Althouse: "Too many girls have been seduced by the feminist lie that women over 30 are remotely do-able."

March 28, 2014

"Too many girls have been seduced by the feminist lie that women over 30 are remotely do-able."

"The hard truth is that month after month, your precious eggs are jumping out of your vagina like rats off a sinking ship."

Kristen Schaal is hilarious in this "Daily Show" segment that makes fun of the "Marry Smart" author Susan Patton.

You remember Susan Patton: We've been talking about her in this morning's post "If you associate 'too closely with a man who is significantly below your intellectual level, you will eventually get stupid juice all over you.'"

And you remember Kristen Schaal: She's the band's truest and only fan on "Flight of the Conchords." Or maybe you know her as Hazel Wassername on "30 Rock."

40 comments:

Paul said...: SMV for men and women. Also discusses women's ability to conceive and bear children as they age.

It's biology folks.

http://therationalmale.com/; 3/28/14, 3:16 PM
PB said...: Ms Schaal seems to be the complementary case: that of a woman spilling stupid juice about.; 3/28/14, 3:23 PM
rehajm said...: these are facts based on opinion

Heh. Isn't that the NYT motto?; 3/28/14, 3:29 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Comments made before watching the video are kind of making me sad.; 3/28/14, 3:31 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm glad this woman is married. She has the voice and face for comedy, but she wasn't at all funny.

Jon Stewart is funny, but that whole bit felt like they were trying way too hard for a joke.

I'd hate to be a woman at any time, but during the last 40 years or so it'd be even worse I think. The pressure to have a career when you're emotions are telling you something different? And no matter the choice you make, someone is going to hate you.; 3/28/14, 3:42 PM
Paul said...: Don't be sad. The Daily Show is simply to juvenile and boringly unfunny for some of us.; 3/28/14, 3:51 PM
Anonymous said...: I watched the video and I agree with PB Reader.; 3/28/14, 3:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Patton makes some good points, but her retro attitude will turn off almost any young person. Stewart makes her look ridiculous, which she is. That said, some people (even of the upper castes!) are ready and mature enough at 20 to start getting married, and should if the right person appears. I know I had no idea what life was about at that age.; 3/28/14, 3:53 PM
Carl Pham said...: It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.; 3/28/14, 3:56 PM
southcentralpa said...: http://5e62f3a6d1638bf1b14d-5d806c6cef9f5da883ae68ded2a2e610.r20.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/i/0e2488399_1379609183_infertility-prevention-handbook-91913.pdf The Infertility Prevention Handbook of the American Fertility Association.

It reminds me of those old messages from the College of mergency Physicians back in the 70s...; 3/28/14, 3:58 PM
Anonymous said...: BTW, I think you meant to link to this video: http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/g6g0ru/marry-smart---dewy-adorable-days-gone-by

If I see one more ad for "Noah," I'm going to break something.; 3/28/14, 3:59 PM
Todd said...: Well it is nice and all to poke fun at Susan's book but the basic message of the book and video (hidden behind all the jokes) is she is right. Women only have a limited number of eggs. When they are gone, they are gone. As women get older, pregnancy becomes more risking and less likely.

Feminists can yell "you can have it all" all they want but there are trade offs. If you spend all of your youth building a career and then decide you want to have a family, well your choice has affected your options. Women can say that is not fair but life is not fair.

That skit was "fun" but it did not dispute the premise of Susan's book that your best chance to get a successful man is while you are in collage, surrounded by potentially successful men. It is a "target rich" environment. Depending on your career choice, you may individually have additional opportunities that offer women as good odds but not likely.

Women can shoot the messenger all they want but that does not negate the validity of the message.; 3/28/14, 4:01 PM
Todd said...: The video poked a lot of fun at Susan and her book but did nothing to dispute the message.

Women in collage that wish to marry "upscale" are likely in the best "target rich" environment of their lives.

The video does not make any argument against that premise. As with any "contrary" position, the left is trying to crucify the messenger because they can't argue against her message. She does not say you must get married or that if you don't land a man in school you will die a spinster. She just points out that collage is where the (mostly) smart, young, (likely) upwardly mobile men are when they are most likely to be available.

