I’m sure I’m not the only one shaking my head as yet again, woman after woman comes forward and admits to shagging another somewhat famous man. One week it’s Tiger Woods, this week it’s Jesse James. I’m sure there will be another one in the next week or two. What baffles me is not that they’ve had sex with a married man — I’m not buying the bit about thinking he was separated — but that they are practically bragging about it. The attention they get over it exalts them, and I’m left wondering…why?
I’m not a stick in the mud. I believe in equal rights (truly equal, not golf-handicapped rights) and applaud women who are able to move up in a world that in some ways, is still dominated by men. I happen to be one of those women struggling to get there, so believe me when I say, I’m all for it. But when did equal rights mean glorifying bad behavior? Society has no problem pointing fingers and judging the men who are caught cheating…so why are we glorifying the women?
I guess you could argue that they aren’t being glorified so much as the information is being reported. Let’s face it: it’s juicy and fascinating. But posting their photos, paying them for interviews…these women will end up with tell-all books and talk shows at the rate they are going. They are going to make a living because they had no moral values and even sadder, no value for themselves.
It’s grotesque yet amusing when we are shocked at how our teenage girls behave: flaunting their nearly naked bodies in front of boys and being willing to give every part of themselves for the scantest bit of attention. Look at what we teach them. In a world where parents are too busy carping at each other during their divorce to really focus on what’s best for their children, we leave children bereft of attention and approval. They are left with the media and the ever-ready television screen and internet. A buffet of behaviors and lifestyles are glorified and lavished with amusement and attention…what do you think they learn from this? (Not to mention, does anyone see the irony of arguments over gay marriage and adoption?)
We complain about the train we are on, the food, the speed, the decor, the route…but we forget that we are the driver. We chose this path. Somehow I doubt we’re going to like our destination.
Posted by williek on March 25, 2010 at 4:13 pm
People who brag gnerally have a very poor self-esteem. Please note I said brag, not report. These women are bragging. Since it has become rife with the advance of the Women’s Movement(s) (of various sorts, some much like one of the other meanings of movement), one might think that militant feminism has dimished not enhanced women’s self-esteem. In encouraging feminine promiscuity, they don’t free women, they turn them into a collective meat-market. In disparaging motherhood below career, they encourage many women into areas they don’t really want to be emotionally but are there from the various social pressures. This is not to say that many successful career women are very happy with their choices.
To a great degree, I think it ultimately comes back to biology. Men who are promiscuous and brag about it, generally are trying to prop up a poor self-image, so the same is probably true of women. It is hard work to satisfy the demands of biology with respect to procreation, and that has been denigrated in our me-me-me society. The fundamental urge, even stronger than the quest for food and water, is to reproduce. Failing to do that leaves a huge void. (Please note these are generallities and not absolutes being stated.) Illicit sex is an attempt to fill that void.