Women as Tools for Male Satisfaction

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The notion that `men act and women appear' is a notion that has been evident in society for thousands of years. The quote refers to the fact that women are the ones being looked at by men and as a result it is the stipulation of women to ensure that they are in a desirable state to be looked at. While the notion is inherently sexist it is still very visible in almost every facet of society; every corporation uses the role of the woman as aesthetically pleasing and very desirable to market products to men, conversely they also use the fact that women need to fulfil a function in society to market products to women. This essay aims to examine the various reasons as to why this sociological attitude is still so prevalent despite the fact it is often seen as antiquated by women.

To be born a man or a woman is to be born into a `distinct social group', this is contrary to the popular misconception that gender does not determine anything but biological fact, as it is the divide between gender that highlights the biggest, but possibly most subtle flaws in society around us. These differences are often referred to as the sex/gender system and are best described as "a set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality in to products of human activity, and in which there transformed sexual needs are met." . What exactly does this mean? It means that in society it is very common for the biological difference between the genders to be exploited to provide the necessary sexual fulfillment to make an activity desirable. John Berger comments on this by stating that; "The social presence of women is developed as a result of their ingenuity in living under such tutelage within such a limited space. But this has been at the...

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...equal pay etc provides men with the insecurity to try and compete with women. Due to the fact that historically it is the man that dictates who has the power in a relationship it is a very unsettling feeling for a lot of men to be earning less than his partner. Ironically, the very thing that is feeding women with this increased notion of independence and confidence in themselves is television; the very tool used to `enslave' them. So if women are increasing their social say and becoming more confident in their own ability it is perfectly plausible to say that in the future men will have less of a hold over women; furthermore it is also plausible to say that if this happens it will be the corporations that dictate what the social norm for both men and women is as it is them that will wield the power by tapping into the insecurities that inherently plague both genders.

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