the time and energy you put into your comments. Obviously the subject is very personal to you.
After some thought, I have thinking that there are a few aspects to consider.

We live in a somewhat physical world. Physical appearance for women is what Fashion is all about.
Women must be seeking the recognition from men that they have "sex appeal",otherwise why the heels, miniskirts, bikini's,lipstick and all the rest. It is so hard to be a women. Men shave, put on the white shirts and ties, and go to work. Look what the women do! Now they don't have to do all that, but certainly most prefer to do so as part of what may be a cultural phenomenon. In the 18th century men were as women, like the court of Louis IV, men wore wigs,painted their nails and treated themselves with the same vanity. Somehow that was lost. Today at any major event...the Oscars for example, the men all look like penguins in their same tuxedos, but the women are magnificently dressed in revealing and sensual attire.

There are many times times in my life I have seen a very attractive woman dressed and coiffed in extremely sexy attire. There must be deep in their psyche to want to allure men, but in a "look don't touch" way. This is true of married women too. Is there some type of involuntary grand tease involved? But I would have it no other way. I love the idea of womanhood, especially if the alternatives is them all to wear Mao outfits, with no lipsticks, or worse conform the misogyny of religion.

So the poem considers the physical aspect of women. There is no question in my mind, nor should there be in anyone's, that women have equal intellect, ability, and wisdom. But in the passing parade of humanity around me, we connect on the physical level. I sense that part of the current movement sometimes goes overboard. I think it's ok to tell a woman she looks great today without having to call my lawyer. Physical adoration does not assume anything of intelligence.
Throughout history the beauty of women is a constant theme. In the current debate, I have the sense a lot of women are angry about this, as they want to be judged solely on merit. Yet you can't have your cake and eat it. They are not willing to drop the makeup or the earrings. and why should they? They can take joy in being a sexy looking woman if they choose, but should not chastise men for noticing.
I am well aware of men's violence against woman, probably a force going back to primal factors. We have evolved somewhat, but not that much. My sister, a devout Christian, was beaten by her
sick religious zealot of a husband. But for heavens sake most men I know are not like that at all..maybe because they are atheists like me. But the poem is only about the conflict of being a lover of womanhood, and the backlash I sense is growing to the extent that women want any attitudes about their appearance to be mentioned. Too much contradiction.

In the poem I refer to my wife- I chose her, she chose me, and she still gets her eyelashes done. The process of being vain is part of our culture. That I may love my wife does not mean I cannot revel in the differences of men and enjoy "womanhood" in its complex fashions to allure men.That I am allured certainly does not make me a predator or worse.

Perhaps another way to put it is with this poem, not a good one, that I wrote a year ago. It was called the seven deadly sins of modern times. It starts with a quote:

VI: DEGREDATION OF WOMEN
"Every major world religion – without exception – is intensely patriarchal. Every one of them engages in the systematic devaluation of women, in the systematic exclusion of women from positions of authority, and in the systematic oppression and even enslavement of women. I have yet to find a single major religion that bucks this trend." Adam Lee

Praise be unto the lord
For his greatest creations-
The spore and the pollen,
The egg and the sperm,
The female and male,
And the glories of copulation.
For that the birds sing,
For that we make our music,
As every beast mounts the other.
For this and this alone
I make my peace with the lord,
That he giveth to mankind the gift
Of so many options and positions
For such exquisite ecstasies!

The penguin, the lion, the spider
Have their own takes on coupling;
We men and women join
With the goal of completion,
And learn the instinct of love
In a perpetual mating season.

All creatures are part of evolution
This must be the master plan;
And so must change the institutions
That gives the dominance to men.

So long ago did Lysistrata take her shape,
And cause a panic among the armies
Of wild studs proving their worth
Though combat to be denied their rape.
I say let the women paint their lips,
Let there be pas de deux,
And courtship of giving pleasure
Amid the scents of natural lusts!

Where the battlefield where the sexes fit
We will rejoice too in intellect;
Surely by now all men admit
They are not our slaves to cook and knit.

The temple, the mosque, the church
Must abolish this corny caveman myth-
As equals partners in life’s search
Let our unions renew our bliss.