I have some experience with what Dave grapples with in this piece.� I’m a man.� I have a wife, Sherry.� Sherry asks me regularly about her hair.� Writes Barry, “If you’re a man, and a woman asks you how she looks, you’re in big trouble.
Back in 1987, there was one perm�Sherry got that I didn’t particularly care for; otherwise, her hair looks great (to me) all the time.� It’s brown and soft and sits serenely atop her head like a sweet songbird’s nest on a warm June evening (you’re right – I should say no to the poetry).� To her, however,�her hair�doesn’t look great, or at least she’s uncertain about�how it looks in�some respect because�we keep coming back to the same conversation.
“Do you�like my hair this way?”
Like�Barry, I’m trapped, only she doesn’t get upset with me like Barry’s wife apparantly does;�Sherry�just doesn’t believe me.� If I say, “It looks great,” she rolls her eyes at me because, though she keeps asking for it, she knows�my opinion is�worthless.� Still, it’s the answer I stick with because the alternatives are not pretty.
Ultimately, Barry’s observations about the differences between how the sexes groom themselves, and how they obsess (or don’t obsess) about it, have a ring�of truth to them.� I also applaud him for acknowledging the roll that Barbie has played in this phenomenon.�
As a father of three daughters, the beauty obsession also concerns me as they mature.� So far, they seem to be sensible about it, but I know that�a beauty obsession�can lead to serious health and mental health issues.� While Barry’s piece is funny, it points us toward the more serious issues that our culture’s beauty obsession has for women.
In the mean time, I’ve scheduled an appointment with my barber for tomorrow.� This hair is driving me crazy!
�
I am just going to comment on yours becasuse I can not find anybody who has done this yet. But, either way you were very detailed. There is always a story with in a story.
“And shave those sideburns, you hippie!” – C. Montgomery Burns – The Simpsons
I think I looked at the piece with a more serious eye than most. I know the introduction says that the essay, “humorously highlights differences in the ways that men and women view themselves,” but the more closely I read it, the more I objected to his points or his supporting statements.
I thought your blog was good. It was cool how you related it to your wife. I think you were right, it sound like Barry may have had a “situation” with his wife and maybe it motivated him to write this. The story was good but I thought it may have been bias just because an old boyfriend of mine used to take about an hour to get ready. Anyway, I wasnt sure how to find the other peers’ blogs so I wrote to you
Hope your hair turned out!!
I enjoyed reading your blog, I suppose I can relate ‘kinda’, I have a mother who never liked her hair and a Pappa whos opinion has never mattered! To you poor ment though, I have an upside. when i tell her that her hair makes her look ten years younger without making her look like she’s trying she believes me, why? Because i know exactly what she wants to hear.
*how do i find other class mates blogs???*
Dude, Great bit.
My daughter, who’s not a classic beauty, and not a Hollywood beauty, is just now starting to think about society’s idea of beauty. Starvation, tall…severe…
She’s with me, though, real beauty has CURVES, and mussed hair, and inner light.
Yes, please pass on from me that I’ve always thought Sherry’s hair looks like a bird’s nest sitting atop her head. And, yes, that poetry thing? Not you.
I’ve realized more and more that good health, kind eyes, and a constant smile are the best benchmarks of beauty. So, husbands out there, make sure you compliment your wife on her good health!
(Thanks for letting me drop into your class discussion, Steve. Not that you could stop me.)
I am on th oppostite side of the coin, The female. We all ask our significant other how we look, it seems to be a habit that is hard to break. We need to know if you like something or not. Although we may not listen to your advice we do take it into consideration. This is a funny subject that is difficult for the men.
I always ask my boyfriend how i look even though I know what he’s going to say already. I’m not sure if it’s to keep himself out of trouble, or because he really means it. I don’t ask any cliché questions like, “Do I look fat in this dress?” If I ask something like that I know either way he’s going to tell me I look amazing. (Like he does all the time). Hopefully it’s not just to keep him out of trouble! This provides me with interesting insight into this conundrum Mr. Dalager.
come on, man..
I believe that women care about how they look more than men do. take an example, bring a man who is in a good shape and handsome and women who is in a good shape and beautiful.Then, put them in front of the mirror.for me, I will say “oh yeah my smalls is attractive and, my clothes is cool and clean, my goatee shaped well, my hair is calm .so,here i am ready to go with my girlfriend to have some dinner” however, my girlfriend always keeps asking me how does she look? did you liked my hair? did you like my new perfume? did you liked the way she put meckup? and so on and on.
love the last comment, Been there so many time.