dithering about differences

"In the discreet white-collar realm, men and women are interchangeable, doing the same, mind-based work. Physicality is suppressed; voices are lowered and gestures curtailed in sanitized office space. Men must neuter themselves, while ambitious women postpone procreation. Androgyny is bewitching in art, but in real life it can lead to stagnation and boredom, which no pill can cure.

"Meanwhile, family life has put middle-class men in a bind; they are simply cogs in a domestic machine commanded by women. Contemporary moms have become virtuoso super-managers of a complex operation focused on the care and transport of children. But it’s not so easy to snap over from Apollonian control to Dionysian delirium.

Nor are husbands offering much stimulation in the male display department: visually, American men remain perpetual boys, as shown by the bulky T-shirts, loose shorts and sneakers they wear from preschool through midlife. The sexes, which used to occupy intriguingly separate worlds, are suffering from over-familiarity, a curse of the mundane. There’s no mystery left." - Camille Paglia,

---------------------------------------------
"In the discreet white-collar realm, men and women are interchangeable, doing the same, mind-based work. Physicality is suppressed; voices are lowered and gestures curtailed in sanitized office space. Men must neuter themselves, while ambitious women postpone procreation. Androgyny is bewitching in art, but in real life it can lead to stagnation and boredom, which no pill can cure."

People are certainly comparable, but the characterization that they are simply interchangeable parts in the machine of industry is shallow and simplistic at best, and ignorantly delusional at worst. Each individual brings a differing and diverse interpretation to their allotted tasks, even in the most menial office drudgery; and the ability to recognize and appreciate these variations lies behind the progression of the employment environment.

Far more injurious to the spirit than some sort of demonically imposed androgyny is the dehumanizing pall of materialism; the slavish pursuit of wealth that debilitates both the unique moral and personal expressions of a company's wage earners. The devitalization of empathy accompanying the mad scrabble for assets and the nullification of feelings that might inhibit ravenous acquisition seem far more likely to enfeeble individual displays of passion.

"Meanwhile, family life has put middle-class men in a bind; they are simply cogs in a domestic machine commanded by women. Contemporary moms have become virtuoso super-managers of a complex operation focused on the care and transport of children. But it’s not so easy to snap over from Apollonian control to Dionysian delirium."

If middle-class men find themselves in a "bind", it is one of their own creation; they are far more hobbled by the chains of consumptive conformity than by the demands of the family. Rather than blame women as the emasculating task masters of domestic machinery, it is more realistic to see them as architects of the supportive structures of kin and kind that allow men the opportunity to embrace their full potential. Raising children is more than just the care and transport of potential products; at best, it is the fulfillment of human potential and the realization of mature adulthood.

Family provides benefits for all its members; provided the short-sighted nature of individual egotism can be overcome, and the value of loving relationships is appreciated. Far from "Dionysian delirium", a more balanced sharing of parental responsibilities to include female decision-making insures the children have training in creating and sustaining the symbiotic spousal relationships necessary to a healthy household. In this environment, trust and intimacy may flourish.


"Nor are husbands offering much stimulation in the male display department: visually, American men remain perpetual boys, as shown by the bulky T-shirts, loose shorts and sneakers they wear from preschool through midlife. The sexes, which used to occupy intriguingly separate worlds, are suffering from over-familiarity, a curse of the mundane. There’s no mystery left."

Ascribing the lack of female arousal to the casual attire sported by the men in their leisure hours may have an appeal to the shallow minded person in search of a scapegoat,
but physical attraction based on primarily on wardrobe speaks more to a vacuous mindset of consumerism than any lack of sexual intrigue. Mundane trappings are overshadowed by the extraordinary attraction of the individual; store-bought facades are no substitute for the erotic enticements of an exceptional mind and spirit.

Whenever we limit ourselves to the purchased personalities hawked by the vendors of banality; the destruction of sensuality looms. Putting on the guise of another demolishes the voluptuous nature of distinct humanity, and relegates it to hollow, hideous imitation of itself.

The true source of desire derives its mystery from the unique nature of autonomous expression, and the ability to express it freely in an atmosphere of of acceptance and appreciation. Stagnant gender roles drape unflatteringly about the body modern; only by discarding these ill-fitting garments of convention can the display of true passion emerge.