Would you really define this as "vulgar"?

[The Inquisitive Stranger]

As far as pressure to be sexy, don't let anybody tell you that you HAVE to be sexy.Ã,  Just be who you are, and the nicer guys will notice that.

It's not about being noticed. It's not like I 've never been told by a guy that I'm beautiful just the way I am. It's not like I don't believe I'm beautiful just the way I am. The thing that bothers me is why the emphasis is on "beautiful" in the first place, and why guys don't really compliment me (or women in general, I've noticed... correct me if I'm wrong) on my personality.

If anyone here plans on responding to my comment with something along the lines of "people are shallow and that's never going to change; get used to it", well, I respectfully disagree.

And really I think you should let the little things go. Worry about the underlying culture by all means but pick the right major cultural icons to concern yourself about. If you're going to fly off the handle every time some guy draws a picture of a girl with big boobs you're just going to make yourself look like a gibbering loon. That's just my opinion.

I'm terribly sorry, but did you even bother to read the post I made about a page ago? Gah!

[MrColossal]

Ã,  Ã, You keep saying that women are experiencing these problems, but you're not citing anything that is not uncommon, or unique just to women.Ã, 

She did mention: "I am being paid less than men of equal station to mine at work." Which is very real.

Men suffer sexual harrasment too, domestic violence is about fifty/fifty now, with little less than half of domestic violence being perpetrated against men by women.Ã,  Men are now a minority in colleges, and boys are falling behind girls in school.Ã, 

Interesting statements, sources?

[Babar]

No, it's the first thing people comment on because it's the first thing they see. Unless someone catches you helping an old lady across the street, or kicking a dog, they can't really comment on your personality.

I find nothing wrong with the boobies. Perhaps some people would take the game less seriously for them, but I don't see how, and it wouldn't be me. As mentioned, some women DO have such large breasts, and it's not really accurate to take them as a reflection of their other traits.

[CaptainBinky]

It's not about being noticed. It's not like I 've never been told by a guy that I'm beautiful just the way I am...

Well gosh, that all goes for guys too.
I would define myself as not particularly attractive, but I reckon I'm a fairly cool guy if you get to know me. That doesn't, of course, help you meet women as unfortunately, first impression counts for loads and if you are wafer thin and a bit gangly, most girls pass you over. It's a fact of life and it doesn't bother me.

I have never, ever, been told by a girl that "wow, you have a lovely personality" cos, heck, it's just not the sort of thing that you say.

Beauty isn't just skin deep. Somebody can be beautiful without being conventionally attractive.

edit: It is, of course, entirely possible that I actually have a crap personality. That'd be pretty annoying.

[big brother]

Men have issues with their bodies too, yes, but there is also a significantly greater percentage of men who don't care about looking sexy and are seen as socially-acceptable than women who feel the same.

Umm...Hair replacement and penis enlargement sell a lot of products every year. I Ã, sure hope women aren't buying them.

Why is it that in movies, when an ugly geek guy falls in love with a hot girl, he gets to remain ugly and geeky,

Because his dick could make the Grand Canyon moan?

Seriously though, women are less visually oriented than men are as far as sexual arousal is concerned. This is why the porn industry serves more male customers than females.
And most of the pretty women I know have very low standards when it comes to men (and are very insecure about their looks). They would call another woman ugly based only on the color of her eyeshadow or its application, but will overlook all sorts of physical deformities in a male (OMG, but he's funny!).

Why is it that Napoleon Dynamite can dance like a complete dork while girls who dance have to be graceful in doing so?

So Summer was dancing "gracefully" in the skit before? Keep in mind that Napolean doesn't end up dating a supermodel, just another geek.

And the question I asked before: why are naked men generally seen as funny, while naked women are generally seen as OMGSEXY?

Because women are less visually oriented, men don't have the need to look as attractive (they just need to make the girl feel good) to appeal. However, I've never seen a girl laugh at a topless male underwear model or a Playgirl centerfold before. If you do, something might be wrong... Note that this isn't the same as Will Ferrell "streaking to the quad". This is funny, mostly because he has a college student mentality in a middle-aged body. I think the joke would be equally funny if it was a middle aged woman instead, but in that case I think only the guys would laugh and the girls would be embarrassed or offended.

I can guarentee you that no man finds ALL naked women OMGSEXY.

Also, there's a difference between "fair" and "equal".


*** EDIT: As far as college matriculation rates go, we are going to see a reversal of Title IX rules (protection of the underrepresented gender in institutions that take any federal funds) within the next 5 years. That's how few males are going on to college in the US.

