Locker Room Talk–Savvy, Strong Women Understand It, Dismiss It, Ignore It

All men talk dirty, always have, always will.  Savvy women understand men’s boasting, braggadocio, and lewdness; and know that it derives from three sources – male libido which forces men to think about sex all the time; competition; and sexual insecurity.

Men are  obsessed with sexual conquest, anxious to best all competitors, but timid and unsure around women.  They talk big in the locker room, share stories of sexual adventures, ogle pictures of naked women, and puff, prance, and strut; but cannot seem to find the gumption to make the first move.
Knowing this, savvy women dismiss the talk as silly sexual ineptness, use the poison-tipped, ego-deflating feminine rapier to deflate all ignorant comers, and clear the way for those few confident, admiring, appreciative suitors who get them.

There are few of these strong, confident women in the ranks of rape culture protestors.   They know that there are far too many men who cannot manage their sexual drives; and who, instead of solving the puzzle of women’s desire, turn violent; and are on the lookout.  Women’s radar is highly attuned to the boor and dismiss him easily.  They pick up negativism, frustration, and crossed wires, and move on quickly.

In other words, they understand men – what makes them tick, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they can be led.  They are careful to avoid situations where boors can turn nasty.  They know that despite feminist manifestos, provocative dress and sexual flirtation can indeed lead to unwanted sexual advances; and have learned when and how to behave to get what they want and deter what they don’t.

Thanks to genetic determinism, women need men.  At least for now reproduction is a matter of sexual intercourse.  The day of asexual reproduction is not far off, but for the time being mating is required.  As importantly because of behavioral determinism, women still find men reminiscent of their fathers, sexually alluring in traditional ways, and subject to psycho-social fantasies derived from all the above.

Savvy women know how to play the mating game.  They understand that once a man has picked up their scent, they become pliable, complaisant, and obedient. Shakespeare was a master at portraying strong women.  Rosalind, Portia, Cleopatra, Cressida, and Viola run rings around the men who pursue them.  They are smart, clever, and adept.  They always get their man, their future, and their fortune;  but in Shakespeare’s eyes, always marry far below their intelligence, wit, and ability.



The scenes in The Merchant of Venice where various obtuse, pompous, and ridiculous suitors try their luck and solving the puzzle of the caskets are good examples of Shakespeare’s appreciation of women and his dismissal of men’s intentions.  Here the Prince of Morocco speculates:

I will survey the inscriptions back again. 1000
What says this leaden casket?
'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.'
Must give: for what? for lead? hazard for lead?
This casket threatens. Men that hazard all
Do it in hope of fair advantages: 1005
A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross;
I'll then nor give nor hazard aught for lead.
What says the silver with her virgin hue?

The Prince of Aragon is no more worthy and even more the bloated fool:

And so have I address'd me. Fortune now
To my heart's hope! Gold; silver; and base lead.
'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.'
You shall look fairer, ere I give or hazard.
What says the golden chest? ha! let me see:
'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.'
What many men desire! that 'many' may be meant
By the fool multitude, that choose by show…
I will not choose what many men desire,
Because I will not jump with common spirits
And rank me with the barbarous multitudes.

Portia and Nerissa are not surprised at the vaudevillian show of male arrogance and pomposity.  This is the way men are and not for us.

Cleopatra and her servants laugh together at Antony and his puppyish love for her.  Far from satisfied with her sexual conquest of a future emperor of Rome and a powerful military man, she dismisses his lack of confidence, his sexual subservience, and his weakness.
Lady Macbeth is far stronger and determined than her husband, and uses her sexual rapier to unman him.

And shalt be,
What thou art promis'd: yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full of the milk of human kindness,
To catch the nearest way. . . .
Hie thee hither,
That I may pour my spirits in thine ear
And chastise with the valour of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crowned withal.

Ibsen had the same admiration for women’s ability to manage, manipulate, and control women.  Hedda Gabler is a woman of indomitable, Nietzschean will, who understands her feminine power and ability.  She not only wants to control her husband and lover but to destroy them.

Laura, the husband of The Captain, in Strindberg’s The Father psychologically emasculates him, disassembles him, and has him committed to an insane asylum – all to get complete control over their daughter and the family’s wealth.

Miss Julie in Strindberg’s play of the same name, has been brought up to be a strong, dominant woman; and she literally makes men jump through hoops. 

Men are no match for women in the War Between The Sexes.  Yes, men have been favored throughout history and have enjoyed centuries of undeserved patriarchy.  They have had the means and the power to control women’s sexuality, thereby assuring paternity and legitimacy, and have done it with various degrees of discipline and enforcement.  Yet as Shakespeare’s Histories show, the wives and consorts of kings have often been the real power in the palace.  Margaret went to battle against the French for her weak, pious, and indecisive husband.  Eleanor was the mother of kings, defied her husband, Henry II and was the real power behind his empire.

The point is that women are more than the equals of men, need none of the ‘protection’, safe spaces, and feminist solidarity promoted by progressive activists today, and, like Shakespeare’s women, best men most or all of the time.

Men, on the other hand, because of their long sexual reign, have become complacent, relying on this old ascribed superiority.  They struggle to catch up with the newly independent woman who now has legal and social authority to complement her natural abilities.

Men still talk dirty, boast about non-existent sexual conquests, and muddle through the mating game.  They are afraid of competitors, but still timid and unsure of themselves, and resort to posturing, gross behavior, and hot air to get by.

Donald Trump is no different from any other man except for his money and his supreme confidence.  He understands how women’s desire for strong, self-assured men can be manipulated; and how some can be seduced by displays of power and authority; and because of his privileged position can take advantage of them.

Some of them only; for most savvy, strong women dismiss the likes of him with a wave of the hand.  He knows this, and rather than keep quiet and enjoy his sexual successes he brags, talks dirty, and shows his innate insecurity.

Hillary’s  holier-than-thou indignant attacks on Trump for his sexual comments are smart politics.  She knows that most women who have bought into the ironic  feminist campaign to protect suddenly defenseless women will respond positively to her charges of misogyny and abuse.  The more that Trump’s predictable, common, and unremarkable locker room talk comes out, the higher she rises in the polls. 

Women who understand men dismiss Trump, but do not pile on.  Since there is no difference between him and the men they know personally, what’s the big deal? A waste of time.