Friday, November 5, 2010

Do Women Always = Sex?


Despite my admiration of the production value and writing of characters in Entourage I’ve never “got” what the big deal with it all is. I mean it’s a show, it’s there, the actors are quietly good looking and well spoken, even the mousy women are gorgeous and the locales are the hottest spot in my own backyard. It’s on regular television these days as I work through my mountain of emails at midnight. I try to get through shows but I wind up screaming at the flat screen because the male characters are just so wholly unlikeable. The way they treat women within the show is very degrading and it only reconfirms the way women are being treated as such in real life.

So it begs the question, why would Hollywood ultimately always use women as sex subjects in a man's entertainment world? Why? Because this is how men treat women. It didn’t come as much of a revelation to me, but apparently the actors on the show are dogs too. Former Playboy Playmate Irina Voronina was dismissed recently–-she says for refusing the actors’ advances. She confirms they were constantly hitting on her and completely incapable of doing anything else. They objectified her and were boorish at very, very best. She bruised their fragile egos and got booted from the show.

Such is life.

Now, I get this: Women have their issues too. Some are in it for the money grab. Women might search for deep pockets and an easy way to succeed in a very competitive world (as they say). But men at their core have now been taught to seek sex as a property of their own. Then they feel they can sell it or release it anytime the sex appeal disappears. They intend to treat themselves (and certain parts of the woman's body) as a final goal. I know the famous words "sex sells" but why the need to do it in such degrading manner? Why do women put up with that? And why aren't there initiatives to change this perspective in the entertainment world? I do not want to deprive men from their activities behind their private walls with a real partner; however, to see this hunting attitude on Entourage (as if they live in a zoo) makes me sick to my stomach and the whispered disrespectful comments that men make amongst themselves is despicable!

I did a quick Perspective Check and here’s the flash result:

Women:
"Entourage is a p-i-g show for men who are stuck in the house. Sad thing is, that when you have power we throw ourselves at men. I heard a friend say every woman has a price. How sad really."

Men:
What about how men are portrayed in shows like Sex and the City? Beefcake, dense, and useless. How fair is that?"

So what happened to equality? It appears to me that men and women these days speak of it as a play of deception. Who's in control? Who wins? Who is more powerful? Do we all live in this typical world of gender politics in an increasingly inhumane society.

HBO’s marketing posters (above) and online banners are slugged with this tagline: “A lifestyle is a terrible thing to waste.” For me equality is the lifestyle. It means respect for you and to others. You earn your place based on qualification, synergy and credentials. Personal growth is based on performance and not how big your boobs are or how thick a woman’s skin needs to be. Nor is it how deep a man's pockets are or how sexy his body looks and feels. If this is a world that Entourage and Sex and the City reflects on today's society then today I should announce the birth of the new constitution and awakening: "Respect for Sex or No More Sex for you!" We can call it the 28th Amendment.

Sadly, for most of us, stereotypical “Hollywood” male experience isn’t confined to the television or movie set. We get it everyday in business. Everything from being called “honey” or “sweetheart” in the office to offers of clandestine “massages” to seal business deals. These aren’t the worst sexual harassments in the world, but why do they even have to enter the equation to begin with?

The more I think about it, the more I like the Wafa 28th Amendment.