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Unintended consequences of the Pill — 30 Comments

  1. Every guy I know has noticed the effect the pill has on women.

    I swear it’s like someone flipping a switch.

    Wonder if it really could explain the higher divorce rate these days?

  2. Before going out this evening to change the oil on the motorcycle, I rudely shouted a synopsis of this article to my wife in the living room. She “likes” it when I do that….

    As I traversed said living room to get beer for motorcycle work, she said: “Lucky for you, I’ve never been on the pill. Not ever. I like masculine. I don’t like pretty men.”

    That was probably a compliment. I’d low-crawl over broken glass for her.

    (My family being of recent Scottish/Scandinavian extraction; I’m very blond and I’ve never had a chest or belly hair. Not any. Neither did dad or grampa. I’m a weightlifter. Wifey stated recently that I bear an uncanny resemblance to a hairless, albino silverback gorilla. That was probably a compliment too.)

  3. Anyways, nevermind that. I think that is a fascinating article. It seems plausible and is supported by some research, but it seems kinda like pop-culture pseudoscience.

    But, how the hell do you go from rugged to twink sex symbols in a generation?

  4. But, how the hell do you go from rugged to twink sex symbols in a generation?

    Because hormone therapy can do amazing things. More unintended consequences.

  5. Maybe it’s because women have been told for decades that the Sensitive New Age Guy is cool and the macho guy is a jerk, probably crypto fascist, and lower-class.
    Never overlook the power of the cumulative effect of the cumulativ effect.
    Nevertheless, the pill/fertile/masculine man connection is interesting.

  6. This is really bad news because women have such a hard time finding sensitive, caring, good-looking, not too masculine men.

    Why, you ask? Those men already have boyfriends.

  7. I think the comparisons of popular males throughout the decades are highly subjective.

    For example, Sean Connery is given as an example of of ’60s-era male figure, when women supposedly went for more macho. Now, I know Connery is the original James Bond and all that, but is he really “macho”??? I think he would actually come accross as a heterosexual “metrosexual” nowadays (and no, I dont mean that as either an insult or a compliment… its just an obervation). Furthermore, even if Connery were considered “macho,” is he really more “macho” than the current, tough-guy Bond, Daniel Craig?

    I think similar obervations could be made in regard to all these examples. For example, the ’60s was not only the era of Steve McQueen, but also of Woody Allen. The ’80s and ’90s were not only the era of Rob Lowe and Johnny Depp, but also of Sylvester Stallone and Steven Segal.

    In any case, Im (honestly) a very hisuite, thickly built, muscular, weightlifting guy, who was briefly an amateur boxer,… but who is (I admit it) kinda sensitive, and isn’t at all into watching TV sports (I’d rather be at the bookstore perusing books with an extra large Latte). So, I could frankly go either way on this issue. My wife likes me as I am, so thats what matters.

    BTW: Isn’t “Whose More Macho” an old SNL skit?? Anyone have a clip of that?

  8. Ahem, two observations.

    First, regarding Sylvester Stallone and Steven Segal being examples of manly men, I believe one has a pony tail hairdo and both wax their chests…..

    The other observation is – how the heck did we get all the way to a full dozen responses without someone mentioning the big hair metal bands of the ’80’s that had hair longer than the chicks, wore spandex, and in more than one band wore makeup?

    😀

  9. If the pill likely affects female over time to reject macho types, then viagra likely affects males over time to .. . . . hummm, what are the words?

  10. BTW, sometime this weekend, I’m going to post my idea of one of the great manly men of all times. He’s a man of history and no longer with us, still he’s the kind of man we need more of in this silly de-masculinized world we’ve come to inhabit. I give thanks that I see through eyes that never took the pill!

  11. A very young man at work recently wanted to show me an injury to his pectoral muscle from lifting too much weight at the gym. When he suddenly removed his shirt I was confronted not only by his alarming artificially enlarged muscles but also his prolific tattoos. Something else caught my eye as well…tiny sharp black hair stubble from his baby smooth chest to his low slung pants waist (and beyond probably). I guess he was overdue for a wax and I was suffering from way too much information. After that incident I begin to notice the fact that these boys are also waxing their eyebrows, their faces are so smooth and pretty which perfectly compliments their ear jewelry and sweet cologne. Soooo glad to be beyond this generation! How is a girl to maintian her own femininity and self esteem when her “man” is more beautiful and self-absorbed than she is?

