What is the difference between this:
and this:
We, as women, rarely think twice when admiring a picture of an attractive, fit man. But is it any different? Well... it is different. I don't have intense sexual thoughts or feelings when I look at that man... but what it comes down to, I think, is perpetrating this demeaning, compare-and-contrast society we are a part of. I probably know more girls who can pull off that suit than guys who look that good with their shirts off. Maybe. It's not fair to the men in this world for us, as women, to continue to accept that this is an okay comparison to make.
I think it's especially hypocritical of me, given how much I have written about the affect this has on women, to pretend like it's a one sided issue.
I'm still not entirely sure how guilty I feel. I guess I just think a guy with his shirt off is pretty harmless... it's not always sexual the way a girls breasts are. I don't know. I'm a little bit at a loss. Thoughts?
Regardless, I've decided to be more aware of the way I look at men.
An interesting factoid I got from one of my old bishops: almost as many girls struggle with pornography as boys do. It just isn't as talked about. Some girls do have feelings like that when they look at pics of attractive men, and not all men have instant sexual thoughts when they look at women in bikinis. I think that is a stereotype that all boys are perverts and that no girls struggle with pornography. A picture of a shirtless male can have the same effect that a hot babe in a bikini can. I personally wouldn't think it fair to your future spouse to see these pictures and think that that is what you are attracted to and know that he will probably never look like that. The feelings of jealousy and hurt and resentment you feel when guys have posters of attractive women might be the same way they feel when we post things of attractive men. We will probably never look like the women in the posters, and that hurts. And they will probably never look like the guys in the pictures we look at. That probably hurts them just as much.
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