Looking at Women Essay Example for Free

Looking at Women EssayLooking at Women by Scott Sanders was first published in spring of 1989 in the Georgia Review and was later reprinted in Sanders essay collection titled Secrets of the foundation (1991).In this work, Sanders tells us his thoughts on how men look at women, hence the title he explains to us that he feels that men turn women into things rather than quite a little by objectifying their bodies. He goes into great detail about how a lot of women feel their role in todays society is to exist for the sport of men and he questions how simple minded creatures we must be to f each(prenominal) for such(prenominal) things. Although I agree with his argument, I also see the separate billet of it.This could be the subject of a long drawn out debate, thither is a much simpler federal agency to approach it in that we get used to a certain way of thinking and it eventually reverses habit to look at a female and judge her, to make her feel as though she has to go bad a certain image because she sees people expect that much of her, to make her want to dress and act a certain way for people to real see her and so when she does a good job at it, she feels good. When a person is young, they look at things in an innocent manner. As they mature everyplace time, they start to look at things in a different way.A guy for example, will start to notice things he didnt before such as the way a girl walks, how tight her clothes are, the curves on her figure, and other things. And these of course, are all things he has seen before, on the nose never in this light. So he continues to look and as that happens over time he get in the habit of searching for these fine details, even if he isnt inescapably interested. Sanders addressed that thought in Looking at Women when he stated that what attracts our eyes and rouses our blood is only partially instinctual (187) which implies that some of it is learned.The way men look at women over time has reached a poin t where it has become degrading and on some level can be disrespectful. The things we do as women to get men to look at us are not required to get the same end result, and this is also approached with in the schoolbook where it says that The fraction of desire that leads to procreation is irrelevant (Sanders 180). Sometimes men do look because theyre interested in the woman herself.. However most of the time, he will look and in his mind he has already have graded this woman on a scale of 1-10 without even realizing it because hes so used to doing it.I think a lot of people would agree that females have always been painted as submissive, flimsy things who are there to be dependant and cared for. Were supposed to do girly things like paint our nails, cook, clean, and wear high heels while the men go out and get all the attention. We are portrayed as a fluff pastry plastic figurine to achieve the status of art (185). We are works of art though, we do not wake up with our faces pa inted and hair arrant(a) we have to make it happen and like true art, it takes time and effort.We are to be delicate and beautiful, something worth bragging about, a thing to look at and admire. With this type of thinking, we slowly become objects, instead of people. Scott Sanders poses the question, a few times in the accounting Why do so many women decorate themselves like dolls? (184). Upon further reading, we will come to see that the answer (qtd. in Le Deuxieme Sexe) lies within the text we do it simply because it is the most potent identity available to (us) (Sanders 184).While it might be nice as a man to have a woman to take of you or even to have one dependant on you, its not what defines us as a species and it certainly isnt the only role we are capable of playing. As this is the role we identify most with, we feel this need to be good at it.It is typically viewed as an immoral, degrading thing (trying to be sexy) but with a little bit of tweaking and experience (also stores such as Victorias Secret help), we can perfect it to where it then becomes a tool, a weapon, a trap. Women need not make spectacles of themselves in regularize to draw the attention of men (186), in other words we dont need to dress up and put makeup on our faces or wear shoes with heels that prevent us from walking.We know we dont and that if men really want to look, they will do so regardless of what we look like or what were wearing. Although, its easier to just conform to the role society as created for us. For some women it can even be fun, if they happen to be bored or insecure enough to solicit that type of attention. They dont see themselves as a pretty damsel in distress, rather a lion or a tiger with the strength, cunning, and speed needed to hunt and capture its prey. They can entice a man, and make him want more, make him crave it.Shell draw him in with a faux sense of security, because as a man, he naturally assumes he is in control. But hes not, hes just flyi ng along and suddenly caught in a web. And just like that, like the lion pounces on the gazelle, he has fallen victim to put-ons whose only purpose is in world taken off (184). And just like that, the roles are reversed. Two spiked heels, a ton of lace, and one tube of bright red lipstick later, she is on top and he is an object she is toying with. He then becomes a trophy of what she is capable of, and what she has accomplished. She is proud because she has done so with the role society knowing to diminish her.As time goes on, these social roles with change and hopefully everyone will be seen for whom they are not what they look like. Sanders made many interesting points in his story about the way society views women and we take that idea and run with it. Society took us and tried to turn us into an object that cant be feared, an object simply for admiration and we became works of art that we too can be proud of.However, we should not be proud of the fact that this has become a h abit and that we insist on making people feel like they need to fit a certain image in order to be proud of themselves. While society may not like it, we are strong and independent and can handle anything they throw at us. Were champions and theyre going to hear us roar.Works CitedSanders, Scott. Looking at Women. The Norton Reader. 13th ed. Eds. Linda Peterson. New York W. W. Norton Company, Inc. 2012 179-189. Print.