Women have been unjustly held back from achieving full equality for much of human history in many societies around the world. Feminists analyze this oppression, often concluding that there are both overt and insidious forces in society that still continue to oppress women. Women begin to internalize this sexism and start to believe that the lies, stereotypes, and myths about themselves that are delivered to everyone in a sexist society are true. This internalized misogyny felt by women begins to develop into what is known as deformed desires. Deformed desires is a phenomenon were woman chooses to oppress themselves and adapt their preferences according to their opportunities without consciously realizing it due to living in a patriarchal society.
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Some of the ways in which women can develop deformed desires include unequal education, the belief that women are only fit to raise children and other nonintellectual pursuits, denial of autonomy, and lack of options for women. John Ester describes how woman develop deformed desires from what he calls as the grape phenomenon, “the fox's conviction that he is prevented from eating grapes that are out of his reach causes him to believe that grapes are sour and prefers not to eat them (Superson para 17).” An example of this phenomenon from the Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy states, “The Deferential Wife who lives in a world in which women are routinely denied educational opportunities and access to the best jobs, and so become economically dependent on men, is more likely to desire to be servile to her husband and children.” Another example of a way women feel they should fulfill sexist standards in society is known as the “fashion beauty complex”. This occurs when women choose to try to achieve an unrealistic standard of beauty and sexist standard of femininity that can result in women being overly judged, objectified, and sexualized (Superson para 17). One question philosophers and feminist debate on is whether or not women can get satisfaction from fulfilling their deformed desires. For example, a woman can benefit from the fashion beauty complex by receiving more attention from men and feeling more physically attractive. Although, some feminist say this pleasure women receive is short lived and fulfilling this desire can result in women having an inferior body image, wasting time and money on beauty products which in turn can stand in the way of a women’s career goals (Superson para 18). Christina Hoff Sommers believes that since women's preferences are no longer the product of
Some of the ways in which women can develop deformed desires include unequal education, the belief that women are only fit to raise children and other nonintellectual pursuits, denial of autonomy, and lack of options for women. John Ester describes how woman develop deformed desires from what he calls as the grape phenomenon, “the fox's conviction that he is prevented from eating grapes that are out of his reach causes him to believe that grapes are sour and prefers not to eat them (Superson para 17).” An example of this phenomenon from the Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy states, “The Deferential Wife who lives in a world in which women are routinely denied educational opportunities and access to the best jobs, and so become economically dependent on men, is more likely to desire to be servile to her husband and children.” Another example of a way women feel they should fulfill sexist standards in society is known as the “fashion beauty complex”. This occurs when women choose to try to achieve an unrealistic standard of beauty and sexist standard of femininity that can result in women being overly judged, objectified, and sexualized (Superson para 17). One question philosophers and feminist debate on is whether or not women can get satisfaction from fulfilling their deformed desires. For example, a woman can benefit from the fashion beauty complex by receiving more attention from men and feeling more physically attractive. Although, some feminist say this pleasure women receive is short lived and fulfilling this desire can result in women having an inferior body image, wasting time and money on beauty products which in turn can stand in the way of a women’s career goals (Superson para 18). Christina Hoff Sommers believes that since women's preferences are no longer the product of