Reading Ms. Berry’s descriptive essay on Salon has moved Captain Capitalism to wax romantic. Coming soon to a bookstore near you:
“I looked at her…my beautiful economics professor. Oh sure, she was 47, and sure, she had 4 children and two ex-husbands, and sure the other 23 year old trust fund baby men in my class wouldn’t find her attractive…but I loved her for her intelligence. Her unwillingness to conform and teach us economics as told by the establishment. No, she rebelled. She taught us Marx. She taught us Keynes. She showed me what true beauty was, and was meant to be. She was my liberator. She liberated me from the evil thinking that was foisted upon me by my evil multi-billion-dollar father. I didn’t have to work. But I didn’t care. I was burning for her, I needed to hear her intelligent words and see her exude independence.
I swore to myself, once I earned my A in class through intelligence and parroting, I would drive up in my 2011 Mercedes Series 7 and propose to my economics and romance professor and abscond with my father’s trust fund and we could live on the beaches of Gao and burn incense and make candles and eat organic grass shoots, and write environmentalist poetry.
And we’d get cats.”
Brilliant! Although I do think he should work in a secret multimillionaire hunky handyman for the final draft.
It has also inspired him to define a new law, The Law of Rationalization Hamster Strength:
The strength of a rationalization hamster is inversely related to the looks of its host.
Aside from corner cases of hamsters suffering from pure exhaustion, this appears to be right on the money. It also appears to be closely related to Dalrock’s Law:
The more obvious the fact one is in denial of, the more ridiculous the counterexample (or counterargument) will be.
She had been working out at the gym, and it showed!
She was big, but not too big.
Back in the 17th and 18th centuries, women likely had the exact same head hamsters they have today. However, marriage was more or less intact (from our perspective) because of cultural differences.
1) Society did not look kindly on divorce, so women who divorced weren’t looked on as fondly as those who divorce today.
2) Mass media did not exist, therefore any fuel for the hamster race had to come mainly from people the woman directly knew. Because of reason 1, they probably provided less fuel.
Even today, the manosphere has many opinions that say marrying foreign women is better than American women for cultural reasons. From a reading of Roissy’s site, my guess is that that culture has an impact on the form of a woman’s optimal dating choices, and hence the direction her rationalization hamster will tend to spin.
That said, currently in our country, less attractive women have a harder time finding and securing commitment from men than do more attractive women. Also, in our culture, women are bombarded more or less equally with the ideals of physical perfection and the romantic ideal. Therefore, in order to maintain the same level of delusion, an unattractive woman’s head hamster has to work harder.
“Back in the 17th and 18th centuries, women likely had the exact same head hamsters they have today. ”
I respectfully disagree. Back in the 17th and 18th centuries head hamsters did not exist. They had homunculi, incubi, succubi, and wandering uteri.
TDOM
Although my pedigree isn’t blue blood, I often find myself astonished by the trashiness the typical American considers socially acceptable.
Why would I behave like a carousel riding whore? I was raised better than that.
Ms. Berry needs charm school. Obviously she grew up in a substandard household where morals weren’t valued. Nouveau riche trailer trash is still trailer trash.
“The strength of a rationalization hamster is inversely related to the looks of its host.”
Undeniable.
About a week ago I happened to sit through a promo ad for one of those make-over shows. The theme of the show/special/episode was the trials and tribulations of several big women as they tried to find fitting and flattering wedding dresses. And by ‘big’, I mean beyond even the most generous definition of ‘chubby’ or ‘plus-size’, they ranged from merely outright fat to obese landwhales.
I nearly choked to death when one of them, easily 250-300 lbs and sporting multiple chins, gave the soundbite: “Marilyn Monroe was my size, and people thought she was sexy”.
There is no weapon, even in the deepest bowels of DoD black projects, that can dent a hamster like that, let alone kill it.
“Back in the 17th and 18th centuries, women likely had the exact same head hamsters they have today. However, marriage was more or less intact (from our perspective) because of cultural differences.”
I think the herd mentality is ancient but culture managed to use it as their advantage to make women hamsterize on ways that won’t destroy their nations. The married to men their family picked that already had good chacarter and they took pride on being good housewives and mothers. In the past women were the first one to shame sluts, harlots, homewreckers and prostitutes while protecting each other during childbirth, illness and war.
This kept the nations intact and any women with ill inclinations had a lot to lose socially by engaging on less than ideal behaviour and thus few of them were breaking havoc for personal “happiness”. Sadly the sex revolution feed the “me, me,me” into women’s brain and instead of a force for good the hamsters became corrupt, moody and horny.
So the hamster is not the enemy is what the hamsters are being fed that we should be cautious about,YMMV.
Speaking of rationalization hamsters, I can’t think of a better example than this one:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/hummer-mom-christine-hubbs-force-sex-teen-boys/story?id=13541399
Amazingly, her husbands says he wants to try and stay together…after she finishes her prison sentence. Whether that’s good or bad for him is open for debate, but she has a home to return to when she finishes serving her 5 years. I’m fairly sure a man would’ve gotten 10.
it’s so sad. they say a lot of these women weren’t popular during their teen years and are trying to relieve the teen experience this time as the popular girl. i think it’s more prevalent b/c women are still competing for men’s attention at forty, forty five. i see many moms trying to out dress their daughters. i live by the philosophy: i stopped competing w/ 20 yr olds when i turned 30; i stopped competing with 30 yr olds when i turned 40; after 40 i stopped competing entirely. i don’t have to compete, i have 1 man’s attention and that’s all i need. I laugh when i hear women boast that they’re still hot at 40. i tell them stand beside an 18-20 yr old and declare that.
