Wednesday, April 29, 2009

A cautionary tale about weight

One very popular topic very often used to fill out a newspaper is articles about weight, more to the point; weight-loss. The weight issue might be applied in several ways. One way is to show pictures of a thin model that perform the act of gluttony once a day with one carefully selected environmentally friendly salad leaf. Then journalists can sit back as horrified hamburger eaters and overweight soccer mums do all the work. Another way is to conjure up some obese woman (preferably famous) that can go on whatever diet is popular at the moment and a couple of months later she can proudly proclaim she has lost the equivalent of 4 pizzas in weight. One week later she has of course gained all weight again which will be ignored in another article later the same year where this woman declares her war against fat.

Among feminists this is also a very popular topic since, apparently, every other paper at the store is filled with either plastically altered porn stars or skinny and unhealthy models. “No normal woman looks like that” – is a very common phrase. After that statement comes the obligatory women-under-pressure debate and the conclusion; that it is those dreadful people with penis who should be blamed for women being paraded in this awful way with unnatural low weight.

I once upon a time attended a couple of university courses about feminism and gender research. For some reason I was one out of two men attending and for another peculiar reason at the end of every “debate” the vast majority of vulva-persons all turned towards us two penis-people looking for some kind of confirmation, perhaps proving a part of their own point. I always, happily and frankly, declare myself being on the opposite side which started a new debate in a more pleasant tone. During one such occasion, talking about underage skinny models, a petite female so thin you could probably blow her across the room if you turned on a fan, turned towards me and said I always claimed the things I said because I was a man. I suppressed a feeling of exhaling hard in her direction and instead told her that I only stood by my belief and if she argued that my opinion was because of my gender she was committing the same crime she accused me for. But on one occasion I was actually in total agreement with the overwhelming female horde, regarding all those diets thrown around. We all agreed that diets seldom tell the basic and obvious truth that most seem to ignore; you need to use more energy than you eat in order to lose weight.

So if you want to be a perky copulator or fit into your old pair of jeans again, this is the only really good advice you need. How you go on doing this in reality, is up to you. If you exercise more or eat less/better or a combination you might lose weight. If you however think that nibbling on some diet-sticks or drinking some disgusting fluids makes you thinner, you are an idiot.

6 comments:

  1. "Penis-people"?

    I LOVE YOU. I just fell in love with you - just then, when I read that line.

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  2. Oh, Here I'm thinking I had you hocked long ago... :)
    But as you well know the feeling is mutual.

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  3. Hmm. A nice tale, but you're oversimplifying slightly.
    OK, so weight is the topic, but it could just as well be beauty. Which is trickier. Because they're sort of right these women. Men - generally speaking naturally - are more focused on beauty at face value. Women take a combination of more things into account when judging. (which in a way makes us the pickier ones)

    Let's say women wanted to force a change in the slightly more superficial male preference...

    One way would be refusing to follow the ideals put up. This has been tried from time to time among feminists but it doesn't seem to catch on with the women outside these circles. Wonder why...

    Another way could of course be trying to even out the scores by doing the same onto you guys as you "do to" us. I.e women consuming magazines with tons of plastic males (instead of cute outfits) thus creating the same pressure of looks on men. But we don't, since Ken dolls are seldom enough to get us going anyway.
    Again, this is generally speaking, naturally, but I think it has some truth to it. And actually it kind of flatters the woman more. We seem to rule this game, when all is said and done. :)

    Thing is, though. There's nothing we can do about this. Definetly not by making university courses out of it. Won't help one bit. This everlasting debate, like all everlasting debates, is about trying to even out things that are "unfair". Been there, done that.

    Luckily we all, male or female, seem to have a very practical built-in ability to lower our standards somewhat compared to the magazines. According to situation, according to time of night, according to time passed since last time.... Or, even more so, according to person(ality) and chemistry. At least I've heard people outside magazines and the porn industry copulate quite perkily too!

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  4. I’m not simplifying anything. The only way of loosing weight is to waste more energy than you eat and the only way of gaining weight is to eat more than you do away with. Very simplistic and easy.

    Beauty has nothing to do with this since that another topic. Sure if you are fat, maybe some people will find you less attractive, but that’s really the only connection.

    Then actually I would say you are wrong when it comes to men and that we are the more superficial ones. I would probably argue the other way around. But also women are a bit more concerned about other things like income, social status etc. which sociological studies have shown. That fact might hide some of women’s more superficiality and in combination with the male occupation with the female body that might trick people in believing that males are the guilty party in this regard.
    I also think you are wrong about feminists refusing ideals, some extremist might not shave their armpits or whatever but that’s a clear minority. Fact is that people want to look and feel good.

    And finally I would say you non penis-people already do the same as us men, but on an even higher and even more strange way. If you read a romantic novel or pick up a women newspaper, they are filled with some notions about “true love” and things like that. Most of which I would regard as nonsense and hardly any man can live up to.
    And then you are right, women normally rule the “game” since most women have a higher intellect when it comes to certain things and are, let’s face it, the stronger sex. Maybe not physically, but in most other ways.

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  5. Outgrown Flashback, have you? *chin stroke*

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  6. never been there other then on occasion when a search leads me to some page.

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