A Plea For Eating Disorder Tolerance

Just this once, we need to talk about something serious. I know it's easy for people to have a knee-jerk reaction to the problems of others and just start laughing but we're all adults here. So I am going to bring this up and then we can discuss the underlying issues and what we, as a society, can do to help. You see, I just discovered that Dennis Quaid has "manorexia." Sometimes he looks in the mirror and realizes he is 50 years old and he doesn't feel beautiful. And I have a confession to make, because Dennis Quaid's bravery under the intense pressure of society's unrealistic media-based expectations has inspired me: I have manorexia too. I admit it. I sometimes feel I am not hot enough. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I see nothing but defects. Sure, I have a great jaw and the hair is ... well ... perfect, but it isn't all balloons and ponies. I'm only 6'2" and sometimes I have to buy pants with a portly 34 waist size. And good luck buying a suit off the rack with these shoulders. My clothes require more cutting than an entire room full of suicide girls. So sometimes I have self-image issues just like Dennis Quaid I know it's a trap imposed on me by women falling all over guys like Brad Pitt and foisting off an unrealistic body image on me. And still I am driven by this need to be attractive to the opposite sex. So I find myself going to the gym every other day and doing 10 minutes of cardio before I lift some light weights while watching "Punk'd" re-runs on TV. Is the pressure sometimes too much? Dennis Quaid and I would both agree it is. I am not here to lay blame but I think we can all agree that the root cause of this problem is demanding women. The more attractive a woman is, the less likely she will be to get involved with someone who has a less-than-perfect body. You think Adriana Lima will still date me if I get fat? No, because she sees perfect men on magazine covers and in movies and has unrealistic expectations about my gender. Real men have curves too! I am proud of Dennis Quaid for bringing this problem into the light. It has been the dirty secret of me and my manorexic brothers for far too long. The shame belongs with women, my brothers, not with you. But, just the same, I am skipping my sundae this evening. The pressure never lets up. I don't want to end up looking like Dennis Quaid. Don't you judge me. This article brought to you by Coke