Real English conversations: Do men prefer real or fake?
Lori here, welcoming you to another edition of Real English Conversations at Better at English dot com, the website that focuses on real English for real people. I will warn you right away: the topic of today's conversation could be considered somewhat provocative: silicone breast implants. So you should listen further only if you are not offended by that topic.
Before we get into the conversation, I have a question for you listeners. You know, I love making these casts to help you learn English. However, transcribing them – particularly writing up the vocabulary notes – is very time consuming. So I would like to know if you learners of English out there actually use the transcripts, in particular, the vocabulary explanations. There is a poll in the sidebar of the website where you can vote. I will leave the poll up until I have enough votes to get a good idea of what my listeners want. You can also email me or post in comments on the website or call the voice mail line at 206 250 2283.
This conversation is much longer than usual, so I'll shut up now and let you get to it. Enjoy!
Lori: I have to ask you: As a man…
L: What is your take on the whole silicone implant thing?
M: Umm… Do you mean…Do I….Well I don't… [laughter ] What a question! Umm, well, aside from the “enhancement” aspect of it — I thought silicone implants…I thought were kind of dangerous. But as far as the enhancement goes, I can tell you I once took an online survey…
M: …which showed a series of pictures of naked breasts…
M: And you had to click a checkbox and say whether they were natural or enhanced.
M: And I can tell you I got them all correct.
L: OK.
M: Umm, so I, you know, I think they look fake. I'm not impressed…with that sort of, that sort of thing.
L: OK. So now if you think about it if you think about, yeah, men's magazines…
L: …which I know that, I mean, you're a healthy, red-blooded man, you must have some experience with men's magazines.
M: [laughs] How can we put this delicately? Yes, I am familiar with these things.
L: Would you say that, the models that you see in the magazines, that they [their breasts] are real or fake?
M: Most of the ones that that I see tend to be fake… But I can tell you this: and that…when a model comes along who IS natural, they tend to be much more popular…
L: Really!
M: Yes, I think so, but they're few and far between because so few people are really built that way.
M: I mean, let's think about it, umm, you know, it's, umm, you know, there are so few people that are, you know, perfectly proportioned. But we can see…
L: Well, yeah, you have to be caref…careful with the word “perfect” as well…
L: Because that implies a value judgment.
M: Yes, whatever the current trend is, whatever the latest fashion is. Ummm
M: In the 50s compared to the 60s compared to the 70s — what they would, I mean I would say “perfect” — the ideal shape for the Hollywood starlet kind of sex symbol, umm, has changed. I mean, the 50s the accent was on the breasts, and it was quite a voluptuous look, I mean Marilyn Monroe or Diana Dors, or somebody like that. I mean, the 60s it was the legs, you know, the mini skirts and this kind of thing, and the skinny thing. And the 70s is a little bit more back to a fuller figure. And then I think it all went horribly wrong in the 80s.
M: Well there's the plastic surgery thing for one thing.
L: OK
M: But also things like, ummm, MTV, umm, magazines that are targeting…the whole umm, bombarding young people with magazines that are showing “This is what you must look like” “This is what is attractive,” “This is perfect, and if you don't measure up to this you're something less than that,” you know? And I think it's…
L: Even if a lot of it is…It's implied. But I would have to agree with you, that, you know — I don't read women's magazines.
L: And I think that a lot of the problems that I've had as an adult, with my own self-esteem and, you know, problems that you have about how you feel about yourself, are…they sort of have their root in reading my mother's women's magazines, from a very very young age…
L: Because…
L: …I was a really really, really early and really eager young reader. I would read anything I could get my hands on.
L: And so from the age of, probably six or seven, I was reading my mother's women's magazines
M: Right…well, do you know this kind of transfers in the same way to males…I can tell you that I was also very keen reader when I was young…
M:… And I read, umm, a lot of my dad's men's magazines, shall we say…
L: Mmm
M: …aaah when I was young. So, umm, you got the impression that this is what attractive women are supposed to look like as well, from a male point of view. So yeah, it seems like this is all guided, you know, umm, that both males and females are being guided into this thing, you know, we're supposed to find THIS attractive, and that you're supposed to live up to this thing. You know? Ummm…
L: Exactly. And then you see when you're watching TV, you know, mainstream junk TV, how, you know, it's the beautiful people who good things happen to…
M: Yeah.
L: ..the beautiful woman who gets rewarded and…
M: Right, and the villain in the movie is usually very ugly because, you know, we're not supposed to sympathize with this.
M: And the hero is a fantastic chisel-jawed, rugged-looking guy.
M: And the love interest is a stunningly beautiful…It's predictable.
Thanks for tuning in to this edition of Real English Conversations. As always, you can find a full transcript of the entire cast, plus vocabulary explanations, on the website – www.betteratenglish.com . And please stop by the website and cast your vote in the transcriptions poll in the sidebar.