I came across an article a while back (actually it was July 2011) and I decided this would be a good time to pull it out of my save for possible blog file. It reported the results of a survey that showed half of the men who participated in that survey said they would leave a partner who gained weight.
I stared at the headline for maybe a full thirty seconds (a long time…try holding your breath while watching the seconds tick away on a clock and you'll find out it's much longer than it sounds). Had I read that headline correctly? I returned my attention to the article. Yep, I had correctly defined the words.
Then my thoughts turned to what the women who participated in that survey had to say. According to the same survey, twenty percent of the women would leave a significant other over a few extra pounds. Not as eye-opening as the male response, but still a surprise.
Whether a marriage or a committed relationship with a significant other, traditional considerations such as love, respect, and trust are totally expendable and can be callously thrown out the window over a few pounds? The article didn't mention how much of a weight gain. The aforementioned survey was a combined project of AskMen and Cosmopolitan.com with the results reported by MSNBC.
And, according to those results, apparently size really does matter!
So, this brings me back to my original question. Have we become such a superficial society that we consider the wrapping paper to be far more important than the contents of the package?
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
9 comments:
And that is exactly why so many people -especially women- will never love and accept themselves. If we could only stop seeing ourselves through the eyes of the world and truly see ourselves the way heaven and those most important to us do, we will be on our way to reaching our full potential:-)
Great post! Thanks!
Dear Samantha,
"Wear my Heart on my Sleeve" should be my theme song, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!
I fell in love - totally and without reservation or regret - on our first date.
Twenty-four years later (actually on our Wedding Anniversary) she decided she was homesick, and walked out on me.
That was five years ago. I've never even thought of looking for someone else. If she were to knock on my door tonight and say "Help" [she wouldn't HAVE to say anything!] the only thing I could possibly imagine myself saying would be "Welcome Home..." (Yes, another song title, but there has to be a song title for just about any situation ... I'm trying to accumulate some notes for a possible story along these lines ...)
Jewel: It would be nice if people would accept each other for who that individual is rather than lumping everyone into groups and generalizing.
Thanks for your comment.
Paul: It sounds as if she is missing out on what could be some of the best years. I hope everything works out well in the future.
Thanks for commenting.
I find it odd that women are supposed to think they can't ever be too thin...yet fashion models die from lack of nutrition. A woman's goal should be to wear a size zero? To disappear? Sheesh! As the human body ages, it tends to hold onto excess weight easier...possibly so that when we get sick in old age, we have some to lose?
I chose wisely and married once. Recently I apologized to our daughter for her not having a step-dad or step-mom, like her other two college roommates do! I hung my head and said, "Sorry, I'm still hot for your Dad." She laughed and called me silly, then hugged me. Oh, and neither of us can fit in the clothing we got married in, but who cares?
Fiona: Many of those models look as if a gust of wind would blow them away. They also look as if they barely have enough strength to walk the runway.
Love that interaction with your daughter. :)
Our society has become very superficial. Plastic surgery is a huge business these days, much more than even a decade ago. Children want surgery to fix 'flaws'. If they think they already have physical flaws how much worse will it be when they're adults?
On a Dr. Phil show who talked to mothers of those shows where little girls dress like Pretty Woman or pole dancers. One mother said outright that all girls need to succeed are beauty.
Why would any sane person inject a deadly toxin in their face? Why would people fly to India or Mexico to have surgery that sutures off part of their stomach?
Even the ridiculous new fad about having pure white teeth. Ten years ago did you ever hear about people putting chemicals on their teeth to whiten them? And even when it turns out it can damage the enamel they continue.
We're superficial, yes, we're also crazy.
America, and this includes Canada are pretty much the only society where old age is treated like a disease.
It's also too sad that most people don't know how heavily those magazine images are Photoshopped or the fact they use 15 and 16 year old girls in those shoots.
Pat: I hear you on the little girls being indoctrinated to the belief that being pretty is more important than anything, plastic surgery on children to fix flaws before they've even grown into their adult faces. It's totally scary. When youth and beauty are everything, that doesn't leave any room for the wisdom that comes with maturity. Thanks for your comments.
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