From “The male mind cannot comprehend the allure of Tony Soprano” by Catherine Shannon:
We were unanimous. Some of these women were practically squealing with delight just thinking about it. “Wait—he’s literally so hot and I don’t know why!” said the twenty-three-year-old. (Haha.)
“But he’s fat.” A male colleague inserted himself into the discussion. “And balding.” We looked up at him with annoyance and pity. This is when I realized: the modern male mind simply cannot comprehend the allure of Tony Soprano.
It’s a great read that takes shots at how toxic masculinity hurts men and feeds off their insecurities like a chad-chinned vampire. It points out that loving women and liking women are two completely different things, and you can’t get the love right if you’re unable to do the like.
It also points out how men as a species have such a low bar to clear, and yet they still think they’re in a limbo contest. Tony Soprano is a criminal who does some horrible things, but the article points out he genuinely pays attention to the women in his life.
This was a helpful read for me to check some of my worst internal criticisms. I was not anticipating being single in my 40s, and assessing myself at this point is a lot different than any assessment I would’ve given myself 15 years ago.
I’m just hoping that therapy and experience can help me have a less distorted view of myself now, compared to back then. If I’m going to feel like shit about myself/my potential attractiveness, I’d at least like that to be an evidence-backed finding, thank you very much.
This Builds Character 