April 08, 2013
Kamala Harris
Much of the TV program Mad Men‘s appeal is derived from the ladies of that era, which was the last time when ladies were unashamed to flaunt (and use) their femininity. A lovely, well-built woman in a flattering dress, appropriately made-up and walking in a feminine manner was a joy to behold. Oh, dear gentlemen any younger than me”what you have missed! “Standing on the Corner (Watching All the Girls Go By)” was not merely a song but an enjoyable pastime.
Then came the cold frost of the late 60s and 70s. When it was done, women dressed like men and men dressed like slobs. The ladies even walked in masculine fashion”perhaps because few were trained to wear high heels. Etiquette too went out the window”no more rising when a woman came to the table or holding the door so she could pass through. Yet curiously, in movies and magazines more female flesh was exposed than ever before. Pressure mounted on the poor dears to “put out” on the first date”among many young people today this is considered routine. But merely praising feminine beauty might well be considered sexual harassment. To use presidential metaphors, one is expected to sleep with anything (like Clinton) while avoiding praise of loveliness (like Obama). In other words, women are supposed to be invisible trollops and men oversexed geldings. With such mixed messages, women in combat and same-sex marriage almost make a twisted sense.
Is it too much to point out that men and women are different? That biologically, emotionally, and psychologically, they are very different? God forbid we should notice the obvious. No doubt the horror of Starship Troopers, with its utterly unisex military service, is our future. But surely in some way, at some point”possibly on annual weeklong retreats”men might admire women as women, and vice versa?
It may be that our glorious-though-fragile global civilization requires total collapse before natural behavior can be restored. I hope not”apocalypses are so annoying. But regardless of what happens, nature shall reassert itself eventually. Woman needs man and man must have his mate”despite how many presidents apologize.
