So, was going to post this analogy in the R, D, & J forum but it turned in to more of a story so I thought I'd give it a try here. It's an analogy for the unique gift of having a large penis, which is unlike having any other biological (e.g. height) or social (e.g. wealth) endowment.
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There exists a patriarchal society a corner of the world where it is custom to give young men of age a family watch to celebrate their coming in to the world of manhood. The watch is obscured from the eyes of people by the long-sleeved garments that are custom to the society.
Young men are told that the watch carries particular importance in this society, as there are no clocks or sundials. He is told that, due to its unique power, the watch is most certainly not a toy and must be used with discretion. The curious young man is too shy and guilty to operate his watch under the public eye, but he will often pull back his garments and fiddle with his new watch when social sanctions are not present.
Over time, the young man's fascination with the watch will begin to wear off. He will continue to use it occasionally as we all need to make appointments every so often. Just as he has become bored, however, he will discover that the women of the village will occasionally glance at his wrist. Through keen observation he will realise that women often need to make regular appointments and would consider it a priveledge to have access to a man's watch. Some men will realise this sooner than others. Other men will be too busy attending their own appointments - often three or four times a day - to notice to the womens' interest.
The excited man will use women's interest in his watch to court them. Some men may unashamedly show their watch to every woman they meet - an offensive gesture to any woman that already has access to a gentleman's watch. The excited man's strategy will only work on women who make many appointments, and on women who struggle to gain access to a watch.
Other men will rarely show their watch at all. A persistent woman may continue with such men, but most likely, the women will begin to miss appointments and seek out a man who doesn't withhold his watch. This is likely the same man who ignored women in the first place, only concerned with making his own appointments.
Until a certain age, many men simply believed the watch was a thing you told time with. All watches have the same basic function of telling time, therefore, all men are equal. The men therefore courted the women because they had a watch, but considered their wealth, looks, and status the only things that gave them an advantage over other men.
One man may, however, begin to notice that women react in an unusual way to his watch. Although women are usually happy to make an appointment - he notices that women are particularly happy only when his watch is used to make an appointment. Friends of the female may begin to ask him for the time, and his lady friends may suddenly feel the need to make more appointments. The man begins to form a hypothesis - that his watch is somehow "better" than that given to other men.
He tests this hypothesis with the women. As he pulls back his garment, he glances up at the smiling woman and asks "Nice watch, isn't it?"; she says "Yes... it's awfully nice to look at." and giggles. Next time, she may approach the man and pull back his garment without any assistance - stare in to his eyes - and beg him for the time because she has a most urgent appointment. He continues to test this with other women and finds, with relative consistency, that his watch is much better than that of other men. He discovers this without ever having seen any other watch!
This man doesn't own a bigger home. His crops do not have a greater yield. He has never felt any better than the other men. Yet, since having given the time to a great variety of women, he now carries a secret indicator of superior status. As he walks past a wealthy men dressed in adorned garments, he nods at them slowly and grins an inexplicable smug grin. The man of status raises a confused eyebrow. In this momentary lapse, the man with the nice watch wonders what life would be like with an ordinary watch. The thought quickly leaves his mind as he breaks in to a jog, on his way to his next appointment.
Fin.
(Incidentally, this man was once confused with the strange practice of showing your watch to other men. As he came to show his watch to many women, however, he began to appreciate that the great diversity of watches must be an interesting thing to explore. He considered asking a man for the time once - but it seems that such men always want to be given the time, and are never willing to offer the time!).
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There exists a patriarchal society a corner of the world where it is custom to give young men of age a family watch to celebrate their coming in to the world of manhood. The watch is obscured from the eyes of people by the long-sleeved garments that are custom to the society.
Young men are told that the watch carries particular importance in this society, as there are no clocks or sundials. He is told that, due to its unique power, the watch is most certainly not a toy and must be used with discretion. The curious young man is too shy and guilty to operate his watch under the public eye, but he will often pull back his garments and fiddle with his new watch when social sanctions are not present.
Over time, the young man's fascination with the watch will begin to wear off. He will continue to use it occasionally as we all need to make appointments every so often. Just as he has become bored, however, he will discover that the women of the village will occasionally glance at his wrist. Through keen observation he will realise that women often need to make regular appointments and would consider it a priveledge to have access to a man's watch. Some men will realise this sooner than others. Other men will be too busy attending their own appointments - often three or four times a day - to notice to the womens' interest.
The excited man will use women's interest in his watch to court them. Some men may unashamedly show their watch to every woman they meet - an offensive gesture to any woman that already has access to a gentleman's watch. The excited man's strategy will only work on women who make many appointments, and on women who struggle to gain access to a watch.
Other men will rarely show their watch at all. A persistent woman may continue with such men, but most likely, the women will begin to miss appointments and seek out a man who doesn't withhold his watch. This is likely the same man who ignored women in the first place, only concerned with making his own appointments.
Until a certain age, many men simply believed the watch was a thing you told time with. All watches have the same basic function of telling time, therefore, all men are equal. The men therefore courted the women because they had a watch, but considered their wealth, looks, and status the only things that gave them an advantage over other men.
One man may, however, begin to notice that women react in an unusual way to his watch. Although women are usually happy to make an appointment - he notices that women are particularly happy only when his watch is used to make an appointment. Friends of the female may begin to ask him for the time, and his lady friends may suddenly feel the need to make more appointments. The man begins to form a hypothesis - that his watch is somehow "better" than that given to other men.
He tests this hypothesis with the women. As he pulls back his garment, he glances up at the smiling woman and asks "Nice watch, isn't it?"; she says "Yes... it's awfully nice to look at." and giggles. Next time, she may approach the man and pull back his garment without any assistance - stare in to his eyes - and beg him for the time because she has a most urgent appointment. He continues to test this with other women and finds, with relative consistency, that his watch is much better than that of other men. He discovers this without ever having seen any other watch!
This man doesn't own a bigger home. His crops do not have a greater yield. He has never felt any better than the other men. Yet, since having given the time to a great variety of women, he now carries a secret indicator of superior status. As he walks past a wealthy men dressed in adorned garments, he nods at them slowly and grins an inexplicable smug grin. The man of status raises a confused eyebrow. In this momentary lapse, the man with the nice watch wonders what life would be like with an ordinary watch. The thought quickly leaves his mind as he breaks in to a jog, on his way to his next appointment.
Fin.
(Incidentally, this man was once confused with the strange practice of showing your watch to other men. As he came to show his watch to many women, however, he began to appreciate that the great diversity of watches must be an interesting thing to explore. He considered asking a man for the time once - but it seems that such men always want to be given the time, and are never willing to offer the time!).
