Psh, you have no idea

There are better things you could be doing than almost anything. People don't watch porn because it's better than curing cancer. They do it because it's fun.

Eating disorders are not (always) in response to any particular image desire. It is a form of control, for people that feel like they can't control anything in their lives they can control their hunger. Hunger makes them feel in control and alleviates anxiety. It is a legitimate mental disorder, not just a desire to look thin.

I absolutely agree. I didn't mention that part in my post because I didn't feel it necessary to what was being talked about a few posts above, since it was all directed at women. But you're completely right.



You'd have a hard time arguing that with a woman that suffers from an eating disorder due to wanting to look pretty or have a body "like THAT model".

I don't like new Massassi, at least in old Massassi only gay and religious discussions got over 1 page.

And they were actually entertaining!

I don't know about you guys, but I can afford to go without: wearing atrociously painful footwear, having head hair that takes hella long to wash, shaving my legs/pits, wearing makeup, looking friendly, knowing exactly what my weight is, and so on. I don't have to bother with any of that, and I get along in society just fine. (Or at least I think I do? :tinfoil:)

I also don't have to put up with the paradox that people are constantly judging my value as a human being by my sexual attractiveness, but that it's not exactly a good thing for me to have sexual inclinations, let alone have sexual experience.

I'm not accusing anyone here of holding that double standard, or anything else for that matter. But you have to admit that those are experiences that women have to put up with in our society rather frequently... at least that's what they tell me when I talk to them. Some women don't mind; good for them. But I know that I certainly would mind if I had to deal with all that just because of my sex, so I don't see why anyone ought to have to.


I'm also not saying anything about the pressure to "succeed." Maybe it is greater for men; sexism makes life suck for men too. But it does seem to be the case that women put up with a lot of obstacles on the path to success that men never notice because we never run into them.


(I'm balding too; it's not fun. Women have periods; that's probably less fun. But we're not playing a game of "whose life is worse?" We're trying to discuss the ways in which society is sexist... or porn, or something...)

Yes, obviously. I'd have a hard time convincing a penguin that "most birds can fly!", but that doesn't make the generalisation any less valid.

Mort, certainly I didn't mean to imply that they aren't legitimate mental disorders. But I think it's telling that it's predominantly women who have to cast about for ways to exercise control over their lives, and that they light upon their appearance/weight as the thing they try to have control over.

Both genders are expected to fit impossible archetypes that are unfair and bad for society. Little boys and girls alike have had their sexuality demonized at the first signs. It's no wonder sexual taboo has become so rampant?

For sure. But we can also distinguish the church's demonization of sexuality from secular society's demonization.

I agree with Jon' C on the matter, only because I want Achievement 33.

You're exaggerating. None of those things you listed are what we're talking about, guys don't do that (if that's what you're talking about? )

But I have experienced social rejection based on my looks/what I don't do athletically plenty of times. For example some of my girl friends, who claimed to be my best friends at the time, would often times utterly ignore my existence based purely on the fact that I didn't play hockey/ I wasn't as jacked as some of my other friends. I simply wasn't a person in their eyes because I didn't fit in with their view of what men should be doing with their bodies.

Midget-Horse-Monkey porn FTW!

I love porn

and I vote conservative

but only free porn

[/thread]

I think God killed them/had the Jews kill them because they didn't repent and turn away from their religion.

I agree.

If I had a nickle for everytime a girl told me I would be perfect if I had blue eyes...

If I had a penny for every girl that told me I should go to a gym and work out for months and take steroids...

Society has this mental of image of what a man and a woman should look like. A barrier to all kinds of relationships. The only good thing that I have that stands out from me and the general public here is that I have light brown hair and a much whiter skin tone. I'm also taller than most people.

I wish I had been born with blue eyes, it would make life much easier in meeting people.



Then again, nobody's perfect.

That being said, I guess there is only one thing we can do. Work to improve what can be improved. Since I've started a simple diet 4 weeks back that doesn't take much time out of my day, and I've also started walking again.

The only real problem I have with porn, and I am paraphrasing my old civics and ethics teacher, is that it leaves many misconceptions on people and society.

I could name quite a few, but instead I think its better if we reflect and see what kind of problems it causes.

Only minors. I was just pointing out that my research is not entirely :wikipedia:


I think that's a good idea, but be careful not to blindly follow the scientific community. You should always think for yourself (I think this is what you meant).

vornskr is right

i think you guys are confusing being respected as a person with having lots of people attracted to you

Lots of young males have eating disorders, and it's argued by some that if we measured them in a slightly different way, young males athletes would surpass even young females in eating disorders. Our expectations of men and women are equally unfair, secular or religious.

They go hand in hand often, though. Like I said above, I was literally not being respected as a friend or a person solely because I wasn't hot enough for them. They were terrible friends, I admit, but it's what happened. Often people will judge you and therefore not treat you with respect based on your appearance and how it conforms to the 'perfect model' vision of each respective gender.

That's the point. Guys don't have to do any of those things, or really anything of equivalent odiousness, but girls do.

The point I made before is that other people's expectations are, by and large, not the primary cause of eating disorders. It is a general feeling of hopelessness, depression and anxiety about losing control of life. The one thing you can control is what you eat, and the pain of hunger is a sign of your control. Anorexics are much more likely to attempt suicide than any other mental disorder, and because the hunger has numbed them to pain they are also much more likely to succeed. 1
This clearly isn't an attempt to meet someone's expectations, whether it be a single person or the media. Anorexia is not about image, it's about control.

What about the Nazi killing the Jews? Did God kill/have the Nazi kill them because they didn't repent and turn away from their religion?

Oh OK I understand what you were saying now.

at first yes, the he realized "gee wilikers! i will probably get called out for this by some guy on an internet forum many years from now..." so after that point the nazi's just did it on their own...