What strikes me about this cute playful cartoon is the simple everyday reality of it. The top image of a Female, casually strolling along, happy and content, as Her male follows eagerly, almost dog like, in Her wake. She pays him no attention, confident in the knowledge that, like a fawning puppy, he is there. Her casual hand gesture seeming to say, ‘stay there, behind Me’. All completely normal and casual. Her male however doesn’t seem so relaxed. Sweating under the load of Her shopping bags, He seems to communicate that He knows his place, his eyes fixed on Her subtle, directing, hand gesture, understanding its meaning to be ‘head down, stay behind and follow’.
We/we of course see such scenes everyday if We/we are tuned in to them. Females subtlety, sometimes not so subtlety, giving commands, putting males to work for Them. males of course being hungry for the potential sexual pleasures which only She can offer, are easy prey, eager to please and obey in hopes of reward. they will pretty much do anything making it trivial for the Female to string them along on Her invisible leash.
Everyone knows the game and we males are hardwired to play along even if the rewards to strictly rationed. we can’t help ourselves.
i recall a scene in uni where the beautiful Goddess of a Girlfriend of one of my buddies shot a look at him from across a noisy, crowded pub table, mouthing ‘lets go’. On that occasion he dared ignore Her and She escalated to the iciest expression of displeasure i’d even seen a Female project (to that point). Her look made it very clear that She expected his instant obedience and his insolence would have consequences. Even i felt ready to jump up and follow. Needless to say my buddy got the message and She marched him of with Her moments later, Her authority as a Woman clearly asserted and his expected compliance demonstrated.
i recall one Girlfriend of mine, upon deciding to start a relationship with me, laying down strict terms and conditions with which i was expected to comply. One of which was “boys need to be useful”. She wasn’t subtle about it in anyway. Being Her boyfriend was a privilege which i was expected to earn each and everyday though hard labor in Her service. There was a Girl confident in Her Feminine powers!
We/we see the same in this cartoon. A casual look at the male in the top image reveals some obvious signs of his status. Bare chested and shoeless, ragged clothes, head bowed and following Her. He’s even wearing a collar!
We take the top images to be literal and the reflection to be the reality under the surface. That being that the male is in fact Hers in the literal sense. She casually, effortlessly, joyfully, pulls him, collared and leashed, behind Her. he willingly accepts Her shackles and chains, even the collaring of his male genitalia. he follows Her blindly even though his expression is one of subtle fear, his demeanour that of surrender, defeat, and exhaustion. They/they both know that She is his ‘raison d’etre’.

Yes, totally agree. Men tend to seek out power over other men, but unless they resort to violence, cannot match wits with women. Without the crutch of patriarchy, which few women now accept, men find themselves being submissive followers of women. It's all so natural. If we stopped fighting it, the world would be so different. I liked your insightful analysis. Please come up with more. L
ReplyDelete