So refreshing to see a rational, considerate and sensitive appraisal of responses that come about from human sexuality and attraction.
I still get turned on, (at 75), by the sight of a woman or even girl that I find attractive. I delight in watching women's sport because women move differently, are generally (so not always) more graceful and fluid and usually, in my experience, can be strongly competitive but without aggression. Does that make me a 'creepy old man'? Well, yes, obviously it does to some.
Does it mean that I'm a pervert? Does it mean that I'm about to go out and sexually harass or rape someone? - No, of course not. The female partners with whom I've had intimacy would all affirm that even a minimal negative reaction on their part would virtually immediately cause deflation of what so many decry as the only male preoccupation, my penis.
However, I understand the difference between a leer and an appreciative glance, just as I understand the difference between a constant and intense stare and an irresistible impulse to look once more.
It is also true that I would feel ashamed if it was indicated to me that I had caused offense, fear, or discomfort. I believe that in such a case I would be quick to apologise and desist from whatever caused that feeling to the female concerned.
I am a biological male & heterosexual. I hold no animosity, disdain, ill-feeling or superiority to males who are not. If one chose to see me as desirable, ( a highly improbable situation now but it has happened when I was much younger), it would not offend me and if the opportunity presented itself, I would simply point out that while not intending any offense, that person was not someone for whom I would have any sexual interest.
Unfortunately, we all today live in highly complex society with moral codes that are not dissimilar to the sheets of sailing ships that have been ripped by a storm and now have holes and tatters among good fabric.
A sensation loving, dumbed down public appear to lap up puerile television & video voyeurism, superficial media commentary & fanciful out-of-reach stereotypes that are thrust in front of our faces each day in a thousand advertisements.
This material promotes and conditions us to to discriminatory, prejudices, warped generalities that skew our perceptions and our behaviours, most often without any personal realisation that such is the case.
We are all too quick to judge and all too slow to consider context. motivation, background, intent and the myriad other factors that influence and even determine what we say and do and if and how we react to situations we meet.
This article, for me, highlights some of these factors, contradictions, misconceptions and confusions. Most of all it highlights for me that we all need to contain our own egos and be compassionate, caring and understanding rather than judgmental.
Put simply, oughtn't it be better for us to offer the benefit of the doubt, rather than jump to condemnation?
