Responding to Reader Response
Janet posted an articulate and valid response to my recent diatribe against Eva Longoria and her ilk--it's well worth reading, and a reminder that, despite my attempts to keep this blog an intellectually totaliatarian space, other people will insist on having their own opinions. In the interest of giving both sides of the dialogue fair play, I trancribe her remarks verbatim:
I'm sorry that men are being deprived of their "flesh". Not. I hate to dissolve the arguement, but women feel better when they have muscles instead of fat. When slender, we enjoy meals more, we have more energy...
I am a dancer and am very pleased with my body. I am not constantly hungry. I am not emancipated. I am a women who can do twelve jetes in a row, high kicks for over two minutes and run the mile without sweating.
Granted, there are several celebrities that could use a few deep-fried twinkies. But Julia Roberts, Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow do not fall into this catagory. These stars are a few that DO respect their bodies. They are slender, as well as intelligent and talented. You do not have to have sex with them. Some men prefer bigger women. But I can bet that Julia Roberts isn't feeling sorry for her lack of fleshy eye-candy. It isn't weight that make these women beautiful. Have you looked at their smiles? Listened to them laugh?
Next time a women walks by, do not focus on the size of her waist and hips. They are what they are. Rather, think to yourself, "I wonder if she likes snow and roasting marshmallows?"
Points well taken. My response:
Actually, my objection isn't at the thinness of such women--which, as you point out, can be healthy--it's the fact that just because they're thin, they're hot. Thinness (or fleshiness) isn't the definitive quality of beauty. My objection is that these are not beautiful women--they're simply not, and yet we're told that they are because they conform to the one requirement of beauty that these people acknowledge--thinness.
(And no, I'm not imagining that Julia Roberts--or indeed, any woman with a scrap of self-esteem--gives a rat's ass what I think about her. Why should she? My anger isn't directed at her--let her live her life as she chooses--but at the forces surrounding her that shove her down my throat as the epitome of movie-star gorgeousness. Which, dammit, she isn't. It isn't just about sex--it's about being told that this is what I want. And yes I have seen them smile, and dammit, Roberts and Cruz are horse-faced when they do, and there's something disturbingly rodent-like about Longoria under the same conditions. I'm sorry--and in their defense, they could be dropped from the top of the ugly tree, hit every branch and land among the roots, and still look better than I, so, you know, I'm not delusional about their relative visual appeal. And Ionly feel justified in commenting on their personal appearances because others--including their own representatives, have put this issue into play. Otherwise, I'd have the respect not to discuss an issue that's none of my business. Well, OK, I might, but I'd be nice about it.)
There are, I will concede, beautiful women who are on the thin side of the 'norm' (whatever that is.) But I should also add that the thinness of these women isn't, by my eye, based on muscle but the absence thereof. And as for feeling better, well, of course--and those of us old enough to remember Linda Hamilton in TERMINATOR 2 can attest that a well-toned women can be seriously attractive. I'd certainly be willing to trade your ideal of a worked body for the death-camp chic that seems to predominate.
As for these women being intelligent, well, um, Gwyneth Paltrow in particular needs to stop spouting off ignorant comments about 'culture' for me to buy into such a notion. They're actresses, and while their success in a challenging profession is to be admired, it's no guarantee of genuine brains.
As for what I think when a woman walks by, I don't think anything. I'm far too self-absorbed to notice. (And trust me, no woman wants to be thought about by me, anyway--she'd have to run straight home and scrub herself clean.)
I'm sorry that men are being deprived of their "flesh". Not. I hate to dissolve the arguement, but women feel better when they have muscles instead of fat. When slender, we enjoy meals more, we have more energy...
I am a dancer and am very pleased with my body. I am not constantly hungry. I am not emancipated. I am a women who can do twelve jetes in a row, high kicks for over two minutes and run the mile without sweating.
Granted, there are several celebrities that could use a few deep-fried twinkies. But Julia Roberts, Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow do not fall into this catagory. These stars are a few that DO respect their bodies. They are slender, as well as intelligent and talented. You do not have to have sex with them. Some men prefer bigger women. But I can bet that Julia Roberts isn't feeling sorry for her lack of fleshy eye-candy. It isn't weight that make these women beautiful. Have you looked at their smiles? Listened to them laugh?
Next time a women walks by, do not focus on the size of her waist and hips. They are what they are. Rather, think to yourself, "I wonder if she likes snow and roasting marshmallows?"
