One basic thing still goes through people’s heads, no matter what else is happening in the world — sex. People commonly ask one question: What do women and men want? Every day, women and men compete with each other in businesses, relationships and, most importantly, sex. Although women recently have stepped up to this phenomenon, men still dominate when it comes to having sex with too many people.
According to The Alan Guttmacher Institute, men experience sex around 16 years old and are more sexually active before marriage than women, who begin having sex around 17 years old. Women may go through much ridicule when having sex out of marriage, while men may hear no criticism. Naturally, men always are seeking to prove their masculinity to anyone else (especially other men).
What women always ask others, female or male, is what do men want or look for? My answer takes a very simplistic view: physical attractions on which to base their sexual experiences.
Movies such as “Two Can Play That Game” and “The Best Man” successfully depict the differences, but also similarities, in men and women. For men, sex merely may be an activity for pleasure and enjoyment. However, women may see sex as something more spiritual or intimate. While most women cherish their sexual relations, men see sex as nothing new.
From my experience coming into college for my first year of college, I observed that college males are no different from teenage boys or adult males. They may do or say different things, but their hidden intentions always are the same. When men approach women, they always have a hidden agenda. That agenda mostly includes fantasies of wanting to have sex with whomever they approach. Why else do men approach women? Is it really because they want to “get to know that person,” or is it because a strong physical attraction pulls on the need of sexual pleasure?
My experiences in college with males include meeting men from different places and having extensive conversations either at parties, classes or on campus. If I and a male and created a friendship, then most likely, it did not take long for him to bring up the subject. Regardless of whether he brought it up with subtlety or with a direct statement, he wanted to know what I thought or felt. Usually these conversations brought more boldness and then the question of what would escalate between us came up.
When having multiple conversations going in the same direction, a person can come up with only a few obvious conclusions about the male point of view. Comments and questions about the number of partners a person has had, virginity or discussions on pleasures usually lead to a person knowing what the other’s motivations are.
Not only do men naturally dominate sex, but they dominate because of society’s traditions. It is a common belief that women depend on protection and support from a world, which continues to look at men as the center holding everything together.
According to statistics from the Guttmacher Institute, men do not contract as many diseases as women do. This is because of biological reasons, but when looking at it from another view, it means men also have more in success escaping diseases. Women are more likely to contract gonorrhea than men. In 1990, about 11 percent of men contracted AIDS and 6 percent in 1982. In 2001, women represented 26 percent of AIDS cases. Statistics show pregnancies almost are twice as likely to involve teenage women, who are three times as likely to become parents than men are. Even in a world where diseases invade people’s lives, men still come out on top.
Still, does this mean it should keep going like this? If women and men traded places, would men still long for physical contact? Although men may feel they are dominant in sexual relationships, they still are dominated by one great power: sex. What would they do if desires of sex also controlled all women?