The Olympics

This year's summer olympics has been dominated by the male body. One figure, a swimmer, has stood out from all the rest. This is in the spirit of the original games, which though they did not include swimming, showcased the male body in its perfection. Let us consider returning to the origins. Since the modern olympic began in 1896, only four years passed before women were competing in them. Let's resume the OLYMPICS and run a concurrent women's international athletics competition. Women prefer single-sex venues, after all. Why be bothered with the presence of males?

Uncovered

If a young man walked into the café with as much of his body uncovered as the young woman with him, he would be asked to find "proper dress." What does this mean? It is an important question, since most young men's bodies would be as wonderful to look at. In fact there would be more detail to attract the eye: patches of hair, vascular paths, muscle shapes, bony highlights. And so why do we shelter this from view. Are men more modest?

Fashion For The Fall

The major newspaper of a major city presents a hugely expensive special magazine section on fashions for women for the new season. Who looks at this? Who responds to it? Women look at it. Who will purchase these clothes? Men. Look closely at the "designs." What do they present? A more beautiful woman? No likely, since the point is to enhance the reputation of the designers, many of whom are men. The idea is to show something different. Most of what we see makes the "model" women even more artificial than their bodies that are made-up and designed.

Men Who Like Men and the Women Who Are Attracted to Them

Men who like men (M>M) are perfect companions for women who like men (F>M).  Such women have the advantage of being  close to a man--respond strongly to their scent (pheromones) and are welcome to touch them. M>M enjoy being touched by such women in public. In private, they will prefer to be close to other men. Such women are aroused by males regardless of the men's preference for more intimate, genital contact. The effects in such women are hidden, but the pleasures are real. They are aroused. For such women, moreover, the tedious worries about being touched are avoided, which occur if they are with men who like women (M>F). M>F will want the contact to move to the next step, intercourse, in private. Women with M>M need not worry about this. Such a relief. By the way, this would be construed as abuse of women if it were a case of men who like women engaging with women who like women. Indeed, men of either sort (M>F, M>M) would be treated similarly by F>F. There is no sense among these men (M>M) of exploitation. Why not share their pheromones? Why not be kissed and caressed in public? That feels great. There is the added value of being perceived as M>F.

The Kiss

The kiss that matters is the one you look back from to see where it happened.

Men At Their Best

Some things have changed. The men are working at their projects--sketching, writing, reading. They are not loud. They are aware of their bodies and what they eat. They dress for comfort, but are pleased to roll, stretch, let a t-shirt ride up. Here they are at their un-self-conscious best. They sit tall. They are in good shape--good for them. This is enough and that is the point. They look good for themselves, not for other guys, not for the selecting female eye. We can forgive some of them their "attitude"--the young men--because of what they are trying to do, what they are forced to do: retain dignity, while at school and in the media they are portrayed as losers. The operative word is "independent." Today two lads came in--just out of college, just finishing perhaps. The taller was splendid: clear skin, some tan, lean sinewy legs, arms that reveal the single long vein across his biceps and down to his wrist. His friend could only admire him. The place sighed when he left. This was a loss. But those in the street gained. Another--a regular--sat on a window seat, reading: dark-skinned, compact, intense. Then there was one at the table. He never smiles. Trim, elegant, serious. Simplicity. I looked around. Here and there, hunched over their laptops, are a few women. Not on the prowl, pale, weak from self-starvation, wearing "serious look" make-up: large glasses, uncombed hair, deliberately mismatched skirt and blouse (tucked in). Their complements are the ones made up for the cover of a tabloid, taking a half-hour to eat half a sandwich. Those made up to be nerdman-like have succeeded in making this group unwatchable. They monitor their pretty sisters. What are they thinking, the monitors? "Do I like the way she looks? Is she betraying me by being conventionally pretty?" The tension is there. It is always there when women are present. This Freud called libido. Each time a young man walks in, however, the room settles into safety, contemplation, ease of tension. It is easy to understand why there were all-men clubs.

Real and Artificial

Today at the café there were three young women at a table and two young men at another table. Did the duo see the trio? No. Let me focus on the two young men, both about 19 years old. One was dressed in black, the other in lighter colors. Very casual. Haircuts and nice teeth. They were modest,  attentive to each other as lovers are. I think they are "just" friends. Now to the next table. Costumed, clothes carefully chosen. Make-up. Their conversation was audible to everyone, as though they were talking to each other on cell phones. Attention was divided. Each looked somewhere else. The two guys looked at the paintings at the same time, then returned to each other. The trio were continually distracted. Designed and made up/"As they were". Natural/Artificial. Attentive/Distracted. What does this mean? Elsewhere? Single men. Single women. An Italian couple, visiting the city, arrived. She went for a menu, looked after him. He had dark hair, a narrow face, lean body. Modest (again), self-conscious. She was mostly uncovered: low-cut, high-rise shirt. He was also in black, like one of the duos. Why are men wearing black? Why are some alone? Where are the other pairs of friends? A woman came in. Her perfume filled the room, overwhelmed the smell of coffee and food. The men smell as they do. One must get up close to have the smell. It will not be a perfume.