Almost after 7 decades does Archie choose his life partner - Veronica - only to be debated worldwide if his choice has brought more disappointment to Betty or was our freckle-face right in his own terms to blatantly ignore her efforts to make herself "noticed". Whatever the case, it's for sure he's strutting down the aisle with Ms. Lodge. What caught my attention today was a glossy newspaper article that was glorifying Veronicas around the world and more so, the men who kiss their sexily pedicured feet. Seemingly, "bad girls" are the flavour of the season and the "good girls" are as good as obsolete.
I was wondering how true is this paradigm shift? In India? Where the Times Matrimonial has the same standards set for brides "Tall, fair, beautiful, homely". Where the first three qualities are attainable using the money power, I remain skeptical for the 'homely' part. Aren't these THTHHMFs (Too Hot To Handle High Maintenance Females) supposed to be preoccupied about their Maybellines and Chanels and Jimmy Choos and Diors?
My this post wrt those proper bratty, spoilt, rich Veronicas, who wouldn't bat their eyelids if it spells work and average Indian working males, a little better than Prince Andrews.
With egos bigger than their bank balance, these self-indulgent PYTs need men to accessorize them, or so are we made to believe. Ronnie does that, doesn't she? Are men ready to be walked all over by ladies in stilts? Would any self-respecting guy do an Archie, always? - Be at Her Highness' beck and call? I think not. Moreover, "she has him wrapped around her pinky" or even "he dances to her tunes" though humorous are looked upon as derogatory statements.
Surrendering to the charm and sophistication of THTHHMFs would be a short term thing. But keeping the modern day Cleopatra up on the pedestal for the whole lifetime and worshipping her? Sheer utopia! Their "catch me if you can" appeal is lost as soon as caught. But who catches them? Fluttering butterflies are to be admired from a distance. Fantasy items, yes... but your partner for life? a mother to your kids? a support system for the lifetime lows? That's what a guy would look for in his better half and v.v.
No one likes "a hen-pecked husband", not even THTHHMFs... at least they don't want them labelled as one; regardless of the verity. THTHHMFs have their equivalent THTHHMMs (Too Hot To Handle High Maintenance Males) to look after their constant upgradation. Money talks, money rocks!
As per the article "Today, men are opting for bad gals too. They want a dominating partner who lives by her own rules" - guys, lemme know, how true is this?
it is my feeling that the glossy you(and me too) read is a little overboard on the whole feminism thingy; and they have a skewed view of equality of the sexes thingy...especially the dominant modern female and the "modern" subservient male bit. So it didnt come as a surprise to see todays article praising the "bad girls" towards the high heavens :D
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I would rather stay single than let any bratty, dominant kinda female ("Bad girl" :D) ru(i)n my life :P
ok i will do the honor of the 1st comment:
ReplyDeleteI probably fall under the bad girl category for some ppl and for some other girls, who according to me are bad, i am a saint. being bad is subjective. but bad does not mean bad-bad per se.. i mean i might be bad because i indulge, but i'd like to believe i am not a bad person. I am far more considerate, nice and loving than most 'homely' indian girls who dont tire out of bitching abt random ppl and loads of other such low-grade vices which are way more harmful to the society than my kinda vices!
as for boys choosing bad girls, i think deep down all bad (indian) girls eventually want to turn into miss goody2shoes and want to be taken care of (of course in moderation, not kept under lock n key!)
I think every woman has her own personality and men (or other women as well) view it in light of their views. For ex., flirting can be termed bad or good or neutral.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as marriage goes, I think Indian men would prefer the 'bad' girl as their GFs and take the good 'sati-savitri women woh they can take home to their mothers, as their wives!
Good and Bad are such undefinable terms now that the whole question is no longer as simple as in the original Archie days. Anyway, the question that one may also ask what is so hot about old Arch anyway? Isn't that another typical American male identity construct?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.betonline.com/sports-betting/entertainment
ReplyDeletecheck the site purni... i am sure by the end of the 6 part series of the finale book betty will take the cake and eat it too..
I guess I've read this Archie thing some 3 weeks back on Yahoo. And when I told this to 2 gals who are dead-drop Archie Fans. They were like WHAAAAAAAAAA??????? Probably, coz, its an open secret that Archie loves Betty. Something like made-for-eachother type.
ReplyDeleteFluttering butterflies are to be admired from a distance!!!!!! LOLOLOL It's been quite a while since I heard that line. Brings back a teem of old refreshing memories.
"Today, men are opting for bad gals too. They want a dominating partner who lives by her own rules"*????
hmm,never quite heard it put that way before, And no, definitely not. The line itself goes by *Conditions Apply. Unless the guy wants the female to take control of him. I've never met any such Man in my life so far. Though I've seen the equal rights people besides the chauvinists & semi chauvinists (like me).
I don't about all men, but I'd want a gal who can take care of herself and who's adventurous. And she can be dominating only in the proper places where its required. But certainly NOT dominating over me.
And personally I feel marriage can change lots of things in the girl including her dominating nature in the un-necessary places.
Hey sorry for the delay loved the post, have been out of the blogosphere for a while. You know I have always been the betty sorts,but have at times wanted to be like ronnie..coz they seem to have all the dun and the betty sorts get all the shit.
ReplyDeletethe thing is... seldom are these women openly "perceived" to be dominating. the domination happens at a subtle level... the guys are too in love to realize it. they also, at some level, WANT an acccessory. arm candy, to be precise. and they like the fact that they "provide" for their partner by indulging their shopping sprees etc.
