Is Physical Appearance Completely Irrelavant?

setanta

You make an excellent observation regarding the difference between white north american culture and black north american culture in terms of how weight and body shape is regarded. Queen Latifah, singing "You Be Good To Mamma" in Chicago, for example, was outrageously and wonderfuly sexual.

Fat bottom girls
They make the rockin' world go 'round . . .

Blatham
Blatham, if you enter your name in Google, you will see why I asked. You have a name twin that is quite well known in the theater.

BumbleBeeBoogie

Truth
Speaking of roly poly women, there's a tribe in Africa (probably more than one) whose name skips me for now that sends young women about to be married to a fattening farm to make them beautiful for their wedding night. And, my brother, a very handsome man, has never looked twice at a woman who weighed less than 250 pounds. Thin beauty pagent women look, to him, he says, like graceful boys. It's all relative. I consider any woman who is a graceful, intelligent and kind something of a sex object in the best sense of the word. I remember courting my brilliant wife with the phrase--an attempt at humor that was somewhat true--"You make my mind hard".
No offense, please.

bumblebee

I am completely impressed with myself now! I also drive stock cars, have an impressive record in international mogul skiing, and dabble with motorcyles.

I suppose you might consider me 'well rounded'.

OK, I edited my posts on page twenty so they are more intelligible. I think.

I must respond to bumblebee on no one answering her post and that being typical of the dismissal of fat/obese people...that the last two times I have posted here I have read through something like seventy posts before I wrote what was on my mind that minute. Please don't jump to the conclusion that no responses mean a somewhat hostile vacuum. Yes, could be, but not for sure, and not in my own case.

Oh, on appearances. My niece is a very good looking girl in her teens. Her mother is from Liberia, from a tribal village, and her father is my ex's brother, an irishamerican peace corp person. She comes to visit me in my extremely northern california coastal town and wants things to do, in part to earn money (clean out our bookshelves) and not to earn money (walk Pacco the corgi, or Derby the Dobie). The sight of her walking the doberman caused more than one guy in a truck to ask her things an aunt doesn't want to hear her niece asked. That happened when she was thirteen, and fourteen, and fifteen. What will happen this next visit, I cringe. They hang out the truck windows, gross.

She is unusual looking here.

No, I am not anti-truckers. This stuff can go on and on.........

Eek, I missed the link for the Western gathering photos. Help! Thanks.

Read this today in The Times...

Nan Kempner is New York's best-known socialite. In the 1970s she was painted by Warhol, and in the 1980s and 1990s was touted as the woman who singlehandedly kept the couture industry afloat thanks to her extravagant purchases. She lives in a 16-room Park Avenue apartment with her financier husband, Tommy Kempner

Quote

Are looks genetic?

Fortunately, today there are such marvels that there really is no excuse for anyone to be ugly. I have friends who look younger than springtime.

Unquote


I am speechless.....

Yes, well . . .

To a certain category of the physically and intellectually and emotionally myopic, "ugliness" is something to be removed from the world. Were there true justice in life, she'd find herself scooped up in the first wave of enforcement.

Good grief. What's going to be left for those of us who prefer to look at people who look real, whose history/loves/life/pains are visible on their faces? Plastic faces? I sincerely hope not.

Lives interest me, not looks...

Maybe that's why I liked the movie Brazil so much....

Brazil was an absolute hoot, Boss, i loved it . . . it took me a while to recognize many of the players, especially de Niro -- 1984 meets The Electric Cool-Ade Acid Test . . .

Frédéric Fekkai...hmm, this one caught my eye...let's break it down...Fekk ai...doesn't that just cut to the chase regarding this kind of vanity?

Come on guys....talk about easy targets.

This isn't black and white - vanity, falseness, shallow values, lack of self esteem versus 'take me as god made me' purity.

We all play this game to varying degrees and in our own unique ways. Why bother brushing our hair? avoiding polka dots and plaids together? (sentanta, you are excused on that one) cleaning our house before visitors come over? washing the car before a date? trying on various frames before we guy glasses?

Each of us has some comfort zone in all of this presentation of self stuff but I think it is very likely that many of us would have different parameters given increased resources or if dropped into a different social context.

There is a judgementalness present which I see in myself as well, but it is facile.

BLatham:

beats me. i only get the comb out when my scalp needs a good scratching.



um, i'm going to need a hall pass on this one, too. most of my fabrics are without pattern, so i can get around it.



got me. this is a major bone of contention with the gf.



wash the car? date? i'm afraid i don't follow you...



ask me when my eyes start to go. for sunnies, i go for lenses that make the clouds pop and frames that are comfortable -- but i order from a bargain catalog, so i don't try nothing on.

but then, I'm a pretty horrible slob, too...


(just playing around, of course, while the coffee takes effect.)