Laurie and Debbie say:
You know you’re in trouble when the site is called askmen.com and claims to have 5 million readers per month. The home page is bad enough, starting with a quotation (today’s is about how getting money is more important than being honest) and a fact (today’s is about Sheryl Crow’s false teeth). Are you impressed yet?
If not, go to their relationship columnist advising men on the six best ways to get their girlfriends (oh, no, excuse us, their “girls”) to lose weight. There’s a link at the bottom called “Suggest an article,” and believe us, it’s tempting.
Chris Lumsden, relationship expert extraordinaire gives away his strategy at the bottom of this repulsive article. He makes suggestions such as lying about your own body image so your girlfriend will be sympathetic, or prompting jealousy by hinting that you have a really hot trainer at the gym. Honestly, we were surprised that the end of the article could be more offensive than the list. But here it is:
Remember men, to influence her decision to lose weight while avoiding any sore feelings is to make everything about you. How you feel, what you think, what your opinion is; these are the things that will separate you just enough from the battle that is ultimately hers.
Okay, for those of you playing along at home, here’s what he’s really saying.
1) Being self-centered and controlling isn’t just fun, it’s a strategy for managing your relationships.
2) You get to decide which “battle is ultimately hers,” and you have the right, if not the obligation, to push her into fighting that battle your way. How she wants to look is not in the picture.
3) It’s really important to make your girlfriend feel bad about herself, rather than feeling that she has any agency or choice in what happens to her.
We know men we’d rather ask.
Thanks to meloukhia at this ain’t livin’ for the link.