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Abstract
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Men were socially programmed from prehistoric days, when they were hunter-gatherers, to 'take charge' of their families. They were the 'providers' and 'protectors'. They were expected to be strong & powerful. Their word was the law for their families.
This programming of men seemed to continue through the ages. Even today, the man of the family is expected to be in charge, be protective, earn, bring food onto the table, etc.
Consequently to achieve this role, men needed to be strong, aggressive, controlling, protective. Possibly, all this led to a certain kind of arrogance. Women were considered by both sexes to be the weaker sex. The men took all the decisions. There were no rape laws then. Social norms and laws were then formed on this basis. In the UK, a wife was regarded by law to be a mans 'chattel'.
Even in the so-called 'enlightened' society of ancient Greece -- where the concept of democracy supposedly originated -- women had no property or political rights, and were forbidden to leave their homes after dark. Similarly, in ancient Rome women were unable to take part in social events (except as employed 'escort girls') and were only allowed to leave their homes with their husband or a male relative.
In Victoria times, the suppression of women was even more severe. Women developed an illness that came to be known as 'Hysteria'. Sigmund Freud started his career by treating hysteria with hypnosis. The word 'hysteria' comprised 2 Greek words, 'Hys' and 'Teria'. (Explain). ...
In more recent years, during the 20th century, 2 psychoanalysts, Dr. Dan Kindlon & Dr. Michael Thompson, came out with a best selling book called, 'Raising Cain'. This was based on his research on the plight of the boy child. So far everyone had been focusing on the plight of the girl child, and with good cause no doubt. But the boy child seemed to have his own set of problems, which were going largely ignored by society.
Over the millennia, society imposed certain expectations of the boy child. These expectations centered on the belief that boys must never cry or be afraid. They have to be strong, or at least show themselves as being strong and unafraid. This puts a heavy toll on the young boy child. He then has to wear this mask for the rest of his life until he meets a woman he falls in love with.
So once again the social programming of man is reinforced.
According to Dennis Prager, who runs a YouTube channel called the Prager University, Men are programmed by nature to respond sexually to the Visual.
The visual alone arouses men. It takes more to arouse a woman than seeing a naked man. But for a man, as today's commercial messages, TV, advertisements, shows that merely looking at a woman's legs, or even just her ankles can arouse men. |