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THE GUYNESS TREND - episode 3-03
One thing about working on this show is that it sometimes forces you to re-examine ideologies shaped by your upbringing. One example of that is male-female differences (apart from the obvious biological ones). I grew up in the 70s, surrounded by images of bra-burning feminists with their cries for equality. I certainly subscribe to the philosophy that women deserve equal opportunities for employment and that women should be paid the same wages as men if they're doing the same job. But what about outside the workplace? Do men and women behave the same? If they do, is it because of social conditioning or because there truly are behavioural differences between men and women, particularly when it comes to sex? "You mean: men are pigs?" one man asked me during the course of shooting interviews for this segment. He then answered the question: "Yeah. Y-e-a-h." As to why, he shrugged and suggested it was like asking why the sky is blue. Cultural experts I talked to believe there definitely is a difference in sexual behaviour based on gender. And, despite the supposed era of political correctness, male behaviour only provided an appearance of change - behind closed doors and away from the eyes and ears of the politically correct police, guys continued to be guys. Women made an attempt at sexual role reversal. A magazine called Playgirl featuring nude male stars and models never really drew a wide audience or resulted in successful spinoffs. Male strippers became a passing fad that never came remotely close to building the kind of business that made female stripping a mainstay of sexual commerce. And those are just a couple of examples. What it comes down to is a chicken-and-egg scenario. Do magazines and tv shows that feature semi-clad, sexy women, encourage sexist stereotypes, or are they merely catering to natural male instincts? And, if men lose their minds just by looking at a half-naked babe, who really holds the power in that situation? One could argue that sexual power is the more dominant force. Maybe the female participants in this "girl power" revolution know exactly what they're doing. I can certainly confess that I am a schizophrenic feminist. As an educated career woman and mother, I believe that I'm man's equal, but I also love it when a guy opens a door for me and generally treats me with a "ladies first," respectful attitude. I also don't mind if I put on a sexy outfit and guys check me out. But, do I feel that way because I'm female or because that's how I've been told to behave? That's a whole other avenue to explore. But as far as this guyness trend in media that caters to a "boys will be boys" mentality, the magazines and tv shows seem to have tapped into something. It's simple: no matter how many waves of feminism roll over us, it's not likely to change behaviour. Lots of men enjoy looking at beautiful women. There's many women who don't mind being the object of the male gaze. Karen Murray
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