Sex and the Power of the Visual
Why are men so easily turned on sexually by a woman's legs, but not vice-versa? Why are female strip clubs so much more prevalent and popular than male strip clubs, but not vice-versa? In five minutes, Dennis Prager explains why the answers to these questions reveal so much about male and female sexual nature, and how the visual impacts the two sexes in totally different ways.
How much do women spend to see unclothed men?
Billions of dollars annually.Millions of dollars annually.A reasonable amount.Virtually nothing.Men are programmed by _____________ to respond sexually to the visual.
NatureSocietyThe newsTheir fathersIf a woman wants to understand male sexuality, the first thing she has to understand is _________________.
Family dynamicsThe father-son relationshipThe power of the visualThe power of advertisingAn ad with men’s legs is _____________.
Highly profitableAbsurdAlluringAll of the above.The power of the visual naturally excuses inappropriate male behavior.
TrueFalse
- Men objectifying women isn’t inherently misogynistic—it’s just reality. Simply put, male sexuality is generally more visual than women’s.
Dennis Prager argues that the power of the visual in male sexuality, or “objectification” of women, is often falsely described as a function of misogyny. “Every normal heterosexual man who sees a woman as a sexual object can also completely respect her mind, her character, and everything else non-sexual about her. Men do this all the time,” he writes.
View sourceIn marriage, Prager contends, a husband’s sexual “objectification” of his wife is generally healthy for the relationship.
View sourceWhile popular feminist theories in the 1970s assumed that male and female sexuality were essentially the same, more and more research confirms that males and females differ significantly in their experience and expression of their sexuality.
View sourceRecent studies have also confirmed the long-known fact that men generally have significantly stronger sex drives than women.
View sourceWATCH: Dennis Prager on the power of the visual in male sexuality.
View sourceRelated reading: Feminism Makes Weak Men – Dennis Prager
View sourceRelated reading: Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual – Dennis Prager
View source- More and more studies confirm there are significant differences between male and female sexuality – a fact feminists often deny.
Dennis Prager on a fundamentally false premise of feminism: “Most feminists have conflated equality and sameness. And that’s a huge mistake; the sexes are equal, but they are different.”
View sourceOne of the major differences between male and female sexuality is the power of the visual in male sexuality, which is often falsely conflated with misogyny.
View sourceWhile popular feminist theories in the 1970s assumed that male and female sexuality were essentially the same, more and more research confirms that males and females differ significantly in their experience and expression of their sexuality.
View sourceRecent studies have also confirmed the long-known fact that men generally have significantly stronger sex drives than women.
View sourceWATCH: Dennis Prager on the power of the visual in male sexuality.
View sourceRelated reading: Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual – Dennis Prager
View source- Most feminists have conflated equality and sameness. And that’s a huge mistake; the sexes are equal, but they are different.
Dennis Prager on a fundamentally false premise of feminism: “Most feminists have conflated equality and sameness. And that’s a huge mistake; the sexes are equal, but they are different.”
View sourceOne of the major differences between men and women is their sexuality. While popular feminist theories in the 1970s assumed that male and female sexuality were essentially the same, more and more research confirms that males and females differ significantly in their experience and expression of their sexuality.
View sourceRecent studies have also confirmed the long-known fact that men generally have significantly stronger sex drives than women.
View sourceOne of the major differences between male and female sexuality is the power of the visual in male sexuality, which is often falsely conflated with misogyny.
View sourceWATCH: Dennis Prager on the power of the visual in male sexuality.
View sourceRelated reading: Happiness Is a Serious Problem: A Human Nature Repair Manual – Dennis Prager
View source- Why isn’t there a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition for men? Because the sexuality of men and women are different.
There is not a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for men because women are not visually aroused by men the same way men are by women.
View sourceWhile popular feminist theories in the 1970s assumed that male and female sexuality were essentially the same, more and more research confirms that males and females differ significantly in their experience and expression of their sexuality.
View sourceRecent studies have also confirmed the long-known fact that men generally have significantly stronger sex drives than women.
