Victoria, We've Got Our Own Secret

This is an article from our friend Ryan Beckler at Penn State. The original can be found here. If you are too lazy to click (and some of us are), here it is below:

Given what November has been like, last night was pretty usual. I covered a panel discussing the scandal, then I picked up D.P. Dough on the way home. I got home around 10:15 p.m., and, like millions of other American men, I flipped on the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. I sat down, started watching, and opened up my computer.

About 30 seconds in, I saw one girl and thought, “Wow! She’s really… skinny.” She wasn’t the only one. I kept thinking, “She’d be much more attractive if you put another 15 pounds on her.”

A commercial break allowed me to check my social media streams. I was pretty shocked at what girls were posting/tweeting:

• “BRB, starving myself. Thank you, VS fashion show.”
• “Victoria secret fashion show = going to throw up to make myself look that good!”
• “NEVER. EATING. AGAIN.”
• “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.. now I feel like a whale =[ “

Huh? What the hell? Something is seriously wrong here. I quickly realized that this is a BIG American issue. Young ladies in high school and college are striving to have these razor thin bodies. So I guess my question is, what is the motive? If you think you’re impressing men with pointy hips and no butt, I have some bad news: it’s not attractive. I’m sure the male population is behind me when I say that we prefer curves.

Now, my mother raised me to be a gentleman. A real man just wants a girl to be herself, physically and socially. We like you for who you are, not for who you aspire to be. Nothing is more attractive than a woman who’s confident and comfortable with who she is. Also, the ability to have an intelligent conversation is much more important than your dress size to us. Believe me when I say that.

Ladies, you may ask, “So, Ryan, what if being myself isn’t good enough for him?” Guess what? He’s not worth a second of your time.

With all of that said, I hope that you understand that there’s really no need to strive for that famed “Victoria’s Secret Angel” body (if you already have it, good for you, but there’s no need to make it your aim). The American generalization that you’re not perfect unless you’re 6’1” and 115 pounds is false, shallow, and wrong. You’re perfectly fine as is.

I’m not just saying that, either.

So please, ladies, keep eating. We’ll still love you. Promise.