The Power of Lipstick On a Pig
Insecure men, who struggle with the anxiety that the woman arouses, and cultures that are determined by insecure men, find ways to manage this anxiety. In less mature individuals and cultures, the woman’s image is split in a particular way. Young, attractive woman are objectified, made into sexual objects who can be used without the necessity of developing a relationship with a real, fully human, person. At the same time, maternal objects have their sexuality implicitly denied. Older women can be then approached as sources of familial wisdom without the encumbrance of sexuality. In the most regressed or primitive societies, both aspects are defended against. The Taliban specialized in destroying girl’s schools lest the women become too smart and dangerous. At the same time they made their women hide their bodies under billowing tents lest the power of female sexuality threaten the man’s ability to control himself.