ON OUR PERCEPTION OF WOMEN

It isn't just the portrayal of women as figures for physical objectification: the whole western cultural phenomenon (certainly where it's progressed/regressed to) is based on essentially superficial validation. The lure of the Hollywood filmstar paradigm and the generally flawed male ideal of acceptable/beautiful female body types certainly perpetuates this.

I love erotica (one man's erotica is another man's pornography) - sensual art if you will - but there is always an energy imbued or conveyed in any image that discerns its essence - that is to say - a creation which can be viewed as collaborative from the perspective of the photographer/artist and the model on an equal footing. In that sense it's not only equitable, it's empowering for both participants and, it has to be said, many women elect to follow such careers without selling out their gender.

Many, of course, don't.

Even with consensual adult collaboration, there can still be abuse on the part of one or other of the participants and, let's be frank, it's usually the man. It is in these instances that the exploitative nature of innate misogyny is evident.

And that's my biggest problem with any of this - exploitation and the perpetuation throughout the world of this unbalanced and misogynistic perception of women, which is, in my view, what's fundamentally wrong with our species.

I do, however, take great solace from the reality that one of the reasons such behaviour is still embraced by so many men the world over, is simply because they feel threatened and are still labouring under the misapprehension that subjugation and physical might is where human empowerment lies when, in fact, they know at some subliminal level that women, the creators of new life, are those who harbour true power and that it's contained within. The tenuous male stranglehold on the planet is slowly but inexorably loosening.

it is evolving in the right direction I do believe albeit slowly - too slowly for my liking. So for women it must be excruciating.

And there is that single word I look to when viewing any relationship between people regardless of gender or circumstance - respect.

We need that in spades and it should be the innate nature of what we're about both through nature and nurture - I think the latter feeds the former even if it's over generations through soft inheritance, which I feel certainly has validity. And even if it doesn't - we should be teaching our sons to be respectful of women, all women, at all times.

Oh, and as an aside - if we were to eat less meat or none at all, I firmly believe our behaviour and consciousness would rapidly and collectively evolve to allow us to view others of our species as something more than just meat suits too - especially women...

Image credit © Jan Saudek "Beautifully Imperfects"