General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Posting T&A threads helps to create a hostile environment for women here. [View all]Flatulo
(5,005 posts)whack it too, while thinking dirty thoughts. Bill Clinton does it, and so does the Rush Limbaugh. But I your get point about flaunting it here, and I would not do it myself. I lump it in with abortion protesters and Nazis. We may not like their message, but we tolerate it, even protect it despite the embedded hatefulness.
One last thought - I would check your assumptions about 'nobody minding' what goes on in people's heads. That is definitely not the sense I get from the HoF group and their allies. I get the feeling that any sexual objectification, however private, is not OK to certain feminist elements. If I'm wrong about this, I'd be happy to be corrected.
Personally, I think that mature, healthy people can separate the part of their brains responsible for seeking sexual gratification from how we behave in the real world. Obviously, some individuals cannot - these people are responsible for all the sexual assault we see. And yes, our culture contributes to this. I don't know how to fix this. We do have laws in place to protect people from sexual predation, but it's hard to prove in many cases.
One final comment I'd like to make - I did watch a very disturbing documentary called 'Sexy Baby', which dealt with young women - kids, really - who were seeking genital plastic surgery, specifically a procedure called 'labiaplasty', so that they could achieve that 'porn star look' and please their boyfriends. I was really horrified by this. They interviewed young men who were proclaiming their dislike for 'meat curtains'. Where did this come from? I was really just in shock over this, and I thought, this is what happens when young boys are exposed to the flood of intense pornography that they are these days. I really just have no words to explain my distaste over this. Ya, I know it's their bodies, and they are technically 'adults', but jeez. Is this how we want our young girls to grow up? Desiring to please their boyfriends so much that they mutilate themselves? Wow. So yeah, this is just one of the repercussions that comes from the nonstop barrage of 'women as objects' that our kids are being exposed to. I'm no prude, but this is too much.
Anyway, I again thank you for having the patience to present your arguments in a civil manner. For me, this works a whole lot better than nasty exchanges, seething with contempt. I thank you.