A REAL Man?

link: Romance Novels search for "Real Men" for book covers

Where on earth do I begin??! There is so much wrong with this that I am not sure how to address this, but for some reason I am compelled to comment.

The article basically states that middle aged women don't like seeing young, studly, way too skinny men on their kissing books because they aren't what middle aged women desire. They want to see older men who have a little more meat on their bones so they have a more realistic image to drool over as they fantasize about making out with a strange man. And the publishers are going to do everything they can to please their reader base.

Problem #1: Why on earth are grown women reading this tripe?! I would like to think we have better things to do with our brains than pine away over some non-existent man who always says and does exactly what we want them to in every situation. And, for those of us who are married, how on earth does this benefit our marriage??? There is absolutely no way a real man could measure up to a fictionalized version of "ultimate male-ness". And, by the way, no fake man would ever measure up to a real one in the slightest. The former only has to be charming for about 120 pages, the latter must love you, exactly as you are in the real world, for the rest of your lives. Why would you compare the real thing to a one-dimensional caricature of a man?

Besides, if your man was spending his leisure time drooling through the pages of playboy, I'm guessing you wouldn't be all that thrilled. Well, men are visual and women are relational. They get their porn from pictures and we get ours from the written word! We will never measure up to airbrushed images of pouty-lipped 20-year-olds and our husbands will never measure up to some pretend guy who can save you from a burning building, fight off the bad guy and rub your feet with lavender oil...all at the same time. Grow up! This is inappropriate reading material for a woman who wants to nurture her marriage. If you are not married, it is even more inappropriate because they will poison your mind about what marriage really is.

One guy who was auditioning for the role of cover guy accidentally stumbled on the truth. He said, "From what I understand, (Harlequin) readers are women who want to escape from the relationship that they're in," said auditioner Carlos Troccoli, 30, who was tall, sturdy and muscular. "I can bring that to them."

If that doesn't make your skin crawl, I don't know what will. How embarrassing to know even these air-headed models get it and middle-aged women don't.

Problem #2: When they say they are looking for "Real Men" for their covers, they do not mean REAL MEN. If women were satisfied with their fellas, they wouldn't be grabbing these dime store novels off the shelf in the first place. They are simply looking for slightly older, slightly heaver, yet still self-involved men. Honestly, do you know a REAL MAN who would even consider allowing his likeness on one of those books? The whole concept is a lie.

We all have desires and longings. It is part of us. Those desires will never be fulfilled by reading a few paragraphs about some sweaty sailor. Yes, it might distract you from your real world stuff for awhile, but when the book is over you will still have your same home, your same husband and your same troubles. If you want real change in your life, look to the One who made you and knows exactly what will fulfill you. What He offers is life-giving, joy-producing, and chain-freeing.

His name is Jesus and he already loves you exactly as you are right now. He wants to bless you AND your marriage! Dump those trashy books and start spending your time reading words that will draw you closer to your mate, not further away.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8