Women: objectified by choice?

I've so many times watched Madmen and thought to myself "Joanie doesn't really have it that bad. Her life is pretty awesome. She can get the men in the office to do whatever she wants just with the turn of her hips".

You watch enough Madmen and read enough articles on women's oppression and sexification in the media and you start to wonder: are women still oppressed and oversexified? My answer is "yes, but...".

I'm not so sure that the oppression is as apparent as it was in the days of Madmen. It's much more subtle nowadays. Men, definitely, still make more money than women do in most jobs, and in many situations, like teaching, men are much more desirable for positions for some reason. Maybe it's the power and dominance that they exude, I don't know. This power, though, this is the kicker. I'd like to think that the women of Madmen and the women of today are not overly sexified by the men in their lives, but that they are choosing to use their sex for manipulation and power. I mean, think about it; women can pretty much get whatever they want if they use their sex as a means for attainment.

Women have been using this tool since the beginning of time. For every great man in history there was a smart, sexy woman beside him. Think about it, what do men have? Loud deep voices, brute strength, and intrepidity (maybe). And, what do women have? Brains, beautiful bodies, and more brains. It seems only natural that through the historical usage of sex for the attainment of power, that women would become objectified and sexified. And that's fine by me, as long as I'm in control.

Is it wrong, I don't know. Probably. Maybe. But is it wrong to use your evolutionary talents to get ahead? I think not. A lion has sharp teeth, a mighty roar, and strong paws. But cheetahs are fast and beautiful, which is why they so often end up stealing food from lions.* Similarly so, men have loud voices and chest muscles, but women have curves and soft soothing voices for manipulation. And, just as with lions, there are role that must be played, and without the opposite sex, the roles mean nothing.

No lion would be complete without its mate.





*Incidentally, more often than not, the female lions are the ones finding the food. Interesting. In charge of finding food, caring for lion cubs, and cleaning up the rocks and dust from the den while the male lion may scare off a hyena or two.
Sound familiar, ladies?