or from back in the day...

"Come on Charlie. We don't want tuna with good taste. We want tuna that tastes good!"

nuff said.

Beaver and Buffcoat so much.

My complaint with eHarmony is that most of the women are monotheists. Given some of the other comments, that seems to be expected.

My suggestion, chemistry.com. They have an enrollment process similar to eHarmony w/o the monotheist overtones. Maybe we'll run into each other ;-)

"Clean" is a code word for STD free. It is also shorthand for sexual purity. These men are essentially saying they don't want a "dirty whore," i.e. a woman who has slept with a lot of men and/or been exposed to an STD. (Don't shoot the messenger! I didn't make this up, and I think it is arrogant, stupid, and judgmental.)

Of course, it is entirely possible to contract Herpes or HPV from an asymptomatic carrier - the person who is passing it probably might not even know they are spreading it. A monogamous married woman may contract an STD from an unfaithful partner, which says absolutely nothing about her virtue or "cleanliness."

The Christian Right has done an amazing job of heightening anxiety about sexually transmitted diseases to a state of hysteria, and fetishizing sexual purity. Considering that 80% of women are exposed to HPV during their sexual lives it seems obvious that they are worshiping a false idol.

One caution about eHarmony... my brother met his soon to be ex-wife there. She turned out to be obsessed with the idea of getting married as her biological clock was running down, and once Bridezilla had her ring, turned into a completely different (psycho) person. eHarmony is the only match site I warn people about - their stated agenda of MARRIAGE isn't necessarily conducive to a happy relationship.

anyone who objects to its founder's faith, would, by extending that logic, be excluding themselves from a large portion of the economy. Rather, you've let your judging exclude yourself from something that was worthwhile (something which, alas, was not for me).

Perhaps when they say they value cleanliness in a mate, they are actually telling you that they value cleanliness in general, and that they themselves are clean.

I'm sure men think that women like clean men. There is a stereotype that men are sweaty and stinky, don't change their underwear and socks, etc., and that women (always fastidious in their grooming) find this disgusting. So, these guys are trying to counteract that by telling you they value cleanliness in you, and by association, themselves.

When I think about all the things that have been done in the name of declaring women "unclean," well, I can't meander around in the healing powers of metaphor on that one.

I read an article some time ago that said that most men (60%?) would rather have mediocre sex in a clean house than great sex in a dirty house, so maybe that's what the men on eHarmony are thinking about.

I read an article some time ago that said that most men (60%?) would rather have mediocre sex in a clean house than great sex in a dirty house, so maybe that's what the men on eHarmony are thinking about.

True, Any sex is good sex for most men. So much better that it is in a clean house.

Breaks another stereotype women foist on men, but then all those stereotypes are crap IMPOSED on us by women, (who have NEVER been men, so they don't know jack).

Brightstar writes "I had sent a note to one to call me so we can hear each other's voice instead of this endless emailing back and forth. She comes back with, isn't email good enough? How about I give you my personal email address, will that make you happy? Too bad she is this creepy, I really liked her otherwise. But now I have to question if she is a douchebag in all things in life."

Or possibly she's just not a phone person.

I just really dislike talking on the phone. What's creepy to me is that she wouldn't want to just go ahead and meet. But it's really hard for some people to have a comfortable, informative conversation over the phone. It's not a moral failing or implication of jerkiness in other aspects of life. It's just a difficult and unnatural way to have a conversation for a lot of people.

Clearly (Cleanly) some of the letter writters-and the original lw understand that the men on e-harmony may be talking about either one of two kinds of "clean" but the acceptable norms of our society cause them to speak in code re what they are really concerned about. I believe that it is entirely possible to shower every day and yet not be squeeky clean in the nether regions. I am very aware of Napoleon's "order" to Josephine, and there may be some men today who still want to go that route, but then again...please read on.

This letter and responses come RIGHT on the heals of a conversation that I had last weekend with my Cuban, very sexy, very sexually experienced boyfriend. Here what he said.

I am quoting him not verbatim but almost" "Too many woman dont wash themselves properly in the vaginal area. No matter how goodlooking a woman is, if when I go down there it smells from urine and other stuff, then that's it"

Now I want to say that my boyfriend (of 2 and a half years) is from a culture that does not shrink from earthiness. While he is very clean himself, he has quite often proven to me that he is not the least squeemish- (I was married to squeemish for 25 years, and I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE) so please dont infer some up-tight waspness beneath his comments.

Personally, I have a highly developped sense of smell, and love both squeekey (sic) clean men, and those with a health dose of recent perspiration- HOWEVER, what I don't like is a male organ that smells from urine--so why should men like that. Yes, Yes, I'm aware that female vaginal odors are not restricted to urine, but I can understands most men's concern in that area (pun not intended)