A pornographer (and atheist) explains why the science guy’s shirt crash-landed

[True Blue Door]

103. I don't want to be accused of "mansplaining," so please understand

that I'm only talking about this a lot because I want to be of value to the subject.

Western sexual power relationships are generally mutual. Plenty of women are comfortable with being adored for their bodies, and it's unrealistic and unfair to demand that men not adore their bodies. It's no more a choice to love the female body than it's a choice for, say, male homosexuals to love something else.

I wouldn't wear a tacky-ass shirt like that dude, but I get wanting to share one's love of the female body. When you love something, you want to talk about it.

Not many men would be offended if women did that to us, wearing shirts with men on them. So it's hard to empathize with a negative reaction beyond abstract intellectual arguments.

Also, I think it's false to view images of sexy women as a subordinating theme. Women see it as subordinating because that's their instinct; men view sexy women as powerful. The fact that sexy women don't necessarily view themselves as powerful isn't a result of men. Nobody chooses Darwin - he chooses us. Our emotions are something we inherit.

You're offended because it's your instinct to see male sexual fantasies as some kind of power statement (they're not). I'm not offended because my instincts are the same as that guy's - even the vague suggestion of the female form is a pleasure to look at. The only way we reach consensus across incompatible instincts (as I think we have) is through rational thought. Rational thought = inappropriate in the workplace, fine in general.