New York Times:
What the trucker cap and wallet chain were to hipsters of a moment ago, the Kramden is to what my colleague Mike Albo refers to as the "coolios" of now. Leading with a belly is a male privilege of long standing, of course, a symbol of prosperity in most cultures and of freedom from anxieties about body image that have plagued women since Eve.
Carleton Bryant: An Open Letter To 'Average' Women
First published in The Washington Times. I recently read an article about the uproar over a photo in September's issue of Glamour magazine. The photo...
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All around Brazil you see these guys -- slim from the back, and then when they turn around they look like their pregnant. Real attractive.
A bad diet of lots of palm kernel oil and beer, deep fried salted cod, plus a male-dominant culture, has done that to the Brazilian male. I wouldn't recommend it to any culture. Just think about it: it's a bowling ball-sized mound of pure fat they're carrying around. Great for life expectancy. That they're carrying it all in their gut means it's the diet that's at fault, not the genes.
A bad diet is the sign of low income, ignorance, lack of self-awareness and depression. It will never be a positive sign the way being overweight used to be when the human race was just scrapping by.
I used to do a convention at the same time as the Wild Turkey Federation or whatever they call it, was doing theirs. Hundreds of swollen, pale, asexual-looking turkey hunters were there. They had the tell-tale look of drinking way too much beer which swells their bodies and gives them man boobs and smooth baby faces.
A symbol of prosperity? More like a symbol of Type 2 Diabetes.
This is a symptom of a low income. High calorie low nutrition foods. Do you spend money on a salad or something that will stop the hunger.
Or it's frequently just laziness. A bag of brown rice is nutritious and filling, yet costs little. A "value meal" at fast food places is 5 to 6 dollars a lot of the time. A sandwich with a couple turkey slices on wheat bread is far cheaper and better for you, but you have to take the time to make it. It's a myth you can't eat well unless you spend a lot.
Some informative links on low income and nutrition, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3807128&page=1 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/a-high-price-for-healthy-food/ if you are interested.
We already have young kids getting kidney stones, something that used to be almost of unheard of. Keep eating all that junk food and buying those cases of soda at Wal Mart.
Don't they says: If yas got it, flaunt it?
It was inevitable that men would eventually give up.
It's near impossible to eat well without reading every ingredient and googling them from your iPhone right there on the spot. Even the "Yoplait Light" yogurt with all those yummy flavors they have in the commercials with "I've already lost some weight" in the ads... sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and contains all sorts of garbage. go to the "diet foods" aisle at your local grocery store, even Whole Foods, and you'll find that everything is made to taste good and that "low fat" means "Loaded with sugar" or "Sugar Free" means "loaded with fat."
"Sodium Reduced" means "up to 25% of your suggested daily amount in 1/2 a cup" and "high fiber" means "Loaded with high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, sodium and preservatives."
In a "Burrito style" Chicken enchilada at Baja Fresh, there's enough calories to feed the average man for two days.
"Wheat Bread" isn't whole wheat bread... it's just white bread colored brown with molasses which means it's got more calories and sugar and sodium than white bread. If you think that having "Honey Wheat" bread is healthy... that's why you're fat.
you know Subway? Where Jared lost all that weight by eating their sandwiches and walking a whole lot? Their "Wheat Bread" is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and has more fat, calories and sodium than their white bread.
The food industry lies to you every way they can.
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. There's no mention of critical health issues and in regards to saying it's an obama backlash...well...they are a bunch of fat heads if that is the case. once again, the ny times style is an oxymoron. read more http://imeanwhat.com/blog/the-belly-is-the-new-black-really
I'm not sure why so many in the media assume that we are all more insecure because of Obama.
Jeez, this is nothing new. Dudes have always had their cake, and man, have they eaten it too! and then some.
Many of these pot bellies tell me these dudes drink way too much, specifically beer. Pot bellies on men tell me they're older, even if they aren't. Or they have some health issues - I agree with one of the posters - there's often some kind of metabolic / gut weirdness happening.
and women are mercilessly trashed from pre-adolescence until we're deemed unworthy of attention and told to fade away. it's just insulting that men think they're still hot with a disgusting gut.
it's just like them to think their fat gut in no way interferes in the acquisition of a supermodel gf - meh. good luck with that.
A big belly often means a guy has old, undigested food sitting and rotting in his guts. It's like a banner saying, "I am a greedy eater, I'm visibly unhealthy and probably won't live to 60 at this rate."
Not someone I'm looking to date.
Let's not encourage this.
haha yeah, this needs not to be a trend.
>:D
I'm with you there. I'm rightly proud of my missing "middle-aged belly".... but it isn't about "vanity", it's about health. Most people I know who have nurtured these so-called 'symbols of prosperity' are not very physically healthy, and that's pretty much across the board...
besides, it's not terribly attractive, is it...? (ha! vanity speaks at last! :)
Seeing all these potbellies makes me sad. Sad that these men will not enjoy a long and energy filled life, sad that it is a commentary on our skewed society that still demands that women be a size zero but it's ok for the men to "let themselves go". Obesity is a very dangerous and real health problem in our country and other countries are catching up as well. In olden days, for a man to have a potbelly was a statement to say he had power and money to eat/buy all the food he wanted. History shows us many leaders as people of greed, power and excess: King Henry the VIII, several of our own presidents (Taft comes to mind) and they represented the excesses and corruption of their times. We need new examples, like our current President who is trim and healthy and works out at the gym every day along with his beautiful and healthy first Lady. Maybe it's a sign that the times, they really are 'a changin' and we have less corruption and more honesty in our leadership to look forward to. Now if it could only "trickle down" to the majority of our male (and female) population!
Half of Americans are overweight, a third are obese. Listen to the televsion ads, read what is in magazines....these fatties are being told their weight condition isn't a result of overeating or lack of exercise. How many articles are there on 'fat is beautiful? We have evolved into a society where obesity is normal, thus displaying it is acceptable.
I think a little tummy is sexy. Not Homer simpson big or I have cirrhosis big but just a little pudge to hold onto while watching television. I just like to rub them...like buddha. :-)
Aw, Now that is sweet and cute!
I hope that the pot belly is a look that DOES NOT catch on. I have never found Homer Simpson to be attractive, funny yes, but not attractive.
Well I will be a square till I die, because I am never going to allow myself to get a potbelly! I'm 41 and holdin' on to my 31" waist...Male muffin tops? Disgusting...That is not a symbol of prosperity, that is a symbol of laziness and lack of discipline.
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First Posted: 08-13-09 11:18 AM | Updated: 09-13-09 05:12 AM