I am a skeptical person, by nature. When an idea or an opinion seems too radical, or leans too far to one side, I’ll roll my eyes and play devil’s advocate ’til the cows come home. So while I wholeheartedly call myself a feminist, (and so should you!), it took me a very long time to understand and accept many of feminism’s fervent claims that people find so alienating.
Women’s desire is utterly underestimated. Many women are very carnal creatures, despite what “common knowledge” may espouse. We’re constantly surrounded by messages that women’s sexuality is placid, predictable, emotional, calculated – essentially, the opposite of male sexuality. However, we’re slowly learning that this is not the case – at all.
Evolutionary psychology absolutely fascinates me – there’s nothing more compelling than trying to understand our cavewoman brains and how that might be influencing us today. But the idea that women are super sexually selective – because they need a man to take care of the baby – is being overturned, not only by the presence of birth control and the modern woman’s increasing ability to fend for herself in a culture that no longer relies on men to hunt for food, but also by a growing body of scientific evidence (seriously, read this book). Some fun facts: women are multi-orgasmic, we own the only body part whose sole purpose is pleasure (clitoris), our sexuality peaks at a time that is not ideal for reproduction, penises and seminal fluids have evolved in order to compete with other men’s sperm… the list goes on.
It wasn’t until fairly recently that people believed women are not carnal beings. Centuries ago, it was understood that women were “dangerous” specifically because they are so horny; if women’s sexuality is not kept in check, it’ll be the downfall of society (can you hear my sarcasm?)! In historical lore, women were the ones who victimized men with their sexual prowess. Religions and nations have rules in place in order to tame women’s unquenchable desire: from men owning women by law to difficulty receiving contraception to subtle, pervasive misogyny. Unfortunately, it seems these attempts at oppression are successful; we are living in a sexually confused and repressed society, in which many women feel that they cannot express their sexuality fully. And I, for one, am just plain sick of it.
