The best thing about being a woman
Is the prerogative to have a little fun or is?
-Is a woman having fun seen as not ladylike/manly?
-Is it Ironic that the name of the song reads MAN! I feel like a WOMAN?
A woman can have the sex appeal but can’t flaunt it without being label as a slut. She yearns the chance to be treated like a man and live for one night without being judged.
This is exactly what I have been saying, men can freely have sex with various people and do flings, and one night stands but a woman cannot because she would be judged, her actions would be frowned on, and individuals will call her degrading names as a result. A woman is not suppose to have fun, that is not ladylike. A lady according to society is supposed to only have sex with her husband, maintain her virtue, and not engage in any sexually deviant behavior that lead to her bringing shame upon her family. No hyper-sexual woman still keeps or gains respect from men, or other women. For an example a women in a hi jab would look at a woman in a bikini and say why is she dressed like that she is too revealed and lose respect for her. Yet the women in the bikini will think the same for the Muslim woman who is covered up saying why is she dressed like that she has no sexual freedom,etc. However in both examples neither woman has sexual freedom both overdressing and under-dressing is frowned on. Women will be labeled no matter what because of the society we live in. No matter how hard one tries to be liberal and sexual she will never be considered “one of the guys” she will always be a women powerless, and submissive to male authority.
I think the ending of your post there is really the main part here, that at the end of the day often times a heteronormative male perspective is being transferred not only onto women when viewing themselves, but also when viewing each other. Both women are judging each other in your given example not based on the woman’s desires or beliefs, but rather an assumed position that men are promoting or creating their behavior. They both have taken away any analysis of each other in your example beyond the manner in which they are choosing to succumb to a male, rather than perhaps attributing each others choices to their own power not directly connected to relinquishing some to men.
I think that either way it is sliced though, unless the actual power relationship is focused upon, rather than what a woman is doing, the issue here at its core isn’t being addressed. If a woman is too conservative she isn’t playing into the sexualized manner some men would wish her to behave, yet if a woman is sexualized, she also is disrespected if it is seen in a negative manner. Judging a woman one way or another really doesn’t get anywhere, and often, even if between women, simply is perpetuation.
I agree we need to focus on the main cause of all that is connected to the reasons why we as woman are sexualized. The power relationship is the core of all problems between men and wormen and more frequently nowadays even women and women.
Good idea to tie this back to power. I hope to see this discussion keep going. That song can provoke a lot to say.
I think this is a really interesting discussion. My question is, why is it that women have to elevate themselves to the status of a man in order to be considered equal in society? This is a huge problem for me. It’s like you can either attempt to occupy the position of a man to become “powerful,” or you have to use sex to become “powerful.” There is no in between. Have any of you seen that book around, its called “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.” It’s written by a man, I suppose as some sort of how-to guide…what exactly is a “lady?” I actually had a roommate ask me this once, under the context of a previous conversation we’d had where I expressed a need for sex, which, I guess is not “lady-like.” Maybe being a “lady” means keeping it to yourself, and being a “woman” means lettin’ it all hang out, and being a “man” is just doing whatever it is you feel like? I don’t really believe that, but maybe that’s how society wants to play this out. What I do know is, I’d be way more embarrassed to be seen reading “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” on the train than I felt while reading “Intercourse.”