"The bottom line? Ladies looking for long-lasting love need to whip off the pants and replace them with a sweet skirt, and zip the lip when it comes to rattling off their novel-sized list of credentials and achievements, the authors say.
“The mistake women make is to think that the more they impress a man by regaling fabulously interesting tales of all they have done – the more they will fall in love with him. But men don’t fall in love with accomplishments,” Brett continued. “He wants nothing more than to be ‘the man’ in the relationship, the one who provides and protects his woman. When a man feels like he is not needed by a woman, his ego gets bruised and he retreats.”
While this will give plenty of people a good reason to say "hur hur make me a sammich," they should also keep in mind that they're trusting the author of "Never Trust A Man In Alligator Loafers."
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.com/books?id=1LYZkPATilsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Donna+Sozio&source=bl&ots=OdNFaB3tLS&sig=nAp5zRYvZHmh8obp9-WgkkHXkCU&hl=en&ei=hPgATYKOOMO88gaKpsiXBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=16&ved=0CHQQ6AEwDw#v=onepage&q&f=false
She writes trashy dating books. They're just being provocative to sell copies.
i don't think you can discredit the influence of this genre of writing based on the author's past fuckery.
ReplyDeletethe point is, there are people who purchase, read, and believe this kinda shit.
so yes, she may be provocative to sell copies, just like jezebel is controversial to get page hits, but that doesn't make it acceptable. nor does it mean we should discredit the influence of this sort of writing simply because we (as college educated, socially minded, "liberal" individuals) can see through the authors' intentions.
which i can understand, but the "people who purchase, read, and believe this kinda shit" probably weren't running out for their copy of The Second Sex either.
ReplyDeleteI sort of liken it to a Sarah Palin book: only the people that already subscribe to that theory will buy it. It doesn't mean it's acceptable, but there will always be a segment of the population that will always take on ignorant positions for whatever reason. I'm not worried about those people, because you'll never convince them.
As a caveat, this doesn't mean that you should just do nothing. The book contains shit advice and people must know that.
ReplyDeleteThe just plays on a basic emotion; regardless of gender people want to protect and provide for those they love. Granted the patriarchal aspects of society as a whole has set things up so that men feel there responsibility is to protect women. In my teen years I watched my father, a middle aged Iranian man, lose his bread-winning status to my mother as our family restaurants failed and her real estate career began to soar. It was a hard pill to swallow for him, and it nearly led to divorce.
ReplyDeleteIs my dad happy with the way things turned out? No. Does hate that he is no longer the sole provider? Yes. But he loves my mom more and they managed to make things work.
Everyone takes pride in what they have done, and no one likes hearing someone talk about themselves all the time... Especially successes given the economy and job markets in the last few years. I can't help but think of terrible boring first dates where women have talked about endlessly about their work. Does it bore the hell out of me and do I lose interest? Probably. But its not like anyone else doesn't experience the same thing these days.
I would say that this book is misinterpreting modern American lifestyle... this being that for the most part, we do not have one. These days most post college working citizens are strictly focused on their career. It is all they have to talk about. I know because I am one of them! And the last thing I want to hear someone talk about is their work.
Tom- i think it's lazy and apathetic to write off a portion of the population simply because they are "ignorant". If thats the case, there is not a whole lot of purpose to the career im pursuing. Ignorance is just that, a lack of adequate information/ knowledge. And the fact that these people ARENT reading second sexs is kinda the point (dated reference, though). call me naive, but pointing out the many things that are wrong with texts like these is an important step to possibly reaching even one person, who would otherwise read a text like this without taking a critical approach.
ReplyDeleteChas- Thats a really interesting way to frame the authors argument- I'd mch rather read yr book than hers.