"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
17 June 2004Ladies and gentlemen, the Slobbovian ambassadorThe real source of male slovenliness, says Andrew Sullivan, is women:
If women weren't so damn forgiving of slobbiness, if they weren't prepared to look for the diamond buried in the rough of a man's beer-belly, men might have to shape up a little. The only reason gay men are — on the whole — better turned out than straight men is because they have to appeal to other shallow, beauty-obsessed males to get laid, find a mate, etc. The corollary, of course, are lesbians. Now there are many glamorous lesbiterians, but even the most enthusiastic Sapphic-lover will have to concede that many are not exactly, shall we say, stylish. The reason? They don't have to be to attract other women; and since women find monogamy easier, they also slide into the I'm-married-so-what-the-hell-have-another-pretzel syndrome. When straight women really do insist on only dating hot guys, men will shape up. Until then, it's hopeless.
Unfortunately, it's not a diamond: it's a kidney stone. Of course, I wouldn't have this problem if I didn't persist in falling for women who are so far out of my league it seems impossible we could be playing the same game. (Update, 6:35 am, 18 June: Dawn Eden rakes Sullivan over the coals.) Andrew's just trying to ruin it for us breeding males. Posted by: McGehee at 10:31 AM on 17 June 2004A question for Andrew. Shouldn't the closeted gay male be slovenly as a means of staying in the closet? Rich Posted by: Rich at 10:48 AM on 17 June 2004Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that one. Even from deep within the closet, though, there's still the desire to hook up, and that means an environmental cleanup of some sort, however temporary and/or desultory. Then try for women in your league. Posted by: hmm at 9:59 AM on 18 June 2004What, are you nuts? They're even more depressing than I am. |