be my inspiration

Discussion for Tuesday:
Men are more visual than women.
A girl melts when a guy writes a heartfelt love letter or creates an inspired masterpiece.
A guy becomes putty with a seductive glance and flutter of the lashes and a visual of slow gyrating hips set to the background of a tribal beat. 

First of all, I have to issue a disclaimer.  I don't necessarily agree, nor do I feel that this encompasses all men or all women.  As with all facets of life, everyone is different.

Now. 

It's saddens me to read this statement.  Why?  Because it's what our culture of men and women have been conditioned to think.  It's okay for men to quit thinking when presented with erotic imagery and seduction.  And it's ok for a woman to fall head over heels because of a love letter. But presented with the flip side—a woman presented with erotic imagery and a man receiving a heartfelt love letter—people don't want to hear about it, don't want to talk about it.  It's okay for a woman to be romantic, for a woman to dream of weddings and children and be a muse for a creative genius.  But for a woman to be openly sensual, to like eroticism, to simply feel and move her body…she's branded as an anomaly.  She's slutty, whorish, etc, etc.  And for a man to be openly romantic, to write the heartfelt letters or love getting them from his partner, for a man to be the creative inspiration—he must be gay, right?

The Puritanical views that we've tried so hard to shake in so many aspects—sexuality and relationships are still ones that we've not overcome.  To be creative, to feel and breathe and accept others for who they are, to appreciate art in all of its forms, to write, to dance, to sing, to play, to be truly free to be what's comfortable—why is it so hard?  Why do we have such a hard time shaking off the shackles of what's "right" in the eyes of society?  We stereotype men and women who don't conform to the norm, who push past the boundaries of what is "acceptable behavior."
Why is it that we haven't found a balance?  That we haven't found a way for men and women to live their lives without being stereotyped?

And personally, if you're a man reading this who has a poet's soul and a lust for life, we need to talk  :-)