You can't let yourself go physically and still be intellectually together.

[emkana]

Just one snippet from the highly relevant debate going on in the Daily Mail presently.

Look here

and here

Personally, I have let myself go physically recently, because I have three children under five, one with health problems, and I just haven't got the time or the inclination at the moment to invest a lot of time and/or effort in my appearance. Things might well change in the future.

But to make any assumptions about my intellect as a consequence...

Gosh, I can't be bothered to dignify this old shite from the DM with a debate!

Oh okay it's not really worth talking about, you're right.

Oh emkana, I didn't mean it was pointless, just that I generally froth at the mouth if I read the DM and so that was my way of saying 'nope, won't do it' - do debate it if you want to!

Hmm, I see "let yourself go physically" to mean "eat crap, not exercise, sit on sofa", which I do think would affect one's intellectual state.

But I looked at the second of the DM articles and had to go scrub my brain afterwards. It's all about appearancy stuff. I don't think you need to wear makeup to be smart!

I think the second writer is just saying that although you are still the same person intellectutally when you "let yourself go" (what a cruel phrase), you'll get less respect.

Which unfortunately is true. We live in a superficial culture.

Appearance counts for too much. As a result, women just have to find waysand it will be different for each womanof feeling OK about themselves when their physical attractiveness dimishes.

My friend/mentor, X, was up for an important writing award a few weeks ago. She is in her 50s. She is beautiful. At the awards party, I talked to another writeran elderly womanwho said "I haven't read X's work, but she is STUNNING."

I passed this praise on to X. She said, "God I would SO MUCH RATHER someone say my writing was good than that I was beautiful. I just could not be less interested in my appearance."

She is my new role model. I think she should be everyone's role model. We should all be able to say of ourselves, "I would so much rather be kind/a good mum/a good hedge fund analyist/a great [fill in the blank] than be beautiful."

um

its typical DM reader stuff isn't it?

ie sexist crap

bloody hell, don't get worked up about it, its just a rag for aspirant tory wives

{ducks at onslew on "well I am not married and I still read the DM type comments]

reading the DM, surely noone does!

It's fine www, I don't really want to debate it.

Just thought it was funny how the DM thinks it's worthy of an article plus a full-length reply...

I always end up reading the DM at MIL's house and am stunned at what they deem "newsworthy".

emkana - if your MIL buys and reads it then it is defo. NOT worth reading

I always make sure I do the exact opposite of what my in laws consider ok