From: desiree@netcom.com (Desiree Champagne)
Subject: Re: Cars and Other Fun Stuff (wasRe: Turning 30!!)
Summary: Vrooom vroom and jumping subjects
Organization: The Emperor's New Clothes
Distribution: ba
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 23:27:43 GMT

In an article Doug Grismore writes:

[comments relative to advertising's influence (or non) on society
deleted]

>  Being single and being alone are two different things, though, (at
>least for me...) and it's this difference that seems to make *all* the
>difference in this discussion (should it go somewhere beyond the challenge
>to *have* a conversation...)

	Exactly.  Which brings about a question.  How many people out there
are happy being alone?  Just being alone. Doing things by yourself?

	The way I see it is if somebody is happy being alone, then they
don't have a problem with being single either.  Thus, they are not
influenced one way or another by the advertising media.  

	Looking from a different angle at this.  The media really does
a bangup job on portraying an "ideal woman" image.  I say that if
somebody is content with their image as a woman, they are not
suspectible to this ideal image.  Myself, I can appreciate aspects of
the "ideal" from an artistic viewpoint, fashion viewpoint etc., but I
don't rush out to buy the clothing that the woman is wearing, in order
to make myself into the ideal.  I don't diet to achieve a death-camp
look, and I don't piss and moan because my breasts are not the size
that nicely overflow a low cut gown.  Sadly, I know too many women
that starve themselves rentlessly, rush out to buy the latest fashion
trend or do any other numbers of things in order to fit in with the "ideal".
And these are all women that are not happy just hanging out alone doing
those things that they enjoy doing.  They need to be partnered in order
to be complete.

	So going back to the singles issue.  I submit that if one is
content being alone -- all by their lonesome doing things -- then being
single isn't a problem either.  (Except for the sexual parts, but for
me even that isn't a problem...)  So adverts showing happy couples
drinking, joshing and having a merry time don't influence these types
of people diddly squat.  The same with hotel adverts for couples or
whatever the subject was that Ed was carping about originally.  

>I would, however, partially agree with Ed's specific reaction to driving a
>Miata around, with a caveat.  (I might be in trouble for this, but hey, I'm
>being honest).  Driving around in a stylish convertible by yourself is fun.

	If driving a Miata floats your boat, sure. Myself I don't really
like Miatas that much so it wouldn't thrill me in the least (sorry
Kenn...).  Now if were talking about toodling around in an old
funky Rolls, that's a different subject.

> Driving around in a stylish convertible with a(n) SO could be more fun,
>could be less fun, depending on many circumstances.

	True.  Just as driving around with a *friend* could be more or
less fun -- dependent upon the circumstances.  I happen to have a lot
of fun driving around with my kid (course the enjoyment of that could be
increased if he could reach the peddles better and see a bit clearer
over the steering wheel, but that too will come in time...).

>  Driving around in a
>stylish convertible with someone that (insert societal faction here) finds
>incredibly attractive would garner more attention from (insert members of
>said societal faction) and if that was what you were into, then that would
>be even *MORE* fun.

	If you are into that, I suppose so.  But to me, driving around is
not a "see and be seen" gig.  I like to drive around because I enjoy
it -- or I enjoy driving the car -- the car itself amuses me, or whatever.
But not because I've got an incredible looking houseboy strapped in
next to me that the babes on the street are going to start dripping over.

>Funny how it all depends on your perspective.

	More or less, yea.  It just depends on how much of your
perspective originates from within your own comfort of who you are and
what you are versus the perspective of society on you, I suppose.

>Having a *great* day...

	Why?  You get laid last night?

Desiree

Newsgroups: ba.singles