This is a response to Andy Wilson’s column published Oct. 20, “Misogyny in our ‘liberated’ culture.”
I appreciate, more or less, the sentiment of Andy Wilson’s Tuesday piece; however, there exist some glaring problems in his discourse. Frankly, these issues make his overall argument and stance difficult to understand, so I believe an earnest, but in no way mean-spirited, discussion is in order.
It is important to distinguish between the purpose of the institution of marriage and the disordered male mindset regarding the expression of his sexuality. It is also paramount to note that this mindset is in no way restricted to a contemporary frame alone.
For time immemorial, in order to obtain personhood in a way condoned by society, women has had to submit to an oppressive system in which her virginity is valued higher than her existence, her marriage is arranged without her true consent and her husband is unlikely to allow their union to stall his ongoing pursuit of the pleasure openly provided to him in the form of the sex worker. But yes, let us pity the groom and stigmatize his victims.
The objectification of the female body derives from the disordered male mindset regarding the expression of his sexuality, which is displayed in Wilson’s piece. Sex is a right of man and man alone. This violation of human interactions does not result from woman’s ongoing fight for freedom of sexual expression. It results solely from inappropriate male reaction to a shift in power; namely, women holding power over women’s bodies instead of men holding power over women’s bodies.
The “moral filth” of which Wilson speaks certainly exists, but it does not find its source from woman’s sexual expression. Again, the implication that the repression of women leads to morality is the most alarming aspect of Wilson’s argument. The repression of women’s sexuality will not engender the end of objectification. The mistreatment of women finds its source from disappointing but in no way surprising misogyny due to a situation in which gendered power has been shifted towards a balance.
Women are perfectly conscious that objectification runs rampant (but thank you for spelling that out for us). And the fact the men actually have to be advised to view the female as “inherently valuable”, is, frankly, absurd. Wilson is correct in that misogyny is a societal problem, but as women are and always have been shouldering this problem and bucking norms only to face scorn, contempt and physical violence for doing so, it is the male population that must eradicate their own blinding prejudice.