So many discriminations, so little time.......

Alley and her notebooks garnered what may be a record setting 30 plus responses to her post concerning the effect of the media's definition of what men should be attracted to on men that are not held hostage to this brainwashing. It has had an effect on men and women alike, and not a pretty one. If Marilyn Monroe had been resurrected in this day and age she surely would have killed herself again (if she HAD died from her own actions, that is, the jury still being out on that one) as she would no longer fit the mold of perfection she enjoyed in her time. The classical artists of days long past would certainly laugh if one of these rail thin waifs had approached them as a model, for healthy, and even ample, curves were considered the "come fuck me" look of the period. Yes, even then, "Media" had an effect on what was considered attractive, either reflecting societies tastes as understood or promoting some unrealistic model that may have not reflected reality as the masses truly knew it.
I and many other men of less than "optimum" stature fully understand what it is like to exist in the shadow of desirability. Due to having been born of parents who would not have carried forth genes for a smaller stature had natural selection had it's way, we find ourselves coming up short in a world where the majority of men have left us......beneath. We function perfectly well down here, thank you, not having to fight off hulking barbarians at the gates, but we still have to run the gauntlet of attraction when it comes to finding mates willing to bear our children, or simply just rocking our smaller worlds.
Once we get through the nightmare of bullies, self-loathing, ill fitting clothing and shoes, and all those other delightful challenges of living in a taller and heavier mans' world, we eventually adapt and hopefully find joy in the advantages our compact and efficient sizes afford us, and believe me, there ARE advantages to NOT being super-sized.
I can already hear the howls of women out there who are offended at being labeled so shallow that they would automatically overlook a potential mate simply due to their height. They will also claim not to discriminate against our balding brethren. Yes, both us munchkins and cue-balls know that we can eventually find love, despite our "limitations", but here's something for you all to chew on.........One of the news programs ran a little experiment. They selected at random five average women, a few perhaps beautiful but none you'd consider having any trouble getting dates. They had these women rate five men in a lineup as to who they'd want to date. The men ranged from over six feet down to just over five. On the first round, of course, the bigger guys, who mind you, were not particularly better looking than the shorter ones, got the nod. THEN, they handed the women more details about the men and asked them to look again. The taller guys had problems, ranging from criminal histories to very poor jobs. The shortest of the men was a millionaire. Again, despite this, the women STILL preferred the taller ones. When asked why they would not consider the shorter guy, they all came back with various answers that all amounted to, "But he's so SHORT!" They tried this with three more sets of women, and the results were consistent.
Short guy was "screwed", no matter how he stacked up against his taller competitors.
Hollywood and the advertising industry have created the template for the perfect man and woman, and they could not have done it without the complicity of their customers. The likes of the National Enquirer get away with their bad behavior because enough of you can't get enough of their crappy rags. The cosmetics industry sells you tons of make-up and skin treatments which you have been told by intelligent people will not slow your aging process, yet they still have you convinced that you MUST stay young looking or suffer dire consequences. You look at those women who's bodies have been airbrushed to perfection on the covers of fashion magazines and you dive between the covers to find out that magic formula that will make you look just like them. Boys and girls, get real, because none of this crap you are being fed is.
We honestly have to start loving ourselves and celebrating our differences, or just shut up about it. My idea of the perfect Michael greets me every morning in the mirror. Best damn me I ever met. And my wife agrees. God I love that woman!