I think this is supposed to be symbolism for a word beginning with S
November 1, 2000 7:15 PM   Subscribe

I think this is supposed to be symbolism for a word beginning with S but I'm too embarassed to go any further than that. (But note that the man is on top. The missionaries would approve.)
posted by Steven Den Beste (15 comments total)


 
I think that they are trying to convey that men are simple (hence the single switch) and woman are complicated (lots of knobs and stuff). Just my two cents.
posted by howa2396 at 7:47 PM on November 1, 2000


Which one is the G-switch?
posted by aprilgem at 8:14 PM on November 1, 2000


It's just another attempt to display the usual stereotypical depiction of male and female sexuality.
posted by davidgentle at 8:17 PM on November 1, 2000


my dad told me about this.

a drill instuctor had a lesson on love and sex between men and women. He wrote this on a chalkboard:

Men
love
SEX

Women
LOVE
sex

Then he said, “Any questions?”
posted by capt.crackpipe at 11:46 PM on November 1, 2000


Any putative psychological difference between the sexes which can be expressed simply enough to be understood by laypeople is an exaggeration.

The picture does get points for style; it's at least classy in its glib embrace of ordinary stereotypes, unlike most of its ilk.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 1:15 AM on November 2, 2000


It's no exaggeration, at least in my experience, to say that men get turned on easily, while women require a little more, um, finesse. Maybe not quite that much finesse, but it sure seems like it sometimes.
posted by kindall at 1:18 AM on November 2, 2000


Well, it’s a view of the sexes from the male perspective.

Which is what Mars said, I think, but he used lotsa beeg werds.
posted by capt.crackpipe at 1:47 AM on November 2, 2000


Can this male/female discussion be tied into the one- or two-button mouse discussion somehow?

posted by gluechunk at 2:37 AM on November 2, 2000


Since males don't have to gestate, give birth to, nurse, and generally be the main provider of care for offspring, they don't have to be as picky, overall, in choosing mates.

That is, it makes biological sense for a male to be easily & quickly turned on - that way, he spreads his genes around any chance he gets. This is effective, evolutionarily, although considered somewhat cretinous in our more enlightened age.

So the point of all those female knobs & dials & whatnot is that females have to be much more savvy in choosing a mate - the investment in the offspring is so much greater for her. Also, if she picks a mate who screws & runs, she is much less likely to be successful in raising the child all by herself. She spreads her genes around better by being more coy and picking a man who will stay with her and help raise the child(ren).

By being more difficult to turn on, a female is helping to tip the sexual competition a little bit more to her advantage. A male has to spend more time & energy to mate with her, which forces him to make an investment. Then he's got a stake in things with this particular woman, and that makes it a little less beneficial for him to leave and screw someone else.

Plus, if she is a successful mother, he might as well stay with her and have more kids - he doesn't have to waste his time chasing mates, and he can just keep investing in is already-existent offspring.

But of course nature rewards cheating, which makes it much, much more complex.

That's the short, overly-simplified version that applies to the way evolution acts over extremely long periods of time (and of course individuals often greatly differ from this pattern). Anyway, it all makes sense to me.

And I like the picture, I think it's rather whimsical.
posted by beth at 6:14 AM on November 2, 2000


"Anyway, it all makes sense to me."

This is almost never a good sign.
posted by EngineBeak at 7:51 AM on November 2, 2000


Oh, dear, I didn't realize I was making a psycho-sexual political comment.I just thought it was funny.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:17 AM on November 2, 2000


it's a good metaphor as far as I'm concerned.

I've read that men are (typically) aroused visually and women aurally.

rcb
posted by rebeccablood at 10:43 AM on November 2, 2000


Or, in a pinch, orally.
posted by nicwolff at 10:52 AM on November 2, 2000


But don't pinch.
posted by dhartung at 11:57 AM on November 2, 2000


Unless she asks you to.


posted by kindall at 12:32 PM on November 2, 2000


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