# well, excuuuse me if i find attractive people attractive! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 15, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474 "2002-03-15T15:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/21 "2002-03-16T02:01:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gaudere \* > **’Cause that’s the way it was done. Why do we talk about Don Quixiote (Kee-oh-tee) but say someone is quixotic (kwix-ah-tik)? Offhand, I’d say we don’t use “rubensesque” because it’s a bitch to pronounce. “Rubenesque” is much easier. You can try to popularize “Rubensesque” if you like, but I’d advise against calling people out for using the accepted spelling. I have not seen one dictionary that uses "ruben**s\*\*esque". \*\* Yes, I know it has become the common way, and I know it’s easier. But it makes no sense! I’m taking this to His Eminence, dammit! (that would be Cecil) stoid ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2002, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/22 "2002-03-16T02:15:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > **I’m taking this to His Eminence, dammit! (that would be Cecil)** **Cecil** is in St. Croix for the Spring Break. But he told me to listen to **Gaudere** while he was gone. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/23 "2002-03-16T02:51:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slip Mahoney \* > \*\* > > {b]Stoid\*\* hit the nail on the head. In fact, even in our society, being overweight was a perceived sign of health until a few decades ago. \*\* Sorry about the grotesque spelling on the name. I know I should look such things up. Anyway, I don’t necessarily doubt Slip’s statement about recent preferences, but does anybody also have cites for that comment. I would say it is obvous that you are referring to icons like Monroe, Ann-Margaret, Jayne Mansfield, etc., but while they may be large by current supermodel standards, they were not large by societal standards; and certainly not rubenesque. And then you have the Twiggy look for a while, and whatever was going on with those flapper girls back in the twenties. I don’t know, it just seems to me that the epitome of beauty from age to age is still probably somewhere under the then societal average in terms of weight. I could be wrong and would love evidence to it; but was there really an age where Aunt Bea would have been the face to launch a thousand ships. (Of course, it is also possible that while the physical ideal for a women – as a societal preferential average – may not change as much as we’d like, but societies could still differ on their tolerance and acceptance of deviation from that ideal.) ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2002, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/24 "2002-03-16T03:33:46Z")
My physician, who looks like Ichabod Crane, once said to me… “Michael, in a famine, you’re going to live a whole lot longer than I will.” So far, though, we’re about even. And gex, it’s OK if you think I’m ugly on the outside. I’m not completely attracted to guys my size, either. I mean, where would we find a bed that would hold us? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2002, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/25 "2002-03-16T06:24:00Z")
What is Ms. Paltrow smoking? I’d much rather talk to a beautiful boring person all night than an ugly boring person. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/26 "2002-03-17T02:53:22Z")
**gex gex** , I don’t get it… Ms. Paltrow is saying it’s unpleasant to talk all night with a really beautiful, really boring person. WHERE IS SHE TALKING AGAINST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE? She’s talking against BORING people! **Mr 2001** points out, it would be even worse to have that conversation with a really ugly AND boring person It would be better to have it with an ugly, but _interesting_ person; And a very desirable bonus to have it with an interesting **and** beautiful person. Take a deep breath, **gex gex** ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/27 "2002-03-17T19:20:51Z")
I’d give that rant a 5.4 ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/28 "2002-03-18T19:29:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by: fluiddruid > > Sorry, Slip Mahoney, I meant it in terms of “Word to your mother on the east side”. I like using slang that is completely inappropriate for a just-out-of-college, tree-hugging liberal white girl ‘intellectual’ (or pseudo-intellectual, depending on who you ask). This includes “word”, “dude”, and other cute colloquialisms of my own concoction like “crudmuffins” and “stankfactory” (the latter applied to siblings and family members only). Well, I like using slang that seems really strange for a Chinese girl, that is for sure! Examples: certain [Australian slang words](http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html) , “dude”, “wack”, and other descriptive words that I use on family members pretty much exclusively. (like “chup, chup”, “booty”, “fart”, etc.) Lest I be accused of thaking this thread to a totally different plane (I believe it’s called “hijacking”, from what little I’ve read on this board), let me just say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Trite cliché, I know… but what I find beautiful is not necessarily what others might find to be so. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/29 "2002-03-18T20:18:44Z")
> [@](#): > > As it happens, I think that the Callista Flockharts of the world are quite unattractive; the woman looks like a survivor of the Battaan Death March. Can anyone at all explain to me how this is nicer/better then saying that a fat woman you saw looks like she just spent a week at the all you can eat buffet? I have a close friend who is sickly thin (well, because she’s sick!) and I think that is just fucking rude. You can’t make fun of fat people, but you can compare thin people to a death march survivor? Very classy. You don’t have to bring one category of people down to make another feel good. Think before you speak/type. There are actual human beings reading this stuff, some of which might be very thin and self concious. No wonder so many women have eating disorders of all types. Zette ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/30 "2002-03-18T21:46:23Z")
