Gisele Bündchen is not the ideal woman.
The men of the world are barely aware of the existence of this woman.
Do not pretend that when you try to have a body like hers or wear clothing like hers or do your makeup like hers that you do so to impress men. You do so to impress other women.
In fact, I find that most of women's fashion is dedicated to that purpose. Men aren't going to notice what kind of shoes that you're wearing. In fact, that you're even wearing shoes is just assumed. We care even less about the purse you're carrying. You get these not for us, but for your fellow females. Men notice where the fabric is missing, not the color, texture, or designer of the stuff that remains.
It starts in high school, or earlier for some. High school's backward social structure encourages bullies in men and catty bitches in women. For many this becomes so ingrained that it continues well after graduation.
But the point of this argument is Gisele. I do not dispute that she is the most well paid model. I simply dispute her importance to men. Look at where she appears. "Victoria's Secret" and "Elle" and "Vogue" and "Cosmo" and magazines like that. These are not magazines that enjoy a male demographic. These are magazines that are there to make women feel bad so they'll buy more stuff. To do this they need waifish models that set women to thinking that is what men want.
I'll grant you, she has appeared in Sports Illustrated. She appeared at the wife of a football player, not as a model.
I will grant that she did appear in FHM as a model. One exception I found to the women's magazine rule.
She has appeared in magazines such as Newsweek, Forbes, and Time. Not as a model. No, they talk about her as a financial force and as a businesswoman. Her success is more because of the business acumen of her and her agent than anything having to with her looks or body. They were interested in her figures, not her figure.
Besides the magazines she does runway modeling. A profession dominated by gaunt women wearing clothing that nobody would dare wear off of that stage. Again, not something that men pay attention to.
Nor do men pay attention to the perfume ads, purse ads, shoe ads, or any other designer anything ads that Wikipedia says she's appeared in.
I first heard about this woman by reading some woman's blog where she talked about trying to achieve that body. Until then she wasn't even on my radar. The only time I ever think about her is when I see her name on some woman's blog or if my girlfriend mentions her. I asked some friends for testimonials I could use here and most, both gay and straight, still hadn't heard of her.
They said:
I had never heard of her before now so I did a Google Image search, visited her website, and read her Wikipedia entry. Her website is annoyingly clunky.
I can't believe she's the highest paid model in the world as she looks wholly unremarkable to me
I'm gay...never heard of her.
The first time I ever heard of her was during an episode of Ugly Betty (I'm not exactly their key demographic).
I'm not gay, I've never heard of her.
The point I want to drive home is that women need to stop looking at her as some kind of ideal. At the very least, they need to be aware that men aren't comparing them to her.1 We go "Who?" and then rush off to do a Google image search that makes us say "Really? Her?"
I will grant you that there are commenters on YouTube and like sites that would call Gisele a fat ass. These are sweaty, fat, cruel, basement dwelling losers, who would be rejected by the women in those stories about having to widen doors and remove walls when the ambulance comes to take them away. They represent a tiny fraction of men and a large fraction of internet trolls who need to criticize others
Don't think that I'm commenting on the body type of her or anyone else. I can't emphasize that enough. OK, I am making one comment. Comments about her ending the Heroin Chic look among models are WAY out of line. That aside, I'm not advocating any look or body type. I'm not favoring one type over another. As one person said in response to my plea for testimonials...
I've met very few women who are fully comfortable and confident about their appearance, even ones that I think are knockouts.
Every guy has their own feelings about what's attractive and what isn't. Gisele Bündchen is a marketing tool to make women feel unattractive. She's Cosmo magazine with a pulse. Leave those magazines in the grocery aisle where they belong and we'll all be a lot happier.
1Nor are they comparing you to Kate Moss.
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