes down to trying to be the best looking in the crowd and win the best guy (probably somehow subconsciously), but anyway, i thought that it was illegal to look at women's chest in the US - at least at work - and called sexual harassment
It does raise the question, so to speak, of what a woman's cleavage says about her brain.
Occassion matters. I won't dress scantily for work. In fact, rarely. When I do, I do expect looks. Stares are different, in that case I stare back.
...but I grew up where Stach did, so I don't count. And in fact it disturbs me, too. When i taught college classes, it was half distracting, half repulsive in some cases, either way, not good.
plus, women are not JUST an object of desire. some of them actually might have brains and could be approached as humans.
dagmaraka wrote:plus, women are not JUST an object of desire. some of them actually might have brains and could be approached as humans.
only very stupid people could ever believe that women are JUST object of desire, so that is what Dogen criticised and he also criticised the stupid idea that a woman cannot be a buddha or that women should not be allowed in monasteries
i think the way Brad said it sounded like Dogen actually believed that women are just object of desire, but that is not what he meant or Dogen meant
btw Dogen lived in Japan in the 13th century!!! probably one of the first men in history who supported equal women's rights (think of it, in Japan loooong long time ago) - this only shows Dogen's genius and super advanced thinking
about potential of all people
one thing i hate most about sex is how some women always make it seem like its "bad", simply because males call a girl who enjoys sex a "whore", i think it is because they are jealous the female isnt getting with them, if you know what i mean.
i feel for females sometimes. to be labelled as something negative for enjoying one of the finest pleasures in life.
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