Obsessed with Thinness

There is a very interesting article on the cover of USA Today (I would link it but they don't believe in free content, so you'll have to just read about it here on my blog!).

The title: "Women: Staying skinny beats sex."

Wow, talk about an attention grabber. Even though this article is below the fold on the front page, the fact that it's even there at all is meaningful.

Apparently, 52 percent of women would prefer a sex-less summer to gaining 10 pounds. In comparison, only 25 percent of men feel the same.

More statistics from the article:

More people would rather lose 10-20 pounds over the summer than get a promotion.

Weight loss would make 66 percent of Americans feel sexier, and an average loss of 23 pounds would make them feel "hotter."

More than half of adults would rather lose their jobs than get fat.

63 percent of women and 55 percent of men would rather be poor and skinny than rich and fat.

54 percent would give up TV for the summer in exchange for a flat stomach.
54 percent would give up shopping for the same.
42 percent would give up using their cell phone, 36 percent would stop using their computer, 21 percent would stop having sex and six percent would stop showering!

The article quotes genius Bruce Daggy, VP of research and development for Nutrisystem as saying, "what this shows is that people are highly motivated to not gain weight."

Quite profound.

It also shows a lot of other things:

1. Women value their looks and having a "hot" body over a lot of things, including sex. I can say for myself that up until recently, I've spent the majority of my waking hours concerned with how I look. I don't know how many other women can say the same thing, but I have a feeling it's at least 52 percent, the same number who value being thin over having sex. And I'll bet that substantially less men worry about how they look. Perhaps 25 percent?

Why? I think our culture has placed such a high value on women being thin. Basically, a woman's worth is solely based on how "hot" she is, while a man's worth is a mixture of things: his looks, success, confidence, etc.

From practically birth, many girls are taught to value looks over all else. The females we see on TV and in movies, magazines and books are all thin and pretty. Little girls are told, "You're so pretty!"

2. People need to feel sexy in order to get into sex, right? I think this is more important for women than men. It's sad that we can't enjoy ourselves because we are obsessing about how we look. Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy the emotional and physical feeling of sex instead of being incessantly in your head, imagining how you look?

3. Anyone who values being thin over having a job is an idiot. Remember, this article is not talking about people wanting to be healthier. It's talking about people wanting to be thinner. We are seriously motivated by the wrong thing here.

To those people who would give up their TVs, phones and computers to get a flat stomach; do it! Put those things aside and do some crunches.

And to those people who would rather be poor and skinny: You are a fool. Try being poor for a week and see what it's like. And stop being so superficial.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that 68 percent of Americans are overweight.

I know I'm one of those. But I'm not about to give up on the things I enjoy, like my computer, TV, talking on the phone and sex. I'm trying to make it a habit to eat healthier and move more, because it feels good to be healthy and strong, and, yes, because I want to feel pretty and sexy. But it's not as important anymore. And I'm trying (and succeeding) to like my body just the way it is and to not be obsessed with the way I look.

And I'm furious about the way things are! Are you?