[The Inquisitive Stranger]

I have never, ever, been told by a girl that "wow, you have a lovely personality" cos, heck, it's just not the sort of thing that you say.

Wow, you have a lovely personality!

[Raggit]

Eric, here's some sources:

Boys falling behind girls in school: 
  Here's an interesting article on MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10965522/site/newsweek/

   This covers some of the same ground, and provides statistics for the college statement:
http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=3855

   Here's some more on the college issue:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec02/college.html

   Another interview on MSNBC, with the author of SEE JANE HIT.  A few pages back in the article is some info about domestic violence etc.  The whole article contains some very interesting stats:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11602651/

More on topic, my domestic violence statement may've been incorrect, but if I can find it, I'll provide a specific source that cited violence against men as 40% or somewhere slightly below half.  It may not have been domestic violence.  I don't remember. 

[LimpingFish]

I love women. I love ALL women. ALL WOMEN EVER. Women are swell. I prefer women to men. Men aren't swell. I should know. I am one.

To loosely paraphrase what a great person once said:

"Vagina. What a lovely word. Imagine if Vagina was the name of holiday destination. Come to Vagina. It sounds so inviting. Penis, though, who'd want to go there? It always rains, and they have a shitty public transport system."

Womenwomenwomenwomenwomenwomenwomenwomenwomen!

Reasons? I don't need any. And any reasons I might have had I've forgotten. I don't care.

A woman who does the same job as a man shouldn't be paid less than that man. Another man doing that same job shouldn't be paid any less either. Nor should a woman be paid any more. But then equality would raise it own issues.When a pregnant women is allowed paid maternity leave, should a man whose wife is expecting be allowed six months paid "Fathering Leave" after the baby is born?

Ridiculous? Fairly. But "Equality", in the very purest sense, in every area of life, and enforced to the letter, is a fairly ridiculous notion.

When the spectre of sexual harrasment  hangs over the working western world like a big panicky blanket, where even a friendly smile can be misconstrude as a come on, hasn't the gulf of sexual equality between "Men" and "Women" become even wider?

btw, can I buy sexy lingerie for my girlfriend, or am I objectifying her as a sexual object, and, therefore, should I buy her something more practical like support hose?

[MrColossal]

Men can take paternity leave http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/8258.html and it isn't ridiculous at all really. In the US at least.

[LimpingFish]

I KNEW it would be real. :

But then, the US is a fairly ridiculous place.


DISCLAIMER: The sweeping generalization above should not be taken as fact. SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS FACT. It is simply an opinion. All inquiries towards justification of said statement will be ignored. END OF LINE.

[The Inquisitive Stranger]

btw, can I buy sexy lingerie for my girlfriend, or am I objectifying her as a sexual object, and, therefore, should I buy her something more practical like support hose?

If she's anything like me, you should buy her a new MP3 player or a good fantasy book.

[LimpingFish]

And I would get what from this transaction?

[MrColossal]

Just want to say, if a single man wants to adopt a child or anything happens to the mother during birth or tons and tons of circumstances that can happen do indeed happen, paternity leave makes 300 tons of sense.

[The Inquisitive Stranger]

Hey, it's YOU buying HER a gift. If she were to buy YOU a gift, on the other hand, THEN she could buy sexy lingerie.

EDIT: And perhaps to encourage her, you could get yourself a skimpy leopard-print thong.

[LimpingFish]

Fair point.

[Nikolas]

I'm pretty sure that paternity leave exist, or if not is bound to exist in a little hwile, in UK too, and it makes tons of sense!

[LimpingFish]

Can open, worms EVERYWHERE!

[Nacho]

Ridiculous? Fairly. But "Equality", in the very purest sense, in every area of life, and enforced to the letter, is a fairly ridiculous notion.

I agree. As Big Brother said, the final goal is to reach a fair situation, not an equality one. That's what I was talking about when I was saying that we must look for parity, but respecting the natural differences between sexes.

[modgeulator]

Can't you all just reserve your judgement until they actually finish the game? I'd like to wait until I play the game to decide whether it objectifies women in an offensive way or if it promotes unhealthy body images. You've seen some screenshots but you haven't read the dialogue and you don't know the story. I'd be more interested to see how this character interacts with her world then deciding based on a few pictures. If she acts like some trashy bimbo all the way through the game then I'll concede that the offended people had it right.

[Kinoko]

What game? There's a game? Get out of our discussion of gnder issues!