WTF Is Wrong With Women Today?

On stumbling across the meat market subreddit, Rateme

Image by Alex Draco/Flickr.Com

From Jump Street, I’ll say that this piece will make me appear a bitter crone who is out of touch and, as Mick sang, “Out of time.” That’s okay. I can take it. I’ve sucked up my share of ageist slings and arrows in the past and am primed to do it, again.

I’ve never been a “Redditor.” Once in a while, when I’m especially bored and in need of a hammer to the head, I stop by the “social news and forums” website to check out the subreddits about perfume and screenwriting. As I’m a fanatic about both, I enjoy getting intel on new scents and hearing from those screenwriters, aside from myself, who are currently flopping in their quest to find a producer who “gets it.”

So, I was baffled by my receiving email alerts, a slew of them, and only recently, from a subreddit, “Rateme,” centered around women who post pics of themselves to be “rated” by the community. I. Shit. You. Not. I wish I was because this confirms what I’ve long thought: Women today, primarily younger women, have about as much depth as a kiddie pool. Shallow, insecure and so ignorant in their limited worldview that I can’t imagine how they exist in the real world. And whose primary concern is whether their tits and ass are poppin.’

As you might expect from that last bit, the selfies posted by these twits are overtly sexy. Some of the women are awkward in their posing while others look like escapees from Only Fans. Full-lipped pouts perfected to a T. Legs spread just enough for the viewer to get a glimpse of a spandex-covered crotch. And an overall look that says, “Come and get me.”

For many of the poseurs, the uniform of choice is a halter, or tube top, and tight shorts. One of the brainless babes looked like she was posing in her bra.

Redits RateMe bimbos are a mixed lot, age-wise. Everywhere from sixteen to forty-something, from what I’ve seen thus far. One, forty-one-year-old attention-seeker, with inflated boobs, bleached-blond hair, and out-to-there fake lashes looked more like fifty-one, and perhaps she was.

Another “lady,” who claimed to be a “thirty-two-year-old mom with four kids,” dressed in the requisite getup, bikini tan lines in full view, brought to mind someone who didn’t get enough attention from her husband, her daddy, or both.

I’m gobsmacked by this. Parents—who, and what are you raising? What do you teach them? Are you teaching them? If so, what? Or are you so consumed by your own insecurities that these young women, some of them not so young, are left to fend for themselves?

What a pathetic lot. Nearly without fail, every selfie posted screamed “SLUT.” If that makes me a “slut-shamer,” a trendy slam against anyone who is a fan of “class,” ask me if I give a damn.

Now, here’s where the old broad unabashedly shows her age. Never, when I was growing up, and I’m referencing my teens and beyond, did I feel a need to seek validation from strangers, friends, or family members. And neither did any of the young women I hung out with. I had a little something called a mirror, and if I was curious as to how I presented myself on any given day, I’d check myself out and think either, “Needs work,” or “Hot AF.” And that was it.

You see, back in the day, we had balls. We didn’t dissolve into a quivering mess if a dude looked at us sideways. Instead, we handled it.

That said, my galpals and I didn’t have social media to lead us down the rabbit hole of self-doubt. Still, I refuse to blame all of society’s ills on these digital platforms where every bloviating asshole is allowed his or her fifteen minutes. Instead, I’d like to know this:

Whatever happened to intestinal fortitude?

Why are so many women, especially those who’ve yet to grow a bit of bark, so damned weak? And, why aren’t parents teaching their daughters that seeking physical validation from strangers is unacceptable? That their need to look a certain way is squashing their potential to excel in other, more important areas of their lives? Moreover, it’s dangerous. Showing one’s tits and ass to thousands of random people can lead to some very unpleasant outcomes.

I don’t get it. Perhaps we can chalk it up to ignorance, apathy, and an unwillingness to grow as human beings because, hey, that takes work. Look, as unhinged and maniacal as he’s proven himself to be, Donald Trump still has a massive fanbase, because people are massively dimwitted. And easily duped.

Do you think too many people who shouldn’t have kids squirt them out, regardless? That’s my take. Damn. When are we going to get over this dusty notion that procreation is an essential component of a fulfilling existence? People, there’s no shame nor blame in not wanting children. I never did. Not human children, anyway and I never regretted my choice.

My sister, on the other hand, always wanted the little buggers. And she and her husband raised three beautiful kids who grew into exceptional young adults. Because she knew the work involved in good parenting and jumped into the deep end of that pool without a second thought. I’m unendingly proud of her and my nephews and niece.

I haven’t yet talked about the commentators on Rateme. As you might expect, the subreddit uses a numbers system to score the bimbos who post. Others drop comments that range from the stultifyingly stupid to the sickeningly salacious. And of course, there are the nasty ones, probably from other women who feel cheated in the looks department and need a place to vent.

Here’s a sampling of comments from one of the trollops who asked:

What would you rate me on a scale of 1-10?

“10 and very edible!”

“9/10 if you show us your feet it would be a 10”

“6/10 clean your mirror. Don't take mirror pictures.”

“Ide be your sugar daddy”

“Love your ass”

“10 boobs”

“The outfit 0.. you 0. Why kind if life do you have that you are on here everyday?”

“10 id like to titfuck you”

You get the idea. I noticed that many of the women repost their pics if they don’t get the rating they so slavishly expected, and desired. How pathetic, no?

But, wait—even though I say Rateme and the women who seek validation there are “pathetic,” I don’t feel sorry for them. Normally an empathetic individual to a fault, I have zero empathy for these idiots. So, what happens if Mr. Titfuck tracks down the object of his desire and tries to turn his fantasy into reality?

Who cares? I don’t. If whoever parented these women didn’t take the time to instill self-esteem in their daughters, why should the rest of us give a damn?

If you read me regularly, you’ve probably guessed that I left a sprinkling of comments, too, most of them in the vein of “Go read a book. You know what that is, right?”

Pretty meh, for me.

Finally, before I bounce, I must note that, at least in my initial foray on Rateme I didn’t see one black woman prostrating herself before hoards of salivating strangers.

Draw your own conclusion there. I know what mine is.

Thanks for reading.

© Sherry McGuinn, 2024. All Rights Reserved.