ReplyDeleteso yeah.. if you ASK a guy if he'll like to spend his life with someone dumb, beautiful, pampered and dominating... he'll say no. but that daftness is considered "cute" when in love. i've seen countless men fall for, date and at times even marry girls who ARE fluttering butterflies. they fuel the male ego... don't make it obvious that they're dominating. and if you ask me, i think they may be a lot smarter than what we (ppl like you & me) give them credit for.
whether it lasts and how long it lasts.. i don't know.
Don't know about guys, but I always kinda hoped Arch and Betty would be the couple. As for Veronica, she can go through a slew of affairs, starting with Reggie!
ReplyDeleteMithun da: Neither was I surprised to see the guN-gaan of "bad girls". I was just wondering how true is the article when it means to say :- Men would rather opt for a woman who is unaffordable than settle for anything less. Glad to know your answer. :) :P
ReplyDeleteJinu: See, the term 'bad' is subjective. It has various facets to it and can be hardly demarcated. Moreover, nothing/ no one can be put into strictly 2 categories- good or bad.
If you see, Veronica wasn't bad by nature. Her Pride, Influence, Selfishness, Jealousy and in general, her spoilt character *thanks to her multi millionaire dad* adds up to calling her bad as against Betty who is praised for her selflessness, caring loving nature. Nobody ever points at Betty for being such a dunce with low self-esteem, refuses to accept that she's fighting a lost battle. Fine, they are just chracters of comics and I shouldn't be analysing them as I have here.
My question here, to challenge the article's claim, was whether men would willingly accept to be doormats for a whole lifetime, to Veronica type ladies, who are self-centered, and do not think beyond their advantage; just to show their world (read peers) what a prized fish they have baited.
Secondly, this whole question I have asked is 100% hypothetical. There are various factors that'll influence the whole situation. *conditions apply* as Ajan and you too have said, I truly agree with you both.
I can guess why you might be labelled as "bad", but I know you aren't an insensitive egoist. :) Chill, you rock!
DD: My sentiments exactly. If one considers the article, future Bollywood movies will have a different scenario where a a guy intros his future wife to his mother. hehehehe...
Sindhubaba: Hi and welcome! What Betty is to Archie is what Archie is to Veronica. Betty does everything under the sun to impress Archie. Thats what Archie does to woo Veronica, no?
Nw: Well, with all this, I'm not sure I want Archie to settle for Betty. :)
ReplyDeleteAjan: Exactly. My point basically being, no one, whether man or woman, has the right to dominate over the other to the point that the other is ripped off his/ her self respect.
and yes, *conditions apply* - Totally!
Sujata: hey you rnt late. don'rry! Seriously, now that I think abt it, Betty is too good to be true. Were I in her place, I'd chance maro once, twice, thrice and then kick Archie in the butt. :) There, matter settled.
Rayshma: The golden girl has spoken!! hehehe... I wanna know the same thing : after the initial chemical stir, how long is it desirable?
Suchitra: Me too, me too. i suffered a shock when I read the newspaper article. Now as i sed, I changed my mind. :) :D
Hey, bad girls go places, good girls go nowhere. (except may be the kitchen). I always wanted Betty to show some spunk. She never did. Thats why I'm all for Archie ending up with Veronica. She can kick butt when needed.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about men, but I am rather fond of these bad girls.
okay... totally unrelated... but i rbered something i'd read...
ReplyDelete"good girls go to heaven... bad girls have all the fun!"
will chk what hpnd to the guys who married some of the veronica-types and let you know! ;)
ok, here is ur comment again!
ReplyDeleteAlthough, i didn't really read the whole article (anything with Kareena in it is not readable material is a belief!) but what i do think the article wanted to say, and went overboard in is, that these days guys would want their wife/ girl to be a strong individual having a mind of her own... unlike just a "haanji - aap bataiye ji" types...
I think its true partly. Have seems decisions change and good ones getting dropped just because they were too easy to get or some other silly stupid reason.
ReplyDeleteMen are charmed more by independence and success...its a coincidence these types turn somewhere the other way
ReplyDeleteAparna: hahahaaha... good girls do land up in the kitchen, for sure. I loved your comment!!
ReplyDeleteRayshma: yes yes.. I read it too somewhere. and yes plz do the research.
Rachana: :O.. i thought all girls SHOULD be a strong individual with a mind of her own. And guys having that condition... I'd worship them. The article somehow gave me n impression that guys would do ANYTHING to grab the THTHHMFs. I mean I went a step further to analyse it in this way.
Vamshi Krishna A & Pesto Sauce: See, the-harder-you-chase-the-faster-i-run-girls are very desirable, I agree. But even those with zero consideration for the better half? gotta think, no?
do i mk sense if i say i am a good bad gal? :P
ReplyDeleteha ha ha...I completely understand. I'm one of them. :D
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
ReplyDeleteHigh maintenance for me is currently out of the question aas I am a poor man :)
What's good and what's bad? Arent't we all shades of grey ourselves.
You say to-may-to I say to-mah-to! Not every HMB(hi-maint bitch) takes a slave for a hubby, even a guy who makes her feel like a Woman ;) will suffice.
What with all the metrosexuals cropping up, old school macho men like me have very limited options :)
To Ronnie!
DPz: ha ha ha... well, you actually summed up all the comments by saying that! :)
ReplyDeletei agree with dewdrop here... i dont think flirting or anything makes a person bad.. n also these so called bad girls are cool to hang out with and will definitely be good as gfs but most prefer those good ones as their wifes...
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you both. :)
ReplyDeleteGive me Betty anyday. But to be frank, I am more Jughead than Archie, so Betty might not want to come to me - Life!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Guy Next Door: he he he..well, that makes thing easy for you by being "Jughead". And yes, Jughead IS much sensible.
ReplyDelete