Because You Never Asked

     (This is the last essay in a series including "Pornography", "Tits and Ass", and "Pornography Revisited".)

     Before going any further, I'd like to state that I not only have nothing against what has now become known as "Feminism", but find it to be the logical result of the Industrial Revolution and its technological explosion. This new environment has made the traditional home making role less important and less stimulating. Churning the butter, kneading the dough, mending the socks, etc., have all gone by the boards as we've moved into the modern, throw away, pre-packaged kind of world. That women should find themselves unfulfilled with the old blueprint is predictable and should be respected. What annoys me about many Feminists is the agenda they've set forth and the blame game they play in stating their grievances.

     In following the "pandit's" advice (see essay "Pornography"), I recently found myself watching one of those shout-you-down political panel shows that currently abound on cable TV. Feminism was the show's "soup de jour" and the woman defending this position personified all that's wrong with many women's approach to accomplishing whatever it is they want to accomplish. Her whole mode of operation was premised upon attacking men, her belligerence being nothing short of venomous. It was as if her vision for the future would do away with the opposite sex altogether. She was both pathetic and counter productive. (For those of you who might be asking, no, I don't think she was a lesbian).

     It is certainly not a positive thing for a woman to be raped, or a wife to be beaten, and no rational human being, male or female, could look upon such behavior without revulsion. But the militant feminist must also realize that the man committing such acts is not fulfilling himself with these antisocial outbursts. He does not wake up on his day off and say, "well, what should I do today; play golf, watch the game, wash the car, beat the wife?" No. These are the spontaneous acts of a sick man whose causes are far too complex to simply point a vindictive finger his way and hatefully revile him. Certainly, everything to corporally and legally protect a woman from such horribly negative behavior should be done, but we are no closer to resolving these problems by naively calling men the bad guys and women no more than victims. We are all in this together. Masculine and feminine behavior affects each other. This is a two way street.

     It has become very fashionable to blame men for all the woes and heartaches associated with romance and passion. There is no doubt that men deserve their fair share of blame, but there is one aspect of this that is almost never examined: what role does female behavior play in all this?

     If the Feminist I spoke of above might, as I have, objectively observe the erotic smorgasbord in its daily parade up and down Main Street (see essay "Pornography Revisited"), she would have to come to the conclusion that female participation in this farce is both willing and enthusiastic. What's more, it is the active role in this cheap burlesque, in contrast to the passive oafishness displayed by the leering clods of male lechers on the sidelines. We he-men are simply responding to the stimuli dangled before us. If the average woman (we are not talking about "sluts" here) providing this suggestive environment might alter her way of presenting herself, we guys, the beer-sotted, Monday Night Football yokels, (and yokels we truly are), would subliminally change as well. As long as the female population considers their sexual wares to be their prime product to sell, we "oafs" (and oafs we truly are) are going to buy it.

     This is not to suggest that the average modern woman is sexually promiscuous, but it can be said with some degree of certainty that she is "suggestively promiscuous", that the larger part of her self-concept is that of a sexual provocateur. I suggest this incessant sexual energy running amuck in our society could stand to be muted somewhat . and women hold the key.

     I could not leave this subject without getting five more cents in. "Feminism" has become a misnomer because it now represents nothing more than women taking on the male persona. It should more properly be called "Masculinism" due to its insistence on women being more aggressive, more competitive, tougher, harder, more ass-kicking male-like. This is a mistake for all of us. The feminist movement should be calling for a softening male role, not a hardening female role. Instead of more women athletes, there should be more men smelling roses. It's bad enough that men act like men; now women want it too.

     Relevant Material: "Our Father St. Francis calls the human body 'Brother Ass' because of the vileness it has led him and his followers into in their lives." From the jewel of a short novel, "El Hermano Asno" (Brother Ass), by the Chilean, Eduardo Barrios.

     "Sex has much less importance than what we give it in Occidente." From the novel, "La Prueba del Laberinto" (The Test of the Labyrinth), by the Spaniard, Fernando Sanchez Drago.