Sunday, November 30, 2008




On Friday I went with Cathy to her hairdresser's, who now works in the basement of his own home. His wife, a colourist, also works with him. As Cathy had her hair done, I looked at hairdressing magazines and came to realize very forcefully the lengths to which many women will go to have attractive hair. I just go to a barber as rarely as possible and, like, most balding men, have even abandoned combing what little hair I have left. But even when I had hair, I spent as little effort on it as possible. To a woman, however, her hair can be an alterable extension of her appeal. Now, I think that a lot of a woman's care over her appearance is actually for other women. Most women I know do not need to attract a mate. They already have one as well as quite a few male admirers that they don't really need anymore. My theory is that women want to look presentable in front of other women. Conversely, men are encouraged not to care what other men think about their appearance. It's like the old thing of putting all men into similar dinner jackets while encouraging women to wear the fanciest gowns and adornment. Where men and women are more similar is when we look in the mirror. We want to be content with what we see.
I have just reread what I have written and I am strongly tempted not to publish it. However I throw it down as a gauntlet before my women readers. I challenge you to haul me up by my bootstraps and say, "No Marc, what sexist nonsense"!


5 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

Ha-ha! Yes, men do have it easy. Just wear a dinner jacket and you're fine, while we have to work harder at being creative.

Lynette said...

I'm not trying to impress anyone. Looking nice just helps me feel better about myself. In addition, when one works with the public, it's rather important to look one's best. :)

French Fancy... said...

They do say - the ubiquitous 'they' - that women dress for other women and undress for men. In other words a woman will scrutinise other women's bags/shoes/labels to see how 'good' it is, whereas most men won't give a toss - they'll look at the woman underneath.

(if that made sense)

marc aurel said...

'They' made me laugh

Anonymous said...

I too love wearing jacket & mostly gets my shopping for them through Orvis.