  12. Also posted this at the older April thread that was linked, thinking I was on this thread… sigh..

    I noticed this a few years ago when during the annual spring ritual on campus of guys playing frisbee without shirts occurs. I couldn’t help but notice that of the 40 or so college guys running around, not a single one had chest hair. Strains the laws of genetics.

    “Oh, bother Says:

    April 10th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
    The Boomer generation refused to grow up, but at least the men kept their chest hair. Maybe this generation is going the Boomers one further. ”

    And noting that every other part of the body is also subjected to the razor/wax by both males and females; it does suggest a deep need to keep the bodies in a perpetual prepubescent state. That analysis I’ll leave to Neo. Me, I prefer adults who look like adults.

  13. This may explain the current epidemic of female teachers molesting their young students.

    I think the reason we see so many feminine looking men in Hollywood nowadays might be due to the large number of gay men who work in that industry–they are merely casting their preference.

  14. Tatyana said:
    J.L. – all this work on mouth-watering advertisement, and oyu had to spoil it with mention of a “wife”?

    Aw, shucks, thanks Tatyana. But, yep, I’m taken (although she may on occasion want to give me away!). 🙂

    Scottie said:
    “regarding Sylvester Stallone and Steven Segal being examples of manly men, I believe one has a pony tail hairdo and both wax their chests…..”

    Stallone waxes?? Nooooooooooo!
    Say it aint so, Sly, say it aint so!! LOL

    Scottie said:
    “the big hair metal bands of the ’80’s that had hair longer than the chicks, wore spandex, and in more than one band wore makeup”

    I think more drugs were implicated there than just the pill. LOL

  15. To the extent this effect is for real, it would lead to the following scenario:

    1)Alice is taking the pill
    2)Alice is very attracted to Bob, to whom she would not in a state of nature be attracted because of non-optimal immune system fit
    3)They get married
    4)Alice stops taking the pill, for health reasons or to get pregnant or whatever
    5)Alice finds herself much less attracted to Bob, and figures she made a very bad choice

  16. David – actually, it’s the other way around.
    Alice get’s married to Bob, and starts taking the pill, otherwise there is no point in taking it. How else is she going to please his I’m The Center of The World- mentality? Not with ankle-biters, for sure.
    Only when the pill is no longer needed she wakes up from the drug-induced dream and finds that
    a) she is married to Bob
    b) she’s no Sleeping Beauty anymore.

  17. RL,

    I don’t think it’s whether you enjoy a latte. I think it’s whether you drink the latte to be cool. A man knows who he is and what suits him without checking out the NYT fashion section.

  18. Tatyana,

    Alternative scenario:

    Woman goes on pill *experience* life without worry of pregnancy.

    Woman goes into business world, stays on pill as it’s *just not the right time to settle down*, and it’s *not compatible with her career right now to have kids*.

    Woman meets (effiminate) man, is instantly attracted to said effiminate man, decides he’s THE ONE since she’s so attracted to him, and gets hitched.

    After a few years of marriage, woman is now ready for ankle biters (after all, her biological clock is now ticking louder), and goes off the pill.

    Woman takes a second look at her marital choices, decides the effiminate male she’s married to just ain’t cutting it, kicks him the curb to start all over again.

    Woman goes back on the pill, just in case, as she starts hunting for a mate again….

    😀

  19. Tatyana,

    Heh…I’m certainly open to any of your suggestions. Feel free to edit the suggested alternative scenario as you wish, madame.

    I look forward to your improvements on the idea….

  20. Maybe disasters wil make a difference.
    The further we got from a big war, the less masculine the leading men got.
    Viet Nam was not a good war, so it didn’t count.
    See Peggy Noonan’s post-9-11 column, “Welcome Back, Duke” which you can search for more easily if you remember the comma.
    It was said that some [of the off-pill] women, [or women whose natural urges overcame the pill’s effects, to follow this recent research] were prospecting among cops and firemen and iron workers in Manhattan that first year.

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