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My own spin off rant from...
Feb. 23rd, 2006 10:39 pm... this post http://tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com/
Women getting naked and men never do - like it's some terrible thing for women to lust after naked men (female lust - RUNNNN!). This whole idea that women don't care what men looks like, don't think that way etc - I mean, it's just the height of denial. I don't know what the full issue is - is it the last clinging threads of oppressing female sexuality? An idea that a 'dominant' cannot be the one stared at so it must be men doing the staring? A last fool grasp for feminine modesty? I don't know, and others have covered it all already.
What it made me think of is the idea of looking good. Women are expected - nay, demanded - to look good to a ridiculous degree. From diets to cosmetics to more anti-aging creams than you can shake a stick at. It's changing a little, but you look at 90% of any product design to make you look younger/better looking/colour hair and the people in it? Female.
Yes, we've all heard it, but there's a flip side as well. There's almost a taboo against men looking good. Every heard someone whine "he's so cute he has to be gay?" (admittedly not common but it's heard here and there) or variations on a theme? Good looking = gay? Why? Because only men care about looks so straight guys don't need to make the effort. How many 40 year old women spend the third world debt on creams to look younger and diet like crazy for fear of an extra pound? And how many 40 year old men wander around happily with paunches, greying hair and dress in boring suits or ratty bits of anything? (And don't get me started on straight porn - beautiful woman with big breasts and great figure shags the creature of the black lagoon with back hair like a gorilla).
I mean, it's sooo STUPID. Believe me, I am more glad than anyone that men don't have the same societal demands as women, that's just ludicrous. But to make it almost criminal for men to look good (or at least to actually make an effort to look good) is also silly (not nearly as silly, but still annoying). There's a derision attached to good looking guys as well (alright, probably a lot envy related) 'Pretty boy' etc - it's a sign of 'weakness' to look good.
I really think that many men are actually SCARED of good looking men - not just in an envy way, but in a squick way. Let alone a good looking naked man (is that part of the reason why porn actors are sometimes ugly as sin?) it's like a kind of terror - ARGH, good looking naked men! Also very silly. Is it all about gender insecurity? All about sheer terror of sexuality? Or is it all linked to this idea of being STRONG and the STRONG can't be pretty (pretty is weak) and the STRONG can't like pretty (pretty wastes time). Is it why men can't like fashion or flowers or curtains or whatever? Because the only pretty you allow yourself must be related to sex - almost like you need an excuse to indulge in pretty.
Hmm... does anyone know where I was going with this? I forget.
Women getting naked and men never do - like it's some terrible thing for women to lust after naked men (female lust - RUNNNN!). This whole idea that women don't care what men looks like, don't think that way etc - I mean, it's just the height of denial. I don't know what the full issue is - is it the last clinging threads of oppressing female sexuality? An idea that a 'dominant' cannot be the one stared at so it must be men doing the staring? A last fool grasp for feminine modesty? I don't know, and others have covered it all already.
What it made me think of is the idea of looking good. Women are expected - nay, demanded - to look good to a ridiculous degree. From diets to cosmetics to more anti-aging creams than you can shake a stick at. It's changing a little, but you look at 90% of any product design to make you look younger/better looking/colour hair and the people in it? Female.
Yes, we've all heard it, but there's a flip side as well. There's almost a taboo against men looking good. Every heard someone whine "he's so cute he has to be gay?" (admittedly not common but it's heard here and there) or variations on a theme? Good looking = gay? Why? Because only men care about looks so straight guys don't need to make the effort. How many 40 year old women spend the third world debt on creams to look younger and diet like crazy for fear of an extra pound? And how many 40 year old men wander around happily with paunches, greying hair and dress in boring suits or ratty bits of anything? (And don't get me started on straight porn - beautiful woman with big breasts and great figure shags the creature of the black lagoon with back hair like a gorilla).
I mean, it's sooo STUPID. Believe me, I am more glad than anyone that men don't have the same societal demands as women, that's just ludicrous. But to make it almost criminal for men to look good (or at least to actually make an effort to look good) is also silly (not nearly as silly, but still annoying). There's a derision attached to good looking guys as well (alright, probably a lot envy related) 'Pretty boy' etc - it's a sign of 'weakness' to look good.
I really think that many men are actually SCARED of good looking men - not just in an envy way, but in a squick way. Let alone a good looking naked man (is that part of the reason why porn actors are sometimes ugly as sin?) it's like a kind of terror - ARGH, good looking naked men! Also very silly. Is it all about gender insecurity? All about sheer terror of sexuality? Or is it all linked to this idea of being STRONG and the STRONG can't be pretty (pretty is weak) and the STRONG can't like pretty (pretty wastes time). Is it why men can't like fashion or flowers or curtains or whatever? Because the only pretty you allow yourself must be related to sex - almost like you need an excuse to indulge in pretty.
Hmm... does anyone know where I was going with this? I forget.