Sexual Objectification is Degrading Society

I thank Lwerd for accepting, as well as the compliments (flattery will get you anywhere), and equally look forward to this debate, and the resulting opinions that come out of it. This is a learning experience for me, so I'm more than happy to hear her opinions on this. The phrase, "sex is destroying society," is one that has been thrown around quite a lot in some circles. A cursory search on Google nets you several results which range from this topic of sexual objectifiction, to how feminism itself is destroying society[1]. Sexuality itself is a controversial subject, and there have been many thinkers pondering on its effects on societies and cultures the world over. Some have theorized that openness and objectification of sexuality was the downfall of Rome[2], and others say that sexual openness is a positive, to the point where they create political parties to advance that ideal[3]. Now, I'm no Sex Party member, but I do believe in the positive reinforcement of sexuality in society. My view is that if we cannot talk about sex openly, then quite a lot will be lost. Indeed, if we refuse to be open about the realities of sexuality, or refuse to reinforce positive views about it, we will be harming our society, or at least individuals within it. Repression and negative attitudes have proven themselves helpful to the proliferation of HIV/AIDS in some countries[4], as well as the oppression of women, homosexuals, and others in cultures around the world[5]. I am fully against this sort of detrimental policy, whether it comes from government, religious authorities, or your own mother and father. But what does this have to do with sexual objectification? Well, quite a lot to be honest. Allow me to explain. In my view, to be open about sex is to admit three things: 1. Sex is important - or the belief that sexuality is an intrigal part of our nature as humans 2. Sex isn't going away - or the belief that no matter how hard you try, sexuality will always somehow affect your life 3. Sex dominates our relations with others - or the belief that sexuality is a factor in a majority of our relationships with other individuals I believe my opponent will agree that these three points are something that you essentially have to admit in order to be open about sexuality. I won't focus on Points 1 or 2 for this debate, as Point 3 is the one that relates the most to this subject - sexual objectification. It relates because in order to accept that most of our relationships are predicated on sexuality, you would have to realize that objectification plays an important role as well. While objectification can indeed be detrimental to our relationships, few ever explore the important role is has played throughout all cultures, mythos, and authorities. And if objectification has been influential in all of our affairs, how can it degrade our society? I personally think the question should be "how has it helped *build* society"? To make a point: Egypt, one of humanity's earliest cultures, was also one of the most open about sexuality[6]. It was far from a taboo subject, to the point where even the gods of Egypt joined in from time to time. Indeed, the most attractive females were often considered the most fertile - an idea that has been proven by modern science[7] - and were often the first ones to marry, and considered sacred. 'Prostitutes' and virgins were similarly considered 'sacred', and there exists to this day multitudes of figurines of the women of the era, with large hips and shapely bodies. But even more important is to note the societal implications of sexual objectification. Women who were the most attractive and had the ability to bear children rose to a higher status in Egyptian society than those who could not bear[6], and there exists theories that there were performing groups of virgins that would go around and attempt to get pregnant, since that was a sign of fertility, an important thing in ancient Egypt. And if we go further in history, we see one of the most powerful women in history, Cleopatra, being venerated because of her attractiveness, and her ability to use objectification to keep power[8]. Of course, Cleopatra was led to her downfall by objectification, however it is important to note that this doesn't explicity mean that society suffered because of objectification, but rather by abuse of it. As Shakespeare noted in his brilliant play, Cleopatra was as much empowered as hindered by her sexuality, and the flagrant abuse of objectification that came with it[9]. But the point is that regardless of the end result, objectification had played a huge part in Egyptian society. It pervaded the hierarchal nature of its social classes, and led individuals to power, to their downfall, and to eternity in history and literature. Objectification helped build Egyptian society, as much as it did degrade and destroy it. And this is not a theme solely limited to ancient Egypt. Similar stories can be found not only in Mediterrean societies, such as Greece[10], Rome[11], or even the now-dominant Israel[12], but in the Far East, in places like China[13] and Japan[14]. This isn't to say that objectification was always and entirely positive in nature. In Greece, women were essentially second-class citizens. In Israel, and the Abrahamic religions that came out of it, women were treated as almost foreign in nature. In China, women didn't always get the best treatment either. But, the recognition of objectification, even if it lead to negative consequences, is still important to my point: it dominates relations between individuals in a society. What shape these relationships took is, to me, more dependent upon the social ideology and history of the society in question, rather than objectification being a culprit itself. Which brings me to my conclusion: objectification does not degrade society. As I've shown, sexual objectification is indeed a simple part of human relations - it can build, it can destroy, or it can be completely neutral. I believe the effect of objectification is much more dependent upon the ideology that pervades the society of which it is within. As I've shown, this can vary between the honour bestowed upon it in ancient Egypt, to the fright and indifference expressed by Greek and Israelites, and now, in today's world, and Western society in particular, the pragmatic view of sexual objectification that is slowly gaining recognition among people of all views, including feminists[15]. Is this because of objectification, or is it because of the pragmatic, liberal ideology of Western society? I'll leave it for my opponent to answer. In the next round, I'll also expound a little more upon the biological aspect of sexual objectification, and how we, as nearly all mammals, are fine tuned to act as such, and also on how ideology, rather than objectification, is the culprit of the negatives that can come from objectification. Thanks again to Lwerd for accepting, and I look forward to her response! Sources in comments (I tried to fit them here, really, but it just didn't want to work. Deduct points if you will, but my sources still stand).