"Women want their boyfriends to be like their girlfriends, fun to go to the pictures with, but men are not like that."

The stuff about resigning yourself to picking up after the man in your life is merely stating that men are lazy and inconsiderate (seeing how many men are quite capable of taking care of themselves when single).

But the part about not expecting boyfriend/husband to have fun with? Excuse me, but why bother to have a relationship if it is merely reduced to providing services to some man? Or is she also advocating that women use men for their money, and the servicing is merely the trade. Lower your expectations and accept a quid pro quo arrangement. Find love and friendship outside the marriage. Wow - why not just stay single. Have a baby without a father since you are going to be stuck raising it anyhow.

I don't know - to me the ONLY reason to have a relationship with a man is if WE have fun together. I am sensitive enough to pick out the men that are merely putting in time until they get sex. Funny - the ones I want to have sex with are the men I can go out and have fun with - the ones that can carry their part in a conversation - the ones interested enough in accepting/understanding - you know - the guys who are capable of friendship.

Hell - if I want to get up and prep breakfast and coffee, do laundry and cooking and clean the house, service sexually without any interesting conversation, and pretend to be stupider - I want a good paycheque with a pension.

Maybe that is what Fay figured out with the 3rd husband - that if she was going to get anything out of it - she has to conform to the helpmeet role, and bide her time until he kicks off? She lowered her expectations of men and was finally able to accept what she got.

It is sad that she has come to this conclusion regarding a male female relationship. But her evaluation of men - even I am offended at the neanderthal depiction. I know some men are truely this limited, but really, I don't think that is the majority in the western hemisphere.

Really - are men so simple and so much work, and in need of so much servicing? (Dick - we know you agree with the description)

As a woman I get really annoyed when people try and paint women (and therefore me) with that big broad stereotype coated brush. How about men? Do you get annoyed when your gender is painted as lazy, service seeking, shallow humans with fragile fragile egos?

I am sarcastic but I am serious. The way traditionalists define men's needs and what women need to do to conform - makes me begin to believe that it really isn't worth it. If indeed I really am expected to provide services - then "companionship of kindred souls" is really just a pipe dream, right? Based on this and other of this ilk - men really seem to be too much work. What's the payoff? Never had a life ambition to be someone's handmaid.

Who wants that?

@Anonymous_Too

"Just out of curiosity, will there ever come a time when a woman can be critical of something without being accused of jealousy?"

I have heard/read this over and over and my conclusion is it is a way of silencing women from criticizing - for fear of being labelled "jealous"

Look at what happens (often) to women who comment on fatness and media displays - a lot of women who post critically are called or assumed to be "fatties" themselves. Women who post critically about porn are labelled "anti-sex". So - be quiet or "we" will assume "you" are an ugly, fat antisex female?

And frankly, the "you must be jealous 'cause she is prettier" thing usually comes from a male. I have never heard it come from a woman.

The thing about portrayals in media of women, women's mags and men's mags - I assume that they are ALL photoshopped. ALL images - even the ones showing how fat or veiny some celebrity is. I assume that most of the women displaying in men mags have had surgery on top of the photoshopping.

When I look at photos of Marilyn Monroe - who was NOT fat but probably not toned since athletics and women did not really go together during that time - I see someone who was truely beautiful. There were no implants or lipo or botox or lip fillers. Any "fixing" was done in the dark room and that is a hell of a lot different than photoshop. It takes time and skill and that means money. Photoshop is very cheap and you can even take 30 pounds off of someone!

What has been created is a situation where people either believe that what they see is "real" and it affects how they see themself or those around them, or people just don't beleive anything is real, or very little.

So - what becomes reality when all is fantasy?

And as to this article on the model? She looks tall and not skinny. She looks beautiful and healthy. Every one get naked, pose yourself this way in front of a mirror - even those without body fat will have a skin wrinkle as you bend and fold yourself forward. It's the way skin works.