Women and their ideal man

No, this is not going to be "How To Win Her Over" or "What Do Men Really Want?" hyperbole. 
Just an observation I've made of late that has brought me back to pondering: Why is there a double standard when it comes to women admiring the male physique?  This isn't about pornography, per se, it's about the unjustified sneer that men give to the few women who openly celebrate their admiration of the male physique. 

As teenagers, a lot of us girls had posters on our walls, usually of the Teen Idol of the month. For me it was Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, among a few others. For the guys, it was usually cars or the top rock group of the moment, with the occasional door poster of some TV beauty in a bikini.

But, as we girls matured, "Love is like...," butterfly and kitten posters replaced the Teen Idol. As for the boys, as they matured, the cars came down and the room became wall-to-wall T&A. And it didn't stop! 

Walk into a mechanic's work area and you will find a calendar of nude, or scantly clad, women tacked up on the wall near a tool-box. Wander into a man's private home bathroom and you're likely to see a poster of a woman in a pose rarely seen in reality. Even naked women on the condom dispensers in bar restrooms. Mens locker rooms? No need to even mention it.

Now take a gander at the walls of the womens locker room. The ladies bathroom, anywhere. The last time I saw a condom dispenser in a womens bathroom, it had a giant yellow daisy on it! And I have never known a woman to have a poster of a nude man in her private bathroom at home.

What's the deal? Why is it that we accept that men, married or otherwise, can continue to admire the female form, yet a mature woman who attempts to do the same is questioned? Usually the first things alluded to are; she is not getting any, must be a tramp or her partner is inadequate. Why don't we have these same ideas about men?

Men are quick to point out their ideal woman. They can pop-off their perfect prototype quickly - breast size, height, weight, eye color, hair color, intelligent...
Ask a woman about her ideal man and, after a slight hesitation, you'll typically hear - honest, caring, understanding, a sense of humor, nice eyes...
What?!
Why, as women, are we not as truthful when asked that question? Because, even though we do look for those qualities in a man, we have preferences when it comes to the rest of the layout, too! To be fair, men will, eventually, include personality traits.

Could it be that women are more sensitive to men, and don't want to cause damage to a man's ego by detailing physical attributes he may lack? Why do we suffer our own ego-battering in silence when men do the same? 

Why has society still not accepted the idea of allowing women to freely display their admiration for the male body? We have to wait around for the occasional special appearance of the Chippendales. But every man alive knows where the closest strip club is located. The male strip clubs are even geared towards men! (* added thought: the majority of men, if asked, would say they wouldn't bring a stripper home to meet momma. If this is the case, then it is clear there is only one reason why a man would go to watch naked women swing from poles. But still, they say it means nothing and women should keep their displeasure to themselves.)

To wrap it up (because I have to spend time looking for pictures of attractive men to add to this and I need to start dinner), women have these options:

Demand the same respect to our egos, by wagging a finger when the first thing a man mentions in the description of his ideal woman is a physical attribute, and hope that, over time, they get the idea.

Say "To Hades with what society may think of me, this is how it is", and endure the incoming derision.

Or,  "oooh" and "aww" at the appropriate times when you see something you like and save yourself the hassle of the above.

Maybe it's for the best that things are the way they are, after all. Women will continue to evolve emotionally. Our egos less likely to bruise. We will become more eager to display our inner potential and not fret ourselves to sickness about our appearance. There may actually come a time when men will only be attracted to what a woman's heart and mind have to offer him!

Yeah, right.