Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

The Zipless Fuck, I think this is a fantacy that a lot of women have but are not going to speak  to others because of the maddona/whore dichotomy. Women would see as whores if they expressed their desires to simply fuck a guy they do not know or care about. “The zipless fuck is absolutely pure…there no power game. The man is not “taking” and the woman is not “giving.” The zipless fuck is the purest thing there is.” Of course, this is only in theory because we all know that sex is not that simple. Actions have consequences and when women and sex are involved the consequence is usually: GUILT.

The protagonist of the novel, Isadora, does have her zipless fuck but in reality it is not a true zipless fuck. A zipless fuck is one where you don’t really know the man and she talks to him way too much for the affair to be absolutely pure. Now, I think that if you are going to have a sexual object you cannot allow yourself to let the object have a life. Therefore, have him speak as little as possible. Isadora spoke with her sexual object way too much that she fell in love with him or so she believed. A zipless fuck is free of emotions it is pure lust, desire, and orgasm. Isadora did not even have an orgasm with her sexual object what’s more he was limp most of the time. Aside from that she felt so much guilt for being with him consequently it was not a genuine zipless fuck. There are many instances where Isadora mentions that religion, Judaism, has brought guilt to people especially to women when it comes to sex. It is because of this guilt that a woman cannot trully enjoy her zipless fuck. Sex should not bring guilt to women. Sex should only bring orgasms. Women need to learn to appreciate their bodies and give them pleasure. Once women learn that sex is not to bring guilt, women will stop going for the primative men who do not give them pleasure but give them drama. I am not sure that the Zipless Fuck is possible for women because even if we feel liberated we still learn that women should be the gate keepers and not want sex. Men will blame the woman, “this was your idea.” Women feel guilt if they want sex. All I know is that a zipless fuck seems cool but only in theory ….”Show me a woman who doesn’t feel guilt and I’ll show you a man.”

 

For The New Intellectual Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand has a VERY INTERESTING philosophy. I truly enjoyed reading it because she speaks of how other’s control society depriving people of a free will. We are told how to LIVE our LIVES and how to FEEL. We are not allowed to think for ourselves according to AYN RAND. I suppose it is true that we sometimes prefer not to stand out because our way of thinking does not conform with that of the rest of society. It is easier to conform and to live like others WANT US TO LIVE. There are three ways of living according to Rand that will determine how a person will survive:

 

A man’s method of using his consciousness determines his method of survival…the man of force, the man of feelings, the man of reason-or the brute, the mystic, the thinker. AYN RAND ADVOCATES RATIONALITY: I think therefore I am.<span> </span> The man of force will use is muscle to force his believes on people. This person (men) the most obvious opressor because he uses the military to control people. This type of person is a brute because he does not think he acts. He is the closest to an animal in that he is led by instinct not rationality.

<span> </span>The man of feeling or mystic is a bit more sneeky because he does use some reasoning to control you. I am under the impression that what she is speaking of here is the idea of RELIGION & LOVE. I belive Rand is speaking of these two ideas because RELIGION & LOVE both speak of SACRIFICE, GUILT, AND FEAR. Rand asserts, “The Word that has destroyed you is ‘sacrifice’. ” It takes some inginuity to convince people to sacrife what they desire and need for others. I agree with her that one should not sacrifice one’s person for that of other. Yes, this sounds selfish but why be dependent on others. Shouldn’t we all look for our happiness without having to suffer first? I mean it makes no sense that I should work hard for what I want and then give it to someone who had the same opportunity to work for it and made a conscious decision no to work. I don’t care to be “eternally” happy when I die. I want to feel pleasure while I live. I don’t want to think of the idea of an after life. There might not be an after life and I am certain of this life. Rand states, “Guilt and fear are the disintegrators of a man’s consciousness or a society’s culture….don’t look-don’t judge-don’t be certain.” So the mystic first convinces you that you must feel guilty of having more than others. WHY SHOULD I FEEL GUILTY OF WHAT I HAVE or WHAT I DESIRE??? I do not feel guilty of what I have. I think we all have the capacity to get what we want. I am one of those people who believe that if you don’t have something you claim to want it is because you don’t really want it. I should only feel guilty for not working hard for what I claim to want and not achieving it. However, the mystic tells me that the way to show my love and devotion to others or to god is by feeling guilty. My guilt will then make me give to others and show that I am not selfish. According to the mystic if I am selfish I will go to HELL. No body wants to go to HELL. Therefore, people conform to the idea of giving away what they worked hard for feeling guilty for FEAR OF GOING TO HELL. This hell is not the Christian Hell but that of the ostracised. No one wants to be excluded from society. We all want to feel loved consequently we give in to the ideas of the mystic. The mystic makes us not see with our eyes. Love makes you blind or we are all the same in the eyes of GOD. Yeah, don’t think don’t see. Do not judge anyone because you are not perfect. Try as you might you will never be perfect therefore you feel guilty. Do not stand for your believes and do not make them known because if they are not the same as the mystic’s you will be burned at the stake: YOU ARE A HERETIC, A WITCH ETC. Fear will keep you from thinking. You do not want to die in this world or miss out on eternal life, IF THERE IS ONE, because you dared to think. After all the desire for knowledge was what caused mankind to lose paradise once. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT A GOD WOULD GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO USE RATIONALITY BUT NOT WANT ME TO USE IT.

