Pat Archbold and Lakshmi Chaudhry
stumble upon each other’s articles, and after completing the text feel they
must immediately communicate in person. They decide to meet up, and choose to
grab a quick bite at a local coffee shop in order to keep things simple and
classy, where they also plan to mull over one another’s writings in person. Why
do they want to meet, one might ask. Well it’s simply because they love each
other’s articles amply, and feel that they both have similar opinions on the
topic of societal progression. They begin to sip coffee and talk about how they
both feel that older times were indeed different for both men and women, and
that in some aspects society should return to those times. Archbold will also
eat an English muffin and discuss how she believes men were once more
“masculine” and less consumed by merchandise and media, which made them more
morally sound as well as responsible. Chaudhry would eat a blueberry crape and agree
with her new friend’s claims, for she too feels times have changed, but in the
sense that women once held themselves to a more “innocent” and higher standard
which she calls “pretty”.
Both women discuss how they feel
this progression is due to the way individuals are portrayed in the media, or expected
to be by modern society. Archbold states that she believes men are falling
victim to commercials for body sprays which make men seem like dogs only
wanting sex, and beer adds which make men seem more faithful to the product
than their own wife- all resulting in men seeming less like “men” and more like
“immature boys”. Chaudhry agrees with her full heartedly, and even chuckles at
her humor. She tells Archbold that she feels women too are falling victim to
media, for movies and pop stars no longer portray women as “innocent” and
pretty, but instead now depict the image of a woman as “hot” and sexually
appealing for boys (not men). This is a topic they both agree on and discuss
with ease and enjoyment for a decent amount time. They both remain friends
after this encounter and even agree to proof read each other’s articles from time to
time.
If I was at this coffee shop setting sitting at the same table as both of the authors (which I would hope not because I don’t really enjoy coffee) I would listen to both of their arguments but when the time came for me to speak I would find myself playing devils advocate in a way because I find both to be right and wrong. I would tell Mr. Archbold that although he is right in his “death of pretty” that it is not fair to classify all women like this because many still do not enjoy the attention of men solely because of their looks and many still do find joy in conservatism. I would also tell Ms. Chaudhry that yes a lot of men are becoming more immature and settling down is becoming more of a taboo idea in society. But I would argue that the main cause is not the media but rather that guys observe other guys and if one is living the bachelors lifestyle then why wouldn’t the other also want it or at least to try it. Being the person I am who enjoys watching arguments I would definitely try and cause friction between these two authors
ReplyDeleteP.s. Im 95% sure Pat Archbold is a man and in your blog you referred to him as a women. But I did enjoy reading your thoughts
ReplyDeleteIf I were to attend this casual meeting between these two authors I think I would agree with them. Men do tend to think that responsibility is overrated. While women try to put on a disguise to fool people into thinking that they are hot instead of pretty and innocent. Advertising has molded both genders into the perfect consumer who take the receipt they sign more seriously than their marriage certificate. I would order a black coffee and a blueberry muffin to suspend my hunger and because they taste amazing. I would almost seamlessly slip into the conversation due to all similar view points.
ReplyDeleteIf I attended this dinner with these two authors I would have to agree with what they have to say. Especially with the "hot" being attractive to the boys who are obviously not men and that innocent and nice or "pretty" are attractive to real men. I would agree that the media is a main cause of boys not wanting to become men because they see certain versions of becoming boys becoming men and some of these versions are not as appealing as others. Also, boys do not want to grow up because most of them despise the concept of responsibility and want to be taken care of their whole lives.
ReplyDeleteIf I were at this dinner with these two authors, I would absolutely agree with both of their thoughts and ideas. Both of the author’s articles talked about how certain traits of men and women have changed significantly throughout time. In the article “The Death of Pretty” by Archbold, she states that women have more of a desire of lust versus innocence in today’s society. I would tell Archbold that she is absolutely right with this statement. I can say from experience of being a girl, my generation seems to be everything but conservative. We try to gain attention through exposure and lust. When you look at past generations around the time my grandmother was raised, you would see that purity was essential and thought to be sacred. I would mention to Chaudry that his article is also correct about men’s behavior today. Current media has drastically portrayed guys as young and carefree. Commercials and ads also show not so classy activities as being cool and key In order to be socially accepted.
ReplyDeleteIf I was given the opportunity to join in on this meeting between the two authors, I feel that I would get along with them perfectly. I don’t think we would have to worry about any arguments bursting up. Not only do they agree on each other’s views, I agree with their views as well. I was raised very traditionally and old fashioned. They way that when are supposed to appear, “pretty” is how my mother raised me to act. She always said that things would work out better for me in the long run if I continued to portray myself in that manner. Often I would feel as if I wasn’t as special as the other girls who appeared to be “hot” because they were receiving more attention than me. But then it was brought to my attention that they were receiving attention for all the wrong reasons. Attention that I would not want to seek or feel comfortable receiving. As for the view on males, my dad taught me to be strong and independent but he also showed me what a husbandly figure is supposed to look like by the way he and my mom responsibly work as a loving team. I think it is awesome that these authors can both agree on such a broad topic. Not only that, but I also love that they can remember the true way that each role should be played or portrayed and not get brainwashed by the media and the way they portray each sex.
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