churning thoughts
these two articles have got my brain churning a bit
http://joy-mari.com/2009/10/22/women-the-patriarchy-needs-your-support/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091030/ap_en_tv/us_breasts_on_tv
so, first i started paying attention to peoples comments, and my own thoughts, in regards to 'sluts', 'bitches', etc... i know that i'm judgmental. i try not to be. but i still get both irritated and jealous with certain 'types' of women and certain attitudes of women and men.
the second article got me thinking about cultural obsession with sex, sexual objectification, and why we can't see breasts as a part of the anatomy that supplies milk to babies, and not 'zomg look at teh boobies!'.
so, no new revelations here. i've just been pondering the cultural timeline and how american society got to this point.
puritanism/christianity (european religion) led to the 'demonization' of sexuality; forbidding both talking about and using body parts that are COMPLETELY NATURAL, which only causes people to do things in secret and obsess about them.
next comes the backlash of years of sexual oppression. first we have women slowly taking power back in both politics and religion with the suffrage movement, land ownership, diminishing hem lines, acceptance in powerful roles in both religion and politics, and a cultural outburst of sexuality and experimentation in the 60's, 70' and 80's. men's roles changed as well. they went from the stoic head of the house hold, to the loving partner, to the sex monster.
the next progression, the one that we are experiencing now, is that what was meant to be shocking is now the norm. women are expected to be sexy all the time. both men and women expect women to look and act like the representations of women in media, and men to act like they want nothing but sex from women.
it's almost like an ecosystem that needs to balance itself out. our culture went from one polar extreme to the opposite and now, somehow, must find balance. one that is healthy and supportive for all it's members. and i plan on doing everything i can to find that balance for myself and hopefully set a good example for others.
-of course, there is alot more to it than the above. the us being a 'melting pot', expanding communication and a 'global society' has allowed the condensed euro-christian culture to be influenced by other cultures/religions with different beliefs and view points. some more drastic and oppressive, others far more accepting and natural. but my brain doesn't work in terms of precise facts, more in overall impressions, like a monet.
http://joy-mari.com/2009/10/22/women-the-patriarchy-needs-your-support/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091030/ap_en_tv/us_breasts_on_tv
so, first i started paying attention to peoples comments, and my own thoughts, in regards to 'sluts', 'bitches', etc... i know that i'm judgmental. i try not to be. but i still get both irritated and jealous with certain 'types' of women and certain attitudes of women and men.
the second article got me thinking about cultural obsession with sex, sexual objectification, and why we can't see breasts as a part of the anatomy that supplies milk to babies, and not 'zomg look at teh boobies!'.
so, no new revelations here. i've just been pondering the cultural timeline and how american society got to this point.
puritanism/christianity (european religion) led to the 'demonization' of sexuality; forbidding both talking about and using body parts that are COMPLETELY NATURAL, which only causes people to do things in secret and obsess about them.
next comes the backlash of years of sexual oppression. first we have women slowly taking power back in both politics and religion with the suffrage movement, land ownership, diminishing hem lines, acceptance in powerful roles in both religion and politics, and a cultural outburst of sexuality and experimentation in the 60's, 70' and 80's. men's roles changed as well. they went from the stoic head of the house hold, to the loving partner, to the sex monster.
the next progression, the one that we are experiencing now, is that what was meant to be shocking is now the norm. women are expected to be sexy all the time. both men and women expect women to look and act like the representations of women in media, and men to act like they want nothing but sex from women.
it's almost like an ecosystem that needs to balance itself out. our culture went from one polar extreme to the opposite and now, somehow, must find balance. one that is healthy and supportive for all it's members. and i plan on doing everything i can to find that balance for myself and hopefully set a good example for others.
-of course, there is alot more to it than the above. the us being a 'melting pot', expanding communication and a 'global society' has allowed the condensed euro-christian culture to be influenced by other cultures/religions with different beliefs and view points. some more drastic and oppressive, others far more accepting and natural. but my brain doesn't work in terms of precise facts, more in overall impressions, like a monet.