On a few occasions while stationed in South Korea, I had the rather unsavory job of visiting a variety of bars and clubs outside American bases to conduct operational security and courtesy patrols. Either in uniform or plainclothes, we would step in and out of places frequented by GIs looking for trouble. Mostly, we just bumped into prostitutes and “juicy girls.” Prostitution does not require any explanation, but bars full of “juicy girls” are probably not frequented by most Georgetown students. In Korea, and other places, some bar owners hire young women to entertain male soldiers who are far from home, know few available women who speak a common language and have plenty of money to spend. The woman will sit with a GI until her drink runs out, at which time she promptly asks for another. If the customer consents to buying her a drink, she is given some juice or soda with a splash of rum, and he is charged about $20. This is not a new phenomenon. American servicemen have long had the reputation of trying to fill idle time with a little international female action. During World War II, British soldiers complained that the problem with American GIs stationed in Britain was threefold: They were “overpaid, oversexed and over here.” Visiting brothels and bars with “juicy girls” is an unfortunate part of American military culture, but it is often explained away as unavoidable. Boys will be boys. We cannot expect a large group of men who pride themselves on their masculinity to exercise discretion when it comes to sexual activities. It is better that they go to the women who are expecting to be fondled than be set loose on the mainstream host nation’s female population. This attitude is widespread, and it exists beyond the military. Mothers counsel their daughters not to trust men because men often “think only with their penises.” Masculinity is a common explanation given after the disclosure that a male public figure has womanized or had an affair. He is surrounded by women who throw themselves at him; he is a man, he can’t help himself. Let’s assume that we have a female president. Will people demonstrate the same understanding they did for Bill Clinton if she receives oral sex from a male intern while on the phone in the Oval Office? Will people applaud her husband if he chooses to stand by her? Unlike explanations for male infidelity, female infidelity is not seen as a natural consequence of a woman’s sex drive. If we assume that the entertainment industry capitalizes on mainstream attitudes regarding gender, we know that from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” to Ludacris’ “Move Bitch,” English speakers generally hold the view that male promiscuity is acceptable and female promiscuity is not (unless it is with other females). Male characters such as James Bond and Othello retain the respect of audiences even when they beat or kill a woman they believe is unfaithful. Clearly, these attitudes are very demeaning toward women. Women are objectified when their sexuality is viewed simply as something for male consumption. Some counter that women can turn the tables on men by being modest and showing discretion in their dating habits. There is some truth to that. Men are less likely to think a woman is going to have sex with them if she doesn’t show up to their Halloween party dressed as a Playboy bunny. Nonetheless, men are going to keep their attitudes about sex regardless of women’s behavior. Men have been dictating the rules of the game for a long time, and women aren’t going to change them by dressing modestly and refusing to sleep with chauvinists. At best, chauvinists will focus their attention on easier targets, such as women in the sex industry. The truth is that only men can affect their own behavior and thereby change the mainstream attitude of what constitutes the image of a man who should be respected for his dating habits and treatment of women. All men should want to quash the image of the promiscuous dater as a person deserving the esteem of his peers as this image makes men look like dogs that hump everything they can find because they don’t know any better. When the most impressive thing a man can do over the weekend is “get laid,” his sexuality is seriously devalued. I don’t know any men who get much fulfillment out of promiscuity. They have bragging rights and maybe an STD or two but not much else. They’ve sold their sexuality cheaply. Consider freedom as currency. Hoarding money does nothing to increase or decrease its value, but it also makes it impossible to enjoy. By spending it with discretion, we achieve a degree of satisfaction that roughly correlates to the amount of money we spend. If we spend without discretion, we end up with too many goods and don’t have the opportunity to achieve the maximum satisfaction offered by each. Moreover, we might end up penniless. Spending sexual freedom without discretion is not a path to maximum sexual satisfaction, and it can end up hurting quite a bit. From soldiers to college students, men on the dating scene would do well to show women more respect. But first they must learn to respect themselves. William Quinn is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service and a former staff sergeant in the United States Army. He can be reached at quinnthehoya.com AIMLESS FEET appears every other Tuesday.