Bill O'Reilly - Explain this to me like I'm a 4 yr old.

[Honeycombe8]

Maybe the male posters can shed light on men who behave and do things against other people like Bill O'Reilly has done. And Ailes.

I get that men like hot babes, are more visual than women, get a kick out of being in a power position and able to "help" hot babes to get them interested. What I don't understand is the mindset of a man who would abuse women he has some power over, to blackmail them for their career purposes. I just don't get that. That would mean they really do view the women that work there as non-humans? As less than? As not worthy of respectful treatment in the way they treat males who they have power over?

I get that a man in power might get a kick out of flirting, going to business lunches with the hot babes at the office, etc. But to essentially blackmail them that if they don't do this or that, their careers will be ruined? Or falsely promise to help them advance?

Can a man 'splain that to me like I'm a 4 yr old?

(I expect some women do this, as well, but I haven't heard of it. This seems to be mainly a man thing. O'Reilly, Roger Ailes, Trump, Bill Cosby.)

[padfun]

1. He's not doing it because he is a man, but rather

he's doing it because he is psyco. Men here don't know any more than you do. You might get better results if you address this to psyco's and/or sociopaths who crave power over others.

[UTUSN]

5. ----THIS (post above). I was going to say, I'm "a little offended" by the assumption in the o.p.

But "a little offended" is poor writing. Either one is offended or not offended. So I am.

Excellent post, padfun, and welcome to DU.


(How does the "up" arrow/carat ^ post in the Subject?!1)

[TXCritter]

2. Some people see only themselves

"That would mean they really do view the women that work there as non-humans"

They don't view other entities as emotional beings worth their consideration. They have no empathy. Everything and everyone is something to be controlled to them.

Now add a lifetime of societal lessons and hormones and boom.

[ghostsinthemachine]

3. My Dad was like this

And he felt he had something over some (and often did) women and was never going to get caught or in trouble. Finally, one woman did sue him, but he put on his blue blazer and red hankerchief and talked his way out of it. He felt that because he gave you a job, you owed him, male or female. Sex was only one way of controlling people.

Old school thinking.

I think the bigger question is, with the culture at FOX, how many of the female employees, including the anchors, did do the bosses bidding, in order to keep, or acquire, their jobs. I have to assume that every female staffer was put to the same level of abuse. The ones that accepted it are the ones working there. Seems unlikely that the men at FOX didn't do this to everyone, yet, few have come forward, especially the ones on air.

[Major Nikon]

4. I don't get that men are more visual than women at all

I don't believe there's as much differences between the sexes as we have been led to believe. Women want the same thing as men. The difference is that society has been conditioned to suppress the sexuality of women while doing the opposite for men. As such more men believe that type of behavior is acceptable if not expected.

All of the examples you gave are of assholes, and their assholery manifests itself as domination over others.

[Honeycombe8]

6. Well, I don't want to get into a big discussion about it...

you can Google this. It's been studied quite a bit. Men are more visual than women. That does not mean that they are totally visual or that women are not at all visual.

The brains of the two genders are wired differently. They both use both sides of their brains, but the male brain is wired differently from the female. Generally speaking, the male brain is dominant in certain sections, and the female brain is dominant in certain sections. For instance, ever noticed how little girls learn to speak before little boys? Or that women are better with verbal communications? The female brain is more dominant in the section of the brain that control verbal skills. Doesn't mean boys aren't good at it, but their brain isn't as dominant in that section. OTOH, males often have better spatial abilities (related to visual)...that part of the brain is dominant in males. There are exceptions, of course. This is general.

They can tell it's biology and not environmental because in the studies, they look at brain activity hooked up by electrodes or whatever, and other physical things.

I watch a lot of documentaries and read a lot of studies. Lots of info on this out there. Studies where they show males and females sexual pics...the males generally have a much stronger reaction to that (certain parts of the brain show intense activity, pupils dilate, and other physical reactions that the females don't show, or at least not to that level).

There are brain differences between right handed and left handed people, too. I'm not sure how ambidextrous people fit into that (I'm ambidextrous).

Just like the physical and skeletal bodies of the genders are different, so are the brains. It's a very interesting topic of discussion and study. But not related to my post, really.

[Major Nikon]

7. You can also google about how many studies on sexuality are fundamentally flawed

Women and girls are taught to repress their sexuality while the exact opposite is taught to men and boys. Since sexuality develops throughout puberty, it's extremely difficult to understand what actually is hard wired and what is learned behavior. There is unquestionably differences between the sexes and sexuality, but there's also unquestionably lots of mythology about what people believe to be true about those differences and what actually is true. There's also much to be learned about why people like those you mentioned behave they way they do. Those you describe are not examples of normal sexuality and have far more to do with pathological behavior. They do what they do because there's something fundamentally wrong with them.

[Honeycombe8]

8. As I said...these studies are not psychological.

The environment is weeded out. It's based on electrodes or whatever measuring brain activity, pupil dilation, sweating, heart palpitation, etc.

These methods weed out the "I was raised that way" factor. Having said that, everything is on a spectrum. There no doubt are some males and females whose reactions are similar.

There are varying studies on the effect of the environment one is raised in, as well. For example, little girls crying more. Unscientific study puts girl and boy toddlers in a huge playpen. When they want to get out, the boys more were apt to try to get out on their own, while the girls tended to cry until Mom picked them up. Now, before you say that girls cry more because they're female, and the boys tried to get out on their own because they're more assertive....part of that COULD be the gender difference. But another way to look at it is that the girls learned that crying was effective to get what they want, while the boys had learned that crying didn't get them very far. So they were each doing what they had learned was most effective to get out.

This is all very interesting stuff. But they are generalizations, and we should all remember that there are overlaps and exceptions.

[Major Nikon]

11. A study of behavior is by definition psychological

All of the responses you listed most definitely can be and are learned. Your brain is continually rewiring itself as a direct result of the stimuli it receives. Just because a measurement involves an involuntary response, doesn't mean the behavior wasn't learned. I'm sure there are all sorts of things you fear today that you might not have in years past or vice versa. As such the physical involuntary responses you mentioned will be quite different.

[JonLP24]

9. I don't get it either and I'm a male

I don't do advances or flirting and just treat women as I would anyone else. If I get to know someone well I'd like that if it happens but I'm not like out there seeking potential relationships/dates so O'Reilly behavior baffles but the simple answer he may just be a sociopath.

[Yavin4]

10. It's a combination of power, a sense of entitlement, and of course, sex

Men like Ailes and O'Reilly make a lot of money for Fox, and therefore feel as though they own the place and everyone in it, and they use their power to demand sex from the women that work there.

[spooky3]

12. what I don't get, and I guess a sociopath needs to 'splain it to me, is

why would anyone get any pleasure from kissing (and beyond) someone who doesn't want to kiss him but is forced to do so?