French WomenTrading Feminine Allure For Mere Sexuality?

A new study out of France confirms some of the recent postings here about the changing nature of rape (here and here), raising the question: If women are just as promiscuous and forward about sex as men, is it time to rethink our fundamental thoughts about how we define and prosecute rape?

(Obvious disclaimer for the thick-headed: This article is not about the violent, power-driven, violent rape -- the crime as we all have traditionally understood it. That remains unquestionably the place for fierce prosecution and long sentences. It is about "gray rape," when a woman who is sexually provocative not just by her dress, but by her words and actions, later charges her partner with rape.)

The study, as reported in The Telegraph, shows a dramatic transformation of the French female:

Women now have more than twice as many partners as they did in the 1970s, according to the study by the French Aids research agency, which is backed by the government.

"Are women just like men?" asked Le Nouvel Observateur yesterday, which released extracts of the Study on Sexuality in France, a 600-page tome that brings together 12,000 in-depth interviews with people of all ages conducted during 2005-06.

One of the biggest changes in recent years, according to the report, was that male and female sexual behaviour had become increasingly similar.

The proportion of French women who claim to have had only one partner has dropped from 68 per cent in 1970, to 43 per cent in 1992 and 34 per cent in 2006. A woman's average number of partners has risen from under two in 1970 to over five today, while a man's has remained the same for four decades, almost 13.

French women's first experience of sex is now almost as early as that of the opposite sex: in 1950 there was a two-year difference, but the gap has narrowed to four months, to around 17 and a half. Meanwhile, more women remain sexually active for longer than previously: nine-out-of-10 women over 50 are sexually active today, compared to just 50 per cent of that age group in 1970.

And here's the zinger:

"The good old dichotomy (male predators, females patiently awaiting the warrior's return in front of the cave entrance) is in big trouble", said Le Nouvel Observateur.

What we are seeing is the exchanging by women of feminism (not "feminist-ism!") for sexism or sexual parity. Feminism has taught women that they are the same as man, which means of course that women must be sexual in the same way as men are. Once that transformation occurs, especially if it's encouraged by alcohol and drugs, you get women as willing to be provocative as men are eager to be provoked, as evidenced by the increasing number of partners French women are bedding.

The old norm did not allow for breast-flashing, dry-humping on the dance floor, or the actually initiation of the sex act as normal feminine behavior; rather, it was seen as the actions of a woman who had made up her mind to go all the way.

The old norm had to do with the allure, the promise of something special and rare. If it were not so, why is does lingerie exist? The fact that in the old days, women slipped away to "slip into something more comfortable" shows that there were stages to seduction, and decisions made along the way. The lingerie was in dresser drawer, not the dance floor.

Feminism has done all it can to destroy the feminine. Left without their whiles, it's not surprising that some women decide part way through a sex act, or wake up the next morning, realizing that they've made a mistake. When that occurs, they would be more justified in charging Gloria Steinem with rape than the hapless man they led, or misled, into bed.

The man was just being normal, but Steinem and her sisters and acolytes were striving to turn normality on its head, attacking biology, physiology, morality and tradition. It's no surprise that the liquor companies, bar operators, fashion designers and frat houses have all been quick to seek their self-interests by aiding and abetting the transformation.

Lost in the process was innocence. Will society come to miss it one day? Will Pandora's box close once again?