People despise politicians. While not all politicians deserve to be hated, some do. Why? Well the reasons are as old as humankind. There will always be people who try to climb the ladder. They want to make as much money and gain as much power as possible. It’s really not all that difficult to understand. Many traditional rewards are available to folks in power. Sometimes its money, and what can money buy that satisfies? Well, throughout history, as long as men were running things, money can buy real estate, but it can also buy sex. Believe me, this was exemplified when Andrew Cuomo allegedly asked a woman younger than himself if she was interested in older men.
Trust me, I get it. Ever since Adam and Eve in the garden, sex has been heavily marketed to both women and men. Oh, I know, we have a lot of PC around these days. I had a mother who worked three or four jobs and I have a brilliant wife who is an author and a college educator. My daughter is a college professor who is a productive scholar and worker. Nevertheless, at the same time that we are making the point that men and women should be paid equally and be afforded equal opportunities, all you have to do is turn on the TV or read the major magazines and you will see how many products are sold that implicitly or explicitly promise to “beautify” women. So what we have is an appropriate movement to make sure that women in the workplace are respected and treated fairly.
Some people suggest that two separate things are going on. Women are fighting like crazy for equality and at the same time, many women want to be well dressed and appealing. I have discussed this a lot with a woman I know. She argues that it is wrong to assume that a woman is dressing to attract a man. Rather, she is dressing to to please herself.
I have a couple of blue suits and a lot of black, chino-like pants. Oh, I have had friends, one in particular, who couldn’t spend money fast enough on clothes at places like Barney’s in New York. He also had to own the most prestigious dog and have the most desirable car. He was the exact opposite of me. So, it is important to remember that all men and women are not alike. We take a major foreign newspaper at our home which has a weekly magazine called “How to spend it.” My friend knew how to spend it. He had fancy sports cars and was always talking money. When I was promoted to full professor and a told him how pleased I was, he told me that the only thing that really mattered was money.
In the end, however, we had better believe that we do live in an acquisitive society. Men and women are different. Our prisons house mostly men for a reason. But decisions have to be made. A society in which women are considered possessions who should dress to emphasize their sexuality has got to change.
We really have to undo this double standard. Every time anyone even hints at what is going on, they are called out for sexism and being anti-women. We are getting to a place where we know better. I am looking to a place where women are truly in the top jobs in this country. It’ll surely happen.
