Earlier today, I posted about a maddening meme made by someone who believes a host of fucked up (and wrong) ideas about the needs of men and women in heterosexual relationships. The meme was rife with Western-centric, stereotypical attitudes about the role of men and women in society and seemed crafted to make viewers think that pleasing men is such an easy task but pleasing women? Impossible, because women want so many things and need so many things to make them happy that no man could ever truly measure up. Most of the list consists of bullshit ideas thrown together by someone who hasn’t actually listened to anything women have said they’re looking for in a partner (perhaps some misognystic twit on Reddit or /4/chan with too much time on their hands). I’d say the majority of them are rather unreasonable to expect of men, and in fact, I don’t know too many women who would demand that their boyfriend be an interior decorator who moonlights as an electrician while going to school to be a gynecologist. That said, of the 53 items listed that men supposedly need to be in order to make a woman happy, I saw several that were very reasonable (I just took a glance at it again, and counted at least 14). Funny thing though, if the thought of being an honest and passionate lover, friend, and companion is off-putting to the meme maker, they really ought to get a load of this short sci-fi film in which a woman makes an…interesting request of her boyfriend (Content note: the name of the video-‘He took his skin off for me‘-is a tip off about the nature of the short flick; the depiction of the boyfriend may be unsettling to viewers)
Month: April 2016
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Monday’s Maddening Meme 4.4.16
(Yes, I know it is Tuesday, but I was indisposed much of yesterday and unable to finish this post)
Men are simple creatures with few needs, wants, and desires. It shouldn’t be hard for a woman to make a man happy.
Women, on the other hand are complex creatures who have a plethora of needs, wants, and desires. It is hard to make a woman happy because keeping track of everything they want, need, or desire is incredibly time-consuming.
Men- Simple. Easy to deal with.
Women- Complicated. Endlessly needy.
That’s what I’m getting from the above meme, which I stumbled across on Facebook. It reminds me of the 1992 book Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus by author and relationship counselor John Gray. In the book, Gray postulates that there are fundamental psychological differences between the sexes; differences so grand that men and women need instructions on how to understand and communicate with one another (apparently, those in the relationship should have an honest conversation about what they need and want is not sufficient advice; either that or it would be a one page book). And it just so happens that Gray has instructions. You just have to read his book, and you’ll find out all the secrets of the universe. Of course you also have BUY the book, so don’t think this guidance comes free of charge. Just be aware that the advice offered treats men and women as if they’re little more than walking stereotypes and erases the individuality of humanity. Needless to say, the book has faced quite a bit of criticism:
This is a lotta creepy
Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer may remember the Buffybot from ‘Intervention’ (B:TvS S5E18). The lifelike robotic creation of the misogynist Warren, the Buffybot was created for Spike because he…I wouldn’t say he loved Buffy (though he thought he did at the time)…perhaps ‘infatuated’ is the right term? ‘Lusted’, even. That’s probably more accurate, because for Spike, the Buffybot was a fuck machine. And that’s one big reason the robot was creepy to me. The idea of a man creating a robotic facsimile of a woman he desires takes objectification to a new level. From street harassment to sexual assault to sex trafficking, women around the world are accustomed to men viewing them as objects. Not as human beings, but as objects to be bought. Objects to be sold. Objects to be traded. Objects to own. But at least building an artificial creation that resembles an actual living human woman is something that only exists in fiction, right? Not any longer.