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Friday, May 19, 2006 12:00 AM

Reality doesn't measure up to supermarket romance novels

I read these cheap, formulaic books, and I can't stop wishing my life would be like that.

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  • Friday, May 19, 2006 09:46 AM

    Coincidence?

    ...that there is a complimentary article on salon.com today about bimbo role models for teenage girls. I grew up on romance novels, but find them boring today as an adult. They don't seem to resemble anything that I recognize as either love or lust.

    What I notice in both articles is that they really seem to be about the desire of ordinary-looking people (whether men or women -- this is universal) to acquire a super-attractive sexual partner. In real life, this is next to impossible, so we relegate to the land of fantasy, whether that fantasy is romance novels (women) or porn (men).

    The reality is that most of us are ordinary looking, and therefore can only attract ordinary partners. I know some fantasy is healthy and normal, but in our extremely materialistic culture, it can take on truly obsessive characteristics. When fantasy about the super-attractive dream-partner is an idle daydream, it may be pretty harmless. But when it causes otherwise sane human beings to spend thousands of dollars (sometimes money they don't have) on foolish beauty products, plastic surgery, elaborate clothing, internet porn, mail-order brides and so on, it becomes a force for self-destructive behavior and self-hatred.

    Brightstar -- are you listening????

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