<span> </span>The way to happiness is through rationality is what AYN RAND says through out her book. One should not feel guilty or afraid because one has the ability to think. These ideas will lead each one of us to our happiness. Of course, provided that you are not thinking of destroying humanity by making them lose their ability to think freely. “There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other wrong, but the middle is always evil.” The only person who has the last word as to what is right and wrong is you. I have the ability to decided when something is right for me and when something is wrong. I have to be responsible for my own decisions and not be asking for other’s approval. However, this is the difficult aspect of being rational beings in our society. We all have been accustomed to acting as a community where we all have to think alike. We are not really individualistic we need the APPROVAL OF OTHERS. I for my part will try to think more and not ask the opinions of other’s.  I already know the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHTAND WRONG. I will try to stay away from the MIDDLE, THOUGH, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR ME BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

 

The Beauty Myth vs. The Morning After

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf

Pornography imposes beauty standards on women
Women are obsessed with being sexy or asexual ( there is no middle ground)
as a consequence women become anorexic or bulimic
women are victims and men are the aggressors
men plan to control women through advertisement and the beauty myth
women are obsessed with never being old
backlash is real
women are trying to be both feminine and masculine
women’s new work in the masculine world pressures them
sexism is everywhere and women confront it every day
sex/rape images are everywhere

The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism by Katie Roiphe

Rape obsessed society
Pornography is not to be blamed for rapes
rape stories are exaggerated
feminists are hypocrites
feminists are trying to show women as passive
feminists want control over sex
women are scared of sex because of feminists
if you wear lipstick you’re not a feminist
backlash is a myth
women are trying to go back to the Victorian Ideal of sex
sexism, sexual harrasment and, rape are invented by feminist to control sex
men are victims of feminists
Naomi Wolf is melodramatic
Feminists equate sex with rape
Feminist think sex is evil

I read both book to get both sides of the argument. I agree with some points these women make. I agree that Naomi Wolf exaggerated a bit to make her point. I do not believe men sat down to try and find a new way to control women with the beauty myth after women went out into the work force. I agree with Wolf that women have a problem with body image that is given to us through pornography, the soft core porno we see in advertisement and mainstream movies. Women, either heterosexual or homosexual, want to look like what they see in pictures since that is sold as the ideal. The ideal is what will guarantee a sexual mate. Human being being sexual mates want to be attractive and sexy to get a mate but some will risk their lives to get it. Some women like Wolf says in her book want to get rid of the unwanted attention they get from men by getting rid of the curves. I agree with Katie Roiphe that women should not be scared of going out and thinking that a man can rape them. However, I disagree with Katie Roiphe in that feminists are scaring women into thinking every man is a potential rapist. Both books were written in the 1990s and somethings are dated. For example, anorexia seemed to be a female problem however now more and more males are suffering from anorexia. Both books made me think a lot about how sex is used as a weapon and made me mad. It was a good, if you can say good type of anger, since it made me think more about sexual politics.