Are men really pigs?
I was browsing through some of the blogs yesterday, and came across one written by a woman (who shall remain nameless, in order to protect the innocent). The gist of her blog was that her car had broken down while she was on the way to the gym, and she and her family were forced to stop in a Wendy’s for dinner. Because she was dressed for the gym, she was the object of much attention. (As you can guess, the clientele in this particular Wendy’s was exclusively male; and from the description provided, very overweight). Our blogess (if this word doesn’t already exist, I claim origination rights) commented that the ogling she received from the men was disconcerting. Some one else in the community, commenting on the blog made the statement that 99% of all men were pigs and the other 1% were pigs who hid the fact well.
That got me to thinking. While ogling is rude, I can understand why the men in that Wendy’s stared at our heroine. She was obviously in very good shape, and she was dressed for the gym (in shorts and tank top if I recall the blog). Those men had probably never seen a female bodybuilder in the flesh before, and I’m willing to bet my bottom dollar that not one of them had a significant other who looked as good as our heroine. So they stared. Were they wrong to do so? More than likely, yes. However (and here is where I’m going to get into trouble) I can understand why they stared.
They were admiring a beautiful work of art. Our heroine’s physique awed and stunned them. Faced with the living embodiment of physical perfection, they were probably dumbstruck and were unable to tear their eyes away. Let’s face it. Most of us prefer looking at beautiful things. Very few of us seek out the mundane and ugly. Had I been a client in that particular Wendy’s, I probably would have looked as well (albeit, a tad more discreetly, one would hope). That is what people do when presented with a thing of beauty. They stare and admire it, hoping to leave a lasting imprint upon the brain pan. They do it so they can recall the thing of beauty long after the physical entity has passed out of sight.
In closing, let me say to our heroine (if she ever gets around to reading this) that although the admiration of those men could have been delivered more discreetly and tastefully, it was admiration. My advice is to overlook their uncouth behavior and focus on the reason for their rapt attention. You have, through your hard work and dedication, created a work of art that is worthy of attention and admiration. You should be proud.
July 27, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I don’t know. Of course I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think often it all comes down to "carnal". Artwork is, of course, to be appreciated, but I believe that whoever said men are pigs was spot on.
Aesthetics over "Let me get my hands on THAT!"? It’s a toss up.
I’m a pig! Good grief, didn’t see that coming.
Seriously, I don’t doubt that some of the men may have been admiring appreciatively versus with some kind of covetous yadayada, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all simply P-I-Geeeeze.
Naturally, had we two gentlemen been there, chivalrous and pure of heart, we would have offered the lady an overcoat or a baggy sweatshirt to offer her some protection from the lascivious souls, yes?
Another excellent blog, my friend!