Nowadays, more than in the past, politicians have to be sexy to get elected, authors have to be sexy to get published and even classical musicians have to be sexy to get recorded. A perfectly serious essay on gender politics has to be re-titled 'Sex Tips for Sad Bastards', before anyone will read it. Then it has to be re-written to fit the title.
This is a real problem for us nerds. A sexualised public space is, for us, a hostile environment. Not only does it make things hard for us personally, but it also reduces our visibility in public life and our ability to influence the serious, big-picture debates. This is unfortunate for society because we nerds, being well-informed in a boring sort of way, are often better qualified than others to contribute to precisely those debates.
Unlike the muslim, I wouldn't demand the reversal of that trend.
Instead, I offer this idea:
Consider a diver going to work in the hostile environment of the sea-bed, wearing a water-tight mask and carrying oxygen tanks on his back. He does not change the hostile environment of the sea nor his own nature, but instead he brings his own micro-environment with him, which allows him to function. Likewise, we can clothe ourselves in constructed social and sexual personae. We can carry with us a system of ideas inside our heads which allow us to cope with the un-systematic nature of our society, starting with personal relationships. That's what's in my book.
Watch for my bubbles. ;-)