View sourceOne of the major differences between male and female sexuality is the power of the visual in male sexuality, which is often falsely conflated with misogyny.
View sourceDennis Prager on a fundamentally false premise of feminism: “Most feminists have conflated equality and sameness. And that’s a huge mistake; the sexes are equal, but they are different.”
View sourceWATCH: Dennis Prager on the power of the visual in male sexuality.
View source- The Left has contradictory standards on how it judges men and women—and many of those standards brand women as weak, permanent victims.
The Left applies contradictory standards to men and women. For example, the Left has both pushed to ban pin-up calendars because of their “misogynistic” portrayal of women, but at the same time fights to protect public nudity for women, which only increases their “objectification.” The Left’s portrayal of women as seemingly permanent victims is ultimately disempowering for women as participants in public life.
View sourceOne of the major differences between men and women is their sexuality. While popular feminist theories in the 1970s assumed that male and female sexuality were essentially the same, more and more research confirms that males and females differ significantly in their experience and expression of their sexuality.
View sourceDennis Prager on a fundamentally false premise of feminism: “Most feminists have conflated equality and sameness. And that’s a huge mistake; the sexes are equal, but they are different.”
View source
Every year men spend billions of dollars to look at women with little clothing on -- such as the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue -- or with no clothing on -- such as on Internet sites and in so-called men’s magazines. Women, on the other hand, spend virtually nothing to see unclothed men. Why?
Some say that the reason is that men are socialized into viewing women as sex objects and that women are socialized into not viewing men as sex objects. But if that’s true, how do these people explain gay men? They are as aroused by pictures of naked men as heterosexual men are aroused by pictures of naked women. Obviously, then, it’s not socialization. It’s that men are programmed by nature -- not by society -- to respond sexually to the visual.
This is an area in which men are so different than women it's probably impossible -- no, not probably, just outright impossible -- for a woman to truly understand. Of course women find some men attractive. And of course a woman can have an intense reaction to seeing a very appealing man. But there’s still no comparison.
The visual alone arouses men. It takes far more to arouse a woman than seeing naked men. If that’s all it took, most husbands would walk around the house naked whenever possible -- or at least every time they wanted sex. And the average heterosexual man is excited countless times a day simply by seeing women -- in person, on billboards, in magazines, on television, and even in his imagination.
This is not the case for women. Yes, there are some male strip shows for women. But few women ever go, and the few who do attend them in groups, a “girls’ night out.” And for every one of those shows there are probably ten thousand female strip shows for males, most of whom attend alone, not as a participant in a guys’ night out.
Let's be honest. There is no magazine featuring men's legs for women to look at and get aroused by. But there are websites and magazines of women's legs for men. And are women paying to view topless men? Men pay good money to look at topless women.
Again, that doesn't mean women never get turned on by merely looking at some men. Of course they do. But it’s only some men -- on rare occasion a stranger, and more usually a celebrity. Men get turned on by any sight of female flesh on almost any female.
The effect of the visual in men is so powerful that it even amazes men. A man came over to me after hearing me lecture on male sexuality and said: “I've got a story to tell you. I was in front of a department store and in the window was a seated mannequin. I couldn't believe it, but I found myself looking up her skirt.” Here was a perfectly normal, responsible man -- who found himself looking up a skirt on an inanimate object shaped like a woman. That's how instinctive it is for men to look at female flesh.
It’s perfectly understandable that women cannot fully relate to this. But if a woman wants to understand male sexuality, the first thing she has to understand is the power of the visual. That's why you see ads on billboards, on TV, and in magazines for every sort of product a man might buy accompanied by a scantily clad woman -- or, sometimes, just part of her. I recall a famous liquor ad that showed a woman’s legs and a bottle of tequila. No face, just beautiful legs. Would you ever see an ad showing men's legs? People would laugh; it would be considered absurd. An ad with women's legs is not absurd—it's alluring.
None of this is in any way meant to excuse inappropriate male behavior. Men must always control themselves. But to deny the power of the visual on men is like denying that the earth is round.
I'm Dennis Prager.
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