I heard on the news today that an Israeli eyeglass manufacturer is making "fuzzy glasses" to sell to Ultra-Orthodox men. The idea is to blur their vision just enough so that they can't see all of us immodest, seductive women out there. God forbid! I guess they were losing the battle over getting women to cover up so they decided to go this route instead.
You know, as a woman this whole idea somewhat insults me. But I have to admit that it is a whole lot better than some of the alternatives that have been tried. Such as making women cover themselves from head to toe. But wait a minute--that won't work. Because you know what happens when you can't see anything--your imagination goes to work. So women can still be objects of temptation. Better yet, confine them to their homes--if they must go anywhere have a male relative go with them.
It's all for women's own good. Because men will be tempted, that's their nature. And women should understand this. You see it is our own fault if we disregard this basic fact. Right?
So if the pious Ultra-Orthodox men of Jerusalem want to put on "fuzzy glasses" so they can't see women like me, I am all for it. I recall a certain rabbi who went even further and said to his male followers that they ought to blind themselves if lusting after women was their weakness. Of course Judaism doesn't recognize him as one of theirs. And those Christians who say they believe every word of the Bible will say that Jesus didn't really mean it.
It does make me wonder about the relationships these men have with the female members of their families and vice versa. I could not imagine living with any man who felt that it was a sin to look on women because they were women. Now if they were going gaga over a younger, prettier woman I might have a little issue with that. But to say that it is a religious duty to avoid looking at the other sex? Seems to me that it says in the Torah that when God created humans he created them male and female and he pronounced both sexes very good. To say that one sex should be kept out of sight, isn't that an insult to the God who made both?
You see when you don't look at someone it is easier to avoid getting to know them. It's easier to make them into a thing. Easier to ignore them. Putting on fuzzy glasses means you don't have to deal with them as humans. That is one reason why the eye contact issue is such a big deal. It is--in Western culture at least--a form of validating the other.
I actually feel sorry for these men who feel they must go to such lengths to avoid the female form. The irony is that in China and India at least, women have been voting with their wombs. More female fetuses are aborted than male. As a result China and India are facing severe shortages of women in some areas. Maybe these Ultra-Orthodox men ought to move there. Then they don't have to worry about seeing any women. Yes, wouldn't that be funny. An all-male world! It is almost as if women are doing an "Atlas Shrugged"--only, of course, they are doing it to their unborn daughters. But in a way it is a way of saying "F-you" to a world that devalues women. How else do you explain women's willingness to go along with this scheme? You want boys, we will give you boys. We will give you the world that you want. And when you complain that there is no one for your sons to marry, whose fault is that? Now, when it is too late you bemoan the scorned daughters that "cultural pressures" made you abort.
You know, as a woman this whole idea somewhat insults me. But I have to admit that it is a whole lot better than some of the alternatives that have been tried. Such as making women cover themselves from head to toe. But wait a minute--that won't work. Because you know what happens when you can't see anything--your imagination goes to work. So women can still be objects of temptation. Better yet, confine them to their homes--if they must go anywhere have a male relative go with them.
It's all for women's own good. Because men will be tempted, that's their nature. And women should understand this. You see it is our own fault if we disregard this basic fact. Right?
So if the pious Ultra-Orthodox men of Jerusalem want to put on "fuzzy glasses" so they can't see women like me, I am all for it. I recall a certain rabbi who went even further and said to his male followers that they ought to blind themselves if lusting after women was their weakness. Of course Judaism doesn't recognize him as one of theirs. And those Christians who say they believe every word of the Bible will say that Jesus didn't really mean it.
It does make me wonder about the relationships these men have with the female members of their families and vice versa. I could not imagine living with any man who felt that it was a sin to look on women because they were women. Now if they were going gaga over a younger, prettier woman I might have a little issue with that. But to say that it is a religious duty to avoid looking at the other sex? Seems to me that it says in the Torah that when God created humans he created them male and female and he pronounced both sexes very good. To say that one sex should be kept out of sight, isn't that an insult to the God who made both?
You see when you don't look at someone it is easier to avoid getting to know them. It's easier to make them into a thing. Easier to ignore them. Putting on fuzzy glasses means you don't have to deal with them as humans. That is one reason why the eye contact issue is such a big deal. It is--in Western culture at least--a form of validating the other.
I actually feel sorry for these men who feel they must go to such lengths to avoid the female form. The irony is that in China and India at least, women have been voting with their wombs. More female fetuses are aborted than male. As a result China and India are facing severe shortages of women in some areas. Maybe these Ultra-Orthodox men ought to move there. Then they don't have to worry about seeing any women. Yes, wouldn't that be funny. An all-male world! It is almost as if women are doing an "Atlas Shrugged"--only, of course, they are doing it to their unborn daughters. But in a way it is a way of saying "F-you" to a world that devalues women. How else do you explain women's willingness to go along with this scheme? You want boys, we will give you boys. We will give you the world that you want. And when you complain that there is no one for your sons to marry, whose fault is that? Now, when it is too late you bemoan the scorned daughters that "cultural pressures" made you abort.
