Do these pants make me look fat?

I've been working my old research job recently, which means I'm around the general public in a more normal role than customer/salesman. I have more time to observe, and interact in a normal sense, and it has me thinking.

Does what a woman wear affect how you treat her?

I think a lot of women have the idea that clothing choice has a large affect on how they are regarded by the world in general. And yes, if a woman dresses in slutty clothes, it's natural that she gets more sexual attention. But, along the same lines, is she considered less of a human being and more of a sex object? Can a woman be considered both? For instance, does donning a middriff shirt lessen the human regard at the same time that it raises my sexual allure? And if so, why can't it raise one without lowering the other? Is it unheard of for a woman to be a sexual object AND a human being, AT THE SAME TIME? I know how I feel. I'm pretty safe in my feelings on the matter, and I rarely contemplate what other people think about it. But now, I'm interested.

In the same vein, if a woman wears a business suit or slacks, is she taken more seriously by anyone other than herself? Does it REALLY matter? For a man who sees a woman in a halter top and starts acting like an ass, would it matter if she were dressed professional? Would he still treat her the same way if she was "attractive" to him?

There are a lot of preset ideas about propriety for women, and i'm sure men as well. I've pretty blatantly ignored them for a very long time, because it's never seemed like it really mattered. I think I'm treated differently than a woman who is taller, shorter, heavier, older, etc, than I am. It's not fair, but in life that fact holds very little water. There's no way I can win on the age issue. An older woman is granted more respect as a human being than I am. I can't change my age, and I can't change how people perceive me. It's certainly not fair to assume because I'm fairly young, I know less than someone years older than me. Or, for that matter, that because I'm young, I'm more physically able than someone older than me. That's totally untrue in most cases, but still assumed. It's also not fair to assume that because I wear skimpy clothes, that I'm a slut, or that I'm trying to to get sex. I like skimpy clothes, and I look good in them. You can admire me all you want, but you better still listen to me when I talk, or our dealings are done.

Prejudice is a bizarre thing to experience. We live with it every day of our lives, in one form or another. Yet even after 22 years of it, it's still weird, and I can't accept it. For men, it's impossible to imagine what it's like to be a woman. There are some levels of culture that people choose to associate themselves with that thrive on prejudice of all types. However, I've tried to remove myself from most of that, and still, here in the Real World, there's a base level of prejudice that I am forced to experience on a regular basis. And I'm a white woman. One of those strange mixes of European culture that ended in lumping me with a Majority for no apparent reason. But, all I have is sexism (and agism) to deal with. Shit, imagine throwing racism in there too. It'd be a never-ending battle, and it would totally and utterly suck.

The question for you, then, is this: does appearance vastly affect the way you regard and treat people of the opposite sex? (appearance including dress, weight, general attractiveness) And be honest. Anyone who reads this is a friend, so, I won't think less of you for what you have to say. I'm generally interested to know what your answer is.

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On a completely different note, there's a lunar eclipse tonight! How INCREDIBLY exciting! It's full moon AND a lunar eclipse! It's going on as I type this, so chances are, if you missed it already, it's too late. Lagrimas para ti. Exciting night ^^