@Anony2, men who are looking for fit still have to narrow down by retailer/manufacturer. For instance, 32 jeans from old navy will be roomier in the waist than 32 jeans from the Gap, which will be roomier in the waist than 32 jeans from Banana Republic, and they all belong to the same parent corporation.

Most of the mass market mens' brands and retailers cheat on sizes, and some fashion brands are tighter. Again, men usually just succeed because they buy their clothes too big. Even if you were to switch to a more rational size-based systems, many brands will cheat to make people feel better.

The waist/inseam sizes for men's pants are not interchangeable across brands. If I wanted to spend a little more time on this, I would measure the waists of my various pants and compare them to the purported waist size. They don't match up.

It's not that men's clothes universally fit well, it's just that many men are indifferent to whether their clothes fit. Clothes are often too short, unfitted, or blousy. Most men just don't pay attention. In fact, they usually just go for baggy, because that always fits.

So, I think I'm a fairly typical male. Today, a female coworker showed me a photo spread of size (1?, 2?, 3?) models in a fashion magazine. Not only did they look like they were sickly, it looked like their hair was ready to fall out. I don't get it. Who is behind this anorexic culture?

I wonder because the women in lad magazines (e.g., Maxim, Playboy), while slender, are typically much more full-figured than women in fashion magazines.

This has really gotten beyond the issue of whether normal women are given short shrift in culture, because they certainly are. It's gotten to a point where the old "supermodel" (e.g. Heidi Klum) is no longer considered skinny enough by the fashion industry. Who are they selling clothes to? Does anyone think that clothing sloppily hanging like a tarp off of a skeletal figure looks attractive?

@ mary_steyr... Of course I recognize that prostitution is illegal and criminal in 49 States (from what I understand, it is either legal or decriminalized in parts of Nevada.) My notion of what is moral and what should be criminal are divergent. I do not believe that consenting behavior between adults should ever be considered criminal, regardless of whether money changes hands.

Also, it's not like there are many, if any, true altruists out there. All relationships are a bargain between two selfish actors. Why is a bargain that explicitly involves money so much worse than one that involves dependency or companionship?

Seriously, go through the comments thread. It's patently clear that a number of men see their relationships with women as akin to prostitution. So, if the second partner in the relationship (the woman) sees it as something else, where is the reality? The one partner is convinced that it's prostitution and the other that it is companionship or love. Or are these particularly bitter men who are posting?

Nevertheless, there are real relationships where consenting adults enter into a de facto prostitution. There's nothing wrong with it. And there's nothing wrong with real prostitution. There is something wrong with abuse, unhealthy situations, and the criminalization of consenting adult behavior. But, if people freely choose to exchange money or gifts for sex, who cares? Do we really need to label it as prostitute, mistress/boy-toy, gold digger, husband/wife?

You know, the words really ought to be equivalent insults, but for some reason calling a man a male breeding animal is a compliment.

Oops.

I found that Google has a search link to my email address on a message board post over five years old. Since potential employers are now stalking people on the web, it freaks me out. I even got the original website to remove my personal information, but it stays in the benevolent Google search.

Stop apologizing for Pres. Obama just because he's your guy. You know what, I voted for him too, but he's not Jesus. His record on gay rights is incomplete, at best. And that Justice Department brief in the DOMA case was disgusting. I'm sorry, but President Obama has the biggest electoral mandate since Reagan and a Democratic Congress. There's no excuse for him tiptoeing around these issues.

WE SHOULD NOT BE APOLOGISTS FOR OBAMA. We were angry at Bush's followers for doing the same thing. We ought to be different and criticize our President when he is overly cautious or when he does wrong.

I will not believe he supports gay rights until he makes concrete steps to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell or the Defense of Marriage Act.

Please get rid of this gutless conservative who repeats generic right-wing dialogue, but doesn't have enough guts to give us his name.

Look let's have a dialogue with conservatives, but with real conservatives who have a brain like David Horowitz. What's the point in granting this man anonymity? He has never said anything contradicting right-wing common wisdom. This is a failure of journalism, and a disgusting addition to a once great site.

Exercise (including strength training) and healthy diet are the only ways to be healthy and keep weight down. I've never seen anyone have permanent success from diet alone, and it's depressing. If your physician thinks you are healthy, that's fine. However, obese isn't healthy, and I've never met a single obese person who avoids corn syrup in all forms and eats healthy. This is based on anecdotal evidence, but I would wager that no obese person walks on average a mile a day, has red meat less than three times a week, and chooses whole grains over white bread.