Butterfly Flower said: “Ms. Berry needs charm school. Obviously she grew up in a substandard household where morals weren’t valued. Nouveau riche trailer trash is still trailer trash.”
Raised in a spoiled suburbanite household by permissive hippies… what happens when folk never have to grow up. (“Welfare queen” by another name– same disease, different symptoms and more money.)
The strength of a rationalization hamster is inversely related to the looks of its host.
In honor of a past fling who was not very good looking, but had the most level-headed self assessment I’ve ever seen in a woman, this law needs adjustment. Yes, there are delusional plain janes starting out, but the rationalization hamster only grows particularly strong in women who WERE attractive, and through riding the carousel and eating carbs and gaining weight have driven down their number to low levels. It is in THESE creatures that the law most definitely applies.
Female beauty really is a curse for young women. All that sexual market power handed to them at a time when their brains are still developing. Unless it happens in the context of a society that trains them to think long term, it’s squandered.
I know plenty of low SMV women who are well aware of their low SMV. The fact that there are so many women who don’t realize it is very confusing to me and I can only imagine it has to do with some kind of mental-illness.
Most of my friends are terrified of aging and weight gain. We are well aware of the fact that getting old and ugly is the demise of many marriages.
Paige-
I don’t know how old you are, but I’m 40. And not to took my own horn, but I think I’m looking pretty good. People usually guess my age to be in the low 30s. It’s probably mostly genes (my mom looks amazing at 61). I also attribute it to never smoking, eating mostly healthy, exercising, and sleep (and only one pregnancy). You can’t turn back time, and no, I will never have the same hot body I had at 21, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doomed to look like Lorraine Berry either. Yikes.
Lisa: Pictures or it doesn’t count.
I remember being 20/22 and very upset with my body, even though I was the same measurements as today. At 35, I feel like “wow, I look great!” and I’m happy with my body, but at 22, I wasn’t. I look back at my younger self and go “Whatever was I thinking?” I was completely freaked out back then. LOL
But, I’m not competing with anyone today. I’m just happy with myself as I am. Which feels great — and it’s something that I hope to continue as I age because I believe it’s how one “ages gracefully.”
Also, I can’t imagine behaving like this woman.
I plan on looking okay as I age but not because I am optimistic about my genetics but because I plan on visiting the plastic surgeon frequently. I am hoping that at 35 I might actually look a little bit better than I do now because I will have been able to afford getting some work done. I’ve been wanting rhinoplasty for years but it has not been affordable yet.
I look terribly young for my age. I look like I’m 14 instead of a girl that’s nearing 20.
I’m a vitamin junkie; I’m always running to GNC and adding to my daily regimen.
I think it’s the vitamins. I also moisturize at night with Petroleum Jelly. I remember there was a supermodel that swore Petroleum Jelly prevented wrinkles.
Although looking young isn’t always awesome. It’s difficult for people to take me seriously. I’m afraid this might continue for awhile…
Although looking young isn’t always awesome. It’s difficult for people to take me seriously. I’m afraid this might continue for awhile…
It’s not… especially when you have 20+ years of experience and are looking for high tech, high paying management positions and contracts. It works heavily against you.
I looked like I was in my teens until I was 30, and I’m still mistaken as being in my 20s at 39.
Good for picking up hot 20 somethings, though. 8)
It’s not… especially when you have 20+ years of experience and are looking for high tech, high paying management positions and contracts. It works heavily against you.
I looked like I was in my teens until I was 30, and I’m still mistaken as being in my 20s at 39.
Do you also have this problem:
Whenever I go out to restaurants, or shopping in a department store, I never get taken care of very well. I dress nicely; I behave like mature individual. I’m a generous tipper. Nothing I do will make they treat me well!
Oh, and don’t even get me started on hotel concierge…
Good for picking up hot 20 somethings, though.
Not for a girl.
Recently, I had to turn down a lovely offer to a Jr. High School prom. This boy walks up to me, I thought he was gonna ask for the time or something. Nope; he asked me to his prom. He even offered to pay for the limo and after-prom party tickets.
I like older guys. I wish I could flirt with 30 somethings without having them think I’m jailbait.
You know, now that you mention it… yes. I frequently seem to get crappy service, maybe it’s because the service staff think I’m in their peer group. Even the fake “light flirting for tips” fringe benefit doesn’t really make up for not seeing them at all for 20 minutes when you want your bill.
Not for a girl.
I hear ya.
Recently, I had to turn down a lovely offer to a Jr. High School prom. This boy walks up to me, I thought he was gonna ask for the time or something. Nope; he asked me to his prom. He even offered to pay for the limo and after-prom party tickets.
I like older guys. I wish I could flirt with 30 somethings without having them think I’m jailbait.
omg… lol… that could be really cute in another context. I guess it’s less funny when you have to deal with it all the time.
I have a friend that has two daughters that are exactly like that. They’re both in their 20s and they almost look like they’re in grade school. They’re both roughly 5 feet tall as well.
One of them has a boyfriend that is exactly the same age as her but when you look at them together….. I wonder if he gets a lot of dirty looks from busybodies?
I guess we all have our crosses to bear, but I think that you’ll actually come into your own in your early 30s like I did
The dismal dating/mating game today explained… you’ll like the ending.
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