The whole pack of you need to chill. All of you have taken so much offense that the Offense Store needs a serious aisle check. Here’s the lowdown. Obesity isn’t healthy. Extreme thinness isn’t healthy. Worrying about what other people think about you is way unhealthy. Pointing out someone’s body flaws is rude. Yes, the fat lady can hear you; she’s fat, not deaf. Ditto for the skinny lady. Fat people can buy whatever they want in the store and should not have to face some twit who has appointed himself Arbiter of Body Shape. Thin people should not have to have some jackass compare them to Bataan Death March survivors, which is offensive on so many levels. How do you know the thin person isn’t fighting cancer or HIV? How do you know the fat person doesn’t have a hip replacement that won’t allow vigorous exercise? OTOH, if you’re not happy about your body shape, DO SOMETHING. No, we can’t all look like the guy on the cover of Men’s Health, but we can eat veggies and tuna, and get some exercise in. Sorry, but very few people have glandular disorders that cause them to be morbidly obese. Most obese folks eat too much and exercise too little. I’ll say it again. Stop worrying about the way you look and concentrate on strength, fitness, and flexibility. If you work on being healthy and fit, the looks will follow. A flabby thin person is just as unfit as a flabby obese person. It isn’t enough to have a slim waistline; you have to be able to get through your day with energy to spare. You have to able to walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath. Throw out the processed glop in your cabinet. Eat fresh veggies, tuna, and chicken. Walk as much as you can. Buy some hand weights and use them. No sugar; no bread, rice, or pasta; no alcohol. Four small meals a day. (For thin people, five small meals a day with extra protein) Eight hours of sleep a night. Follow this for a month and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/31 "2002-03-18T22:00:55Z")
I don’t know how my tastes fit into all this! I’ve always found Callista Flockhart frightfully fetching, but also Camryn Mannheim (see Exhibit A, _The Road to Wellville.)_ But I get the feeling I’m supposed to come down on one side of this fence or the other. [Vinnie Barbarino voice] I’m so confused! [/Vinnie Barbarino voice] ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/32 "2002-03-19T00:09:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*Follow this for a month and see what happens. \*\* Would that it were that easy! Good sound advice, Gobear, but nonetheless advice a lot of us big bastards couldn’t follow with a gun to our heads. If I followed that for a month I’d be showing up at Fannie May at 3:00 AM with a stolen Ryder truck and a shotgun: “Step away from the chocolate, and nobody gets hurt!!” And I’m totally glad y’all cleared up that stuff about Rubens, I was beginning to wonder how the hell I got mixed up in this. Myself, I’m a big fat bastard. I’ve compensated for that by being socially incompetent, rude, stupid, and annoying. But then, I’m very good at it. Nobody wants to have a conversation with me if they can possibly avoid it. And I like that just fine. b. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/33 "2002-03-19T02:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > > Throw out the processed glop in your cabinet. > Eat fresh veggies, tuna, and chicken. > Walk as much as you can. > Buy some hand weights and use them. > No sugar; no bread, rice, or pasta; no alcohol. > Four small meals a day. (For thin people, five small meals a day with extra protein) > Eight hours of sleep a night. No bread, rice or pasta? What gives? Don’t they provide the necessary carbohydrates to keep one going and make them able to exercise? I thought that eliminating complex carbohydrates was another fad diet to lose weight quickly. It worked for my friend, but he said he couldn’t keep it up because without any bread, rice or pasta, he felt tired all the time. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/34 "2002-03-19T02:30:02Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought that eliminating complex carbohydrates was another fad diet to lose weight quickly. > > It worked for my friend, but he said he couldn’t keep it up because without any bread, rice or pasta, he felt tired all the time. Who said anything about ewliminating complex carbs? You want complex carbs, but most breads, rice and rice mixes, and pasta are milled and processed to death. Brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and whole grain bread are good for energy, but even those you want to eat in moderation. You should get whole grains as unprocessed as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/35 "2002-03-19T03:40:30Z")
I’m on the thin side, but I like guys that are big 'round the middle. I’m married to one now. Big bellies can be fun. 🙂 So there. ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474/36 "2002-03-19T04:12:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > Throw out the processed glop in your cabinet. > Eat fresh veggies, tuna, and chicken. > Walk as much as you can. > Buy some hand weights and use them. > No sugar; no bread, rice, or pasta; no alcohol. > Four small meals a day. (For thin people, five small meals a day with extra protein) > Eight hours of sleep a night. Just as a side note, I went to a health food store today for lunch because some friends said how good the place is. I took one bite out of my Garden Burger (I normally like veggie burgers) and wanted to puke. The free range turkey pita even looked disgusting even though my friends swore it was delicious. I loved the veggies. The bean sprouts were good. The carrot salad was topped with pumpkin seeds, which were yummy. But everything else…the mixture of the garden burger with onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms…blech. Some people just don’t like that stuff. I know I don’t. And tuna and salmon? Yuck. I’d rather eat paper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-excuuuse-me-if-i-find-attractive-people-attractive/98474.md?page=1)