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We’ve become pretty good at tackling sexism in our American society. But what about the insidious kind of sexism, the kind that feeds into a male hierarchy?

The young women at University of Texas had a solid idea: Open-carry dildos. It worked.

It brought a lot of attention to the gun control issue.

But there’s a deeper and powerful underlying agenda that is also worth our attention while we’re all talking about the dildo open-carry event.

Sex toys, dildos, what-have you—these sex “tools” can be a wonderful and loving part of a relationship. But when women start flaunting them, they’re unwittingly buying into the larger problem of our highly sexualized country. That sexualization is not the least bit liberating for women. It’s a man’s “game.”

It’s Women’s Lib gone wrong, because it feeds young women right into the male hierarchy and sexism.

My thinking on this radically changed years ago, when my daughters were young. All the girls had many, many Barbies. A good friend of mine spoke about the insidiousness of Barbies; that they seem so fun, but that they actually are very poor role models for women. I was totally shocked at the time and I thought my friend was being melodramatic, but have since then realized she was spot on. And from that point forward I’ve learned to take a second and third (and fourth and fifth) look at this kind of thing. Insidious.

It’s a good word for this silent assault on women’s rights.

The young women at University of Texas open-carried dildos…dildos which are, of course, shaped like penises.

I get it. Like I said, they succeeded at getting attention that needed getting.

Yes, Jessica Jin rocked it by bringing America’s attention to gun control and the absurdities of open carry of guns. In Jin’s words as quoted in the Houston Chronicle,

“I need this proliferation of dildos to offer people a visual representation of what it would be like if we all carried guns. It should look ridiculous to you. That is the point. This is America. If guns and bloodshed don’t wake people up, a public celebration of sexuality may just do the trick.”

Thank you, Jin.

For another point of view, let’s take a moment to look at the new trend in bachelorette parties—new within, say, the past 20 years: Penises, penises, penises! Penis-shaped ice cubes, penis necklaces, penis-shaped cakes.

Okay, so let’s pretend for one minute that women actually worship penises. Pretend, you may ask? Yes, pretend. I’m not saying women don’t enjoy sexual activity or sexual intercourse. I am saying that women don’t really worship penises. Just like men don’t worship vaginas. We don’t see men displaying vagina-shaped items all over their bachelor parties.

Maybe, just maybe, if men did have vaginas adorning bachelor parties, then it would be a kind of quid pro quo. But they don’t.

So what the heck is going on?

Insidious. As in “operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect.” Here we are, liberated women. Here we are, with dildos to satisfy us and sex toys to help us define our sexuality. We have birth control. It would seem that we have everything we need to be truly liberated as human beings.

But we must pay attention to the insidiousness of the male sexual drive in America. It’s everywhere just look around you as you drive to work tomorrow.

Look carefully as you watch TV.

Look carefully as your daughters wear sexually-enticing clothes. Under it all, under the Victoria’s Secret bras, is a battle.

A battle women are not winning.

Hey, I’m not saying this is some kind of planned conspiracy. I believe that the hidden and silent “battle” developed organically, all on its own. And we are in it, women of America. We are in it, and we are scarcely holding our own, even as we feel so powerful and liberated.

 

 

Relephant: 

What Liberals Need to Know about Gun Control in the U.S.

Best Gun Control Advertisement Ever.

 

 

Author: Mary MacGowan 

Editor: Renée Picard

Image: Screenshot