While out enjoying a cocktail with a lovely friend, the two of us were accosted by an inebriated gentleman who was at least 10 years older than the both of us. I am married and was wearing my ring; my friend politely informed the man that she is a lesbian. This did little to dissuade the man; he proceeded to try to convince my friend that he would be able to steer her away from her sexual orientation. Mind you, this man had neither the face of Brad Pitt nor the charm of Clark Gable, to say the least.
Moments later, a seemingly more reasonable gentleman ventured over to engage us in conversation and rescue us from the buffoon. This man did not come across as a contender for the next Nobel Prize by any means, but he was able to hold a reasonable discussion with us while keeping his gaze leveled above our necklines. However, before we managed to conclude our discourse, he felt the need to interject with the following: "You know, you both are really attractive, but you'd be so much better looking if you had long hair."
Really? Last time I checked, my hair was very fine and thin and looked like stringy seaweed when I let it grow past my shoulders. Also, I couldn't care less whether or not this man I barely knew found me attractive. This manner of thinking drives me insane. What if I went up to men and randomly dispensed that kind of advice? What if I had told this guy, "You know, you're nice and all, but you'd be a lot more attractive if you lost 20 pounds and erased 10 years off of your face." I mean, hey--that's the truth, and it's just my honest opinion! Doesn't that make it okay to say something insulting? And while I'm on the subject, why is it that whenever a woman wants to cut her hair, at least five people need to warn her that her husband might get upset? As it turns out, my husband prefers my hair short, but be that as it may, I have worn it long, short, blonde, red, brown, or purple as the mood struck me. It's only hair. Taking this one step further, what about women who have no hair due to illness or conditions like alopecia? Are they supposed to feel revolting or unfeminine because they aren't able to grow this lustrous cascade of man-pleasing ornamentation? I guess it's important for me to have long hair for my man to grab onto after he clubs me over the head and drags me back to his cave while donning his loincloth.
