Portrayal of women or the experience of femininity Essay

Portrayal of women or the experience of femininity - Essay Example Sexual relationship between a man and a woman has always been a very interesting yet controversial subject, and has conventionally invited a lot of debate with respect to their respective roles in the sex. In the lack of marital commitment, the regime in sexuality lies in the hands of man, whereas the woman follows him to gain the basic level of pleasure in sex. Marriage lays the basis of morality in the physical relationship between a man and a woman, and men generally respect this fact. When a man gets married to a woman, he accepts her wholeheartedly and shares his pleasures and sorrows with her. He considers the woman as his real life partner and shares everything he has with her, including property and all bounties of life. This is portrayed in several parts of Happy Ending by Margaret Astwood. With the passage of time, the two get used to each other and can not live without each other. They may have individualistic interests, but they derive satisfaction from the fact that they are committed to each other. Their sex life is quite normal, and wives do not have to be slaves to their husband to derive sexual pleasure and physical satisfaction. They may have sex quite often or they may not have sex at all, though, in no case, does the husband supersede the wife on the ground of sex. Commitment of sexes towards each other is fundamental to their equality in sex. In the sexual relationship between John and Mary explained in the part B of Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood, Mary is enslaved to John. This part depicts the psychology of cohabiting that is increasingly becoming a practice in many modern societies. Owing to high divorce rates, and the general tensions associated with marriage, women tend to look for the right man to whom they can get married. In their attempt to avoid a displeasing marital experience, they resolve to cohabit with men, and tend to make the men love them and get used to them before both of them can enter the sacred institution of marria ge. In the practice of cohabiting, men take maximum benefit of their privileged position. They take advantage of the weakness of women and use them for physical satisfaction and that too, in the most indecent manner. Men are far more decent towards women in marital sex as compared to sex out of marriage. This can be estimated from the order in which John undresses himself to have sex with Mary in the part B of Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood. A person with shear common sense and humanity will expect any kind of decent sex to start with emotional stimulation of both the partners. Decent sex is smooth and full of fantasies, feelings, emotions, and respect of both genders towards each other. Respect is fundamental to the decency in sex. In decent sex, whoever initiates the sex seeks approval from the partner. The two enter into sex through mutual consensus and the sex is driven by acknowledgement and encouragement of each other’s sexual fantasies. In such a sex, both of the par tners would fully undress and would like to stimulate each other to the apogee of orgasm. The man in a respectful sexual relationship would like to see the body of his partner, and would appreciate the beauty of it both verbally and physically, whereas in the part B of Happy Endings, John does not show the slightest interest in looking at the body of Mary. He never asks her to take her clothes off. He doesn't take off Mary's clothes, she takes them