Sunday, June 27, 2010

Oh Camille, we've missed you ...

Wow, Camille Paglia, where the heck have you been?: ["No Sex Please, We’re Middle Class"].
I especially like this line:
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.
Many of us just bring home the money and collapse, and get yelled at if we try and find some distraction for ourselves that doesn't involve helping out domestically so our over-burdened wives can have a break, or tending to our chores (in my case, balancing the budget, doing the shopping, clipping the coupons, paying the bills, catching up on dishes when needed, mowing the lawn, etc.).
And go a bit further - if women were black widows, we'd all be eaten already ... oh, but we wouldn't be eaten because we'd no longer be able to work! And welfare isn't around anymore. Yikes. Forget that one.
And check out this next 'graph too:
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.
Oh, how true. We're eating too much processed food, don't have enough time to exercise, have too much work and often bring it home, and when we do have the time, we throw on a T-shirt and shorts and make due.
But what is our purpose, one might ask, especially when considering the need for mystery and romance? Is a pill really the answer? Is it more than better diets and time? Some things to think about.
I used to have fights with my feminist friends about why Camille Paglia was so relevant, especially during the 1990s when I read a couple of her books. I understood why at the time - Paglia was overly critical of women and, in many cases, urging empowerment on all levels, not just ones accepted by "feminist doctrine." No one wants to get beat up and then told what to do all over again even if it is for their own good (I'd lump intellectuals who lecture men in here too, not just Paglia).
I haven't read any of her stuff in years ... in fact, I haven't read much of anything of late. But clearly a good dose of self-eval, brain food, and yeah, sexual mystery and romance, are in order. She nails this one right on the head.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree completely. Am pleased to see your explanation of why you like the article.