You feel pretty? A counterpoint – IOTW Report

You feel pretty? A counterpoint

Letters To Hannah:

Dear Hannah,

Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty is the latest film in a long series of songs, books, movies and sermons with a single and regrettable purpose: to tell women they’re perfect.  Of course we know women aren’t perfect and the majority of them aren’t even pretty; and that flattery exists not for the benefit of the hearer but the benefit of the speaker.  And there’s a lot of money to be made by speaking it.

Not off of men, but off women.  A man’s self-help book, if nothing else, starts off the only way a self-help book should — which is telling you you’re inadequate and you need to help yourself.  A good sermon ought to leave you with your tail tucked between your legs.  We go to men who are better than us and know better than us so we can end up better than us; and the rare man who dares to tell us otherwise, say a Joel Osteen with a God loves us just the way we are and the blessings are coming if we’d only just kick back and receive them, are passed by every actual achiever and winner-in-life, only to be picked up by women, children, wankers and half-wits.  No successful man posts success quotes unless his business is selling success quotes.  No beautiful woman, unless she has an ulterior motive, consistently maintains that every body is beautiful.

What Schumer won’t tell you is that love is a war.  Men are a resource, like water and livestock and gold, and if you can’t get men to invest in you you’re a goner.  You might make it through life by the skin of your teeth but that’s it; and even if you make it your genes won’t.  more

12 Comments on You feel pretty? A counterpoint

  1. Much as I loathe Schumers, I think the author is just a bit too cynical even for me- reducing us all to a bunch of organisms competing and winning or losing. I hope he can find some more uplifting words for his daughter.

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  2. Frilliant! … this ought to be posted on every bulletin board in every college dorm, hall, library in the land & work it’s way down to the jr. high school level (since ‘teachers’ are cluelessly espousing Totalitarian Utopian crap)

    Natural Selection is a bitch!

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  3. @ Sgt Zim

    Nicely said (and I agree about schumer). I wasn’t familiar with letters to hannah and after reading MJA’s post I clicked over and read the rest of the letter and a little more. Pretty stark and cold stuff. I hope he can find more uplifting words for his daughter, too.

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  4. This essay has some truth, but is far too shallow. The truth is that physically attractive men and women have an initial upper hand – they’re attractive. But there is a reason so many Hollywood celebrities have multiple marriages and affairs; their attractiveness is as much a fascade as a movie set.

    Attractiveness can take many different forms and has many different aspects. Physically, one should work at maintaining his or her looks, but focus on other positive attributes. Too many women hide their intelligence. Too many women hide a sense of humor. Women in particular have more emphathy than men. A healthy dose of confidence, even if you don’t think it is warranted, is attractive. Most people have some sort of non-physical attribute that is pleasing to others.

    A famous sports broadcaster had a saying “don’t marry the stripper.” In a one night stand or a short, meaningless relationship, physical attractiveness is sometimes enough. But for any long term relationship, there must be something more.

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  5. Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty” seems to give away her biggest insecurity – that she is not pretty. I have not read it and don’t intend to, so I have to judge her book by its cover.

    Reminds me of a line in one of Barbra Streisand’s movies, one of them that she produced and maybe directed. She says to a guy: “Do you think I’m pretty?”.

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  6. Point-counter-counter-counter-point
    ***Do not mentally sing nor picture the following…

    Amy Schumers most “disappointing lap dance”
    Younger Amy visits Unkie Chuck for some quality time
    Lapsitting together on the comfy, reclining chair
    UmkChuck: “You’re so pretty”
    YoungAmy: “You’re so dashing”
    Together: “We make a fancy pair”
    UmkChuck: “What are those in there?”
    Amy: “Ever tasted pears?”
    Together: “We’re monkeys eating from a family tree”

    How much do you want to bet?

    Have some Hot Dog palate cleanser…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6bDqr28EKg
    Hot Dog Hookers Lunch Lap Dance Truck
    h.t.t.p.s.://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6bDqr28EKg
    Mar 1, 2016 – 2 min – Strange Things Happen In America

  7. They say generals are always trying to refight the last war. At least it’s the war they knew.

    “Woke” men are fighting the war that their granddads hung themselves for, rather than fight, because it was the Right Thing To Do™. Fighting for a lie that never was, for Great Justice!

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