I'm doing some baking with my brand-new oven. Did you know brand-new gas ovens smell bad when you first use them? According to the technicians at Premier Appliances, this is normal and will go away after the next few uses, but for now, there is this stinky smell in the air. Hopefully the baked potato skins I'm making for a potato skin salad will help make my kitchen smell a little better.
But you know, the stinkiness of the smell my oven is making cannot possibly compare to the stinkiness of an article I just read today. Apparently, Tracy McMillan, a writer for Mad Men and somewhat infamously the author of "Why You're Not Married" (which is now--WTF--a book), has a follow-up article, "Why You're Still Not Married."
Now I could answer that in one sentence: "Because I don't want to be." Easy. I got what I want! Ms. McMillan, on the other hand, has a much longer answer. (Her first reasons were quite the doozy: 1) You're a Bitch, 2) You're Shallow 3) You're a Slut, 4) You're a Liar, 5) You're Selfish, and 6) You're Not Good Enough.) However, she's got some new ones! Apparently...THIS is the reason for my husband-free state!
#7You're a mess. Well, okay, I know I've been in therapy. I make no apologies for that. Lots of people have. Apparently, to be "a mess," one needs to have a secret that they don't wish to share, one that's holding them back. Well, that hasn't yet stopped folks from being interested in me, and I am doubtful that it's going to. And your point?
#8 You're crazy. So McMillan sees "crazy" as anyone who likes intensity? Again, what's wrong with intensity? And if somebody's more intense, wouldn't they seek out someone equally intense or who could tolerate the intense and leave the vanilla folks to find someone else? Again, her point is?
#9 You're a dude. Well, that is really going to shock my parents when I tell them they have a son instead of a daughter. Not sure if I can describe myself as a femme anymore, but hey, if I am a dude, can I have the $0.22 added back to my paycheck?
#10 You're godless. Now, how are the people at devotions going to act when they find that out??? And if that is such a turnoff, why are there still atheists and agnostics who do get married?
Oh, but I digress. Tracy's real point is this: in order to find somebody who wants to marry you, you need to act like you don't have any personality or dreams or boundaries or anything that makes you, well, you. And you have to be straight (again, LGBTQ folks don't seem to exist in her world). If that's what it takes to get married, well, I think being single suits me quite nicely, thank you very much.
Really, I think Tracy should just stick to her day job of writing "Mad Men" scripts. At least that show is fictional. But I will say, I do agree with one sentence of hers, though not in the sarcastic way she meant it: "People are always just trying to make women feel bad, that's all. Misogynists." Yeah. They are. It's called sexist behavior and misogyny. And Tracy has shown that she is happily doing that as well.
Wow, after reading over her screed, my oven stinks a whole lot less by comparison! That's saying a lot!