Points well taken. My response:
Actually, my objection isn't at the thinness of such women--which, as you point out, can be healthy--it's the fact that just because they're thin, they're hot. Thinness (or fleshiness) isn't the definitive quality of beauty. My objection is that these are not beautiful women--they're simply not, and yet we're told that they are because they conform to the one requirement of beauty that these people acknowledge--thinness.
(And no, I'm not imagining that Julia Roberts--or indeed, any woman with a scrap of self-esteem--gives a rat's ass what I think about her. Why should she? My anger isn't directed at her--let her live her life as she chooses--but at the forces surrounding her that shove her down my throat as the epitome of movie-star gorgeousness. Which, dammit, she isn't. It isn't just about sex--it's about being told that this is what I want. And yes I have seen them smile, and dammit, Roberts and Cruz are horse-faced when they do, and there's something disturbingly rodent-like about Longoria under the same conditions. I'm sorry--and in their defense, they could be dropped from the top of the ugly tree, hit every branch and land among the roots, and still look better than I, so, you know, I'm not delusional about their relative visual appeal. And Ionly feel justified in commenting on their personal appearances because others--including their own representatives, have put this issue into play. Otherwise, I'd have the respect not to discuss an issue that's none of my business. Well, OK, I might, but I'd be nice about it.)
There are, I will concede, beautiful women who are on the thin side of the 'norm' (whatever that is.) But I should also add that the thinness of these women isn't, by my eye, based on muscle but the absence thereof. And as for feeling better, well, of course--and those of us old enough to remember Linda Hamilton in TERMINATOR 2 can attest that a well-toned women can be seriously attractive. I'd certainly be willing to trade your ideal of a worked body for the death-camp chic that seems to predominate.
As for these women being intelligent, well, um, Gwyneth Paltrow in particular needs to stop spouting off ignorant comments about 'culture' for me to buy into such a notion. They're actresses, and while their success in a challenging profession is to be admired, it's no guarantee of genuine brains.
As for what I think when a woman walks by, I don't think anything. I'm far too self-absorbed to notice. (And trust me, no woman wants to be thought about by me, anyway--she'd have to run straight home and scrub herself clean.)
posted by Yr. Hmbl. & Obdt. | 10:42 AM
4 Comments:
Um...did she perhaps mean "emaciated" rather than "emancipated?"
I'm with you, JD. I was watching the Oscars this weekend and was frankly frightened by how ghastly so many of the female stars looked. I've never found Jennifer Aniston attractive--much less talented or interesting--but her face these days suggests someone on a grim starvation diet. She's not the only one.
As for Paltrow, the one and only time I've found her appealing was in Royal Tennenbaums. (But, okay, I have blond issues.)
Okay, I agree: Women do feel better when they have muscles instead of fat. But women need some degree of fat to look like women instead of ambulatory skeletons. Is it really sexy to have a bony pelvis protruding through your skintight dress? Do men find arms that could easily be confused for chopsticks attractive? God, I hope not - but that's the ideal promoted to women these days.
Lecturess mentioned Jennifer Aniston at the Oscars; she looked positively plump next to Jessica Alba. I thought two of the most beautiful women there were Rachel Weisz and Jennifer Garner - the former is pregnant and the latter is most obviously breast-feeding. Obviously pregnancy is the only excuse to have a "normal" body in Hollywood these days.
Anonymous: forgive my blunder. It was late. Though, technically, I am not emancipated from the expectations of society either.
As a response to your response on my... nevermind. I will give that the idea that "the skinnier the better" is a potentially dangerous concept. However, giving up on the body one owned in their physical prime isn't completely necessary.
Might I add that this portrayal of perfection doesn't only apply to women. If the latest trends have escaped your notice, it may be of interest to discover that the younger generation of the male population are squeezing into jeans that they found in their sister's closets.
As one comment from the "Eva..." article pointed out, beauty seems to follow the economic state. The more access a populous has to food, the more in-awe we are of people who can resist it. Until they pass out and die.
In defense of Julia, who was credited for having a gruesome smile, (something I completely disagree with) she is no where near the starvation stage. I'll change "intelligence" to "talent" for the satisfaction of our readers. Only God knows what her brain compacity is. We won't go there.
Just take care of yourselves everyone. Visit the gym. Don't raise your children on McDonald's.
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