Ignore at your own risk...; 3/28/14, 4:07 PM
SteveR said...: People don't have to read Patton's book, no matter how many times they see her being made fun of on shows, using clips of her on other shows promoting her book. Same way I don't have to watch clips of the Daily show no matter how many ads I would need to watch to see them. This Vine time sequenced understanding of life works perfectly. Hilarious stuff; 3/28/14, 4:11 PM
mccullough said...: The video of Stewart mocking Patton in her interviews was pretty funny. Also, his interview of Schaal was pretty good, but her skits in the spin class and in the kindergarten were subpar.; 3/28/14, 4:12 PM
mccullough said...: Patton is about average looking for a Princeton grad.; 3/28/14, 4:13 PM
Sam L. said...: Never. Heard. Of. Her. Not watching the video.

Ben Franklin is reported to have advised young men to pursue older women, as "they are more grateful" for it.; 3/28/14, 4:14 PM
dreams said...: "Don't be sad. The Daily Show is simply to juvenile and boringly unfunny for some of us."

I've never like him and I can get past a person's politics. Dave Letterman is another person I don't like.; 3/28/14, 4:28 PM
Austin said...: I praise of older women..

http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/voices-in-time/in-praise-of-older-women.php; 3/28/14, 4:37 PM
Kevin said...: I know Schaal from her voice-over role of Louise on "Bobs Burgers", one of the more reliably funny shows around.; 3/28/14, 4:57 PM
Fen said...: Feminists are finally realizing they need a tax base to pay for their birth control. *snort*; 3/28/14, 5:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I looked at her IMDB page and she has a lot of voice-over work.

She really does have a great voice for cartoons, and I think that kind of work is really great for actors. No makeup, no costumes, no need to be on a set and wait for things.; 3/28/14, 5:04 PM
Wince said...: and I think that kind of work is really great for actors. No makeup, no costumes, no need to be on a set and wait for things.

Gwyneth Paltrow call your agent!; 3/28/14, 5:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Okay, I watched it in dutiful penance for my previous failure to come to the comments section properly prepared.

First impressions: Wow, the author Susan Patton is ugly, most most unattractive. I didn't expect her to be. At first I felt guilty for thinking that, but hey, she not only lives in that harsh world, but pimps it for $, so why should I be the one feeling bad?

Second impressions: her outfit and hair style have to be ironic. Someone advised her to dress retro and poof her hair up like it is 1962 to troll more people and get more coverage. She's similar to Tiger Mom and The Rules woman in that sense.

Good job on the clip of the reality of college guys and the interns because in the rear view mirror, you tend to remember only the best ones.

One of the 'best' guys I dated was in high school, so I'm actually fairly sympathetic to a non-alarmist version of her views in the sense that I don't think career-oriented people should be scared of forming deeper connections at a younger age, but there's no reason for her 'burn in hell' fear mongering, except, well, she's quite unattractive and seems unpleasant to boot. Maybe that has given her a more cruel view of the world and she is sincerely trying to advise according to her experience. I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she acts like younger women aren't aware of the passage of time, which is simply untrue.

I liked the bit with the dark whispering to the kids on their blankets in kindergarten and her summary: "Men are horrible creatures, get one as soon as you can, that's the message." The Jon Stewart and the Daily Show are great at cajoling people back to their senses from any number of extreme viewpoints.; 3/28/14, 5:13 PM
rhhardin said...: Get Smart (2008) Carrel and Hathaway

00:23:35 MAX: Since we are going to be portraying husband and wife...

00:23:38 MAX: ...maybe we should get our story set.

00:23:41 99: Okay, good idea.

00:23:44 99: We met at a marketing convention in Vegas. Married a year later. No kids.

00:23:49 99: I like your parents, but you hate mine.

00:23:51 MAX: Do we want kids?

00:23:52 99: Well, you do, but I'm concentrating on my career.

00:23:56 MAX: I don't know if that's fair. I mean, I'm older than you are.

00:23:58 - 99: Well, not by much. - MAX: Really?

00:24:03 99: When they gave me a new face, I had them...

00:24:07 99: ...take a couple years off.

00:24:09 99: You know, why not?

00:24:12 MAX: Well, if that's the case, then you are at an advanced age, and you should be...

00:24:17 99: Well, no. I was never...

00:24:19 MAX: I'm just saying that your eggs could dry up and fall out of your uterus.

00:24:23 MAX: So time is of the essence.

00:24:26 - 99: That's your opinion. - MAX: No, that is a medical fact.

00:24:30 99: There is a lot of time for me to make this decision.

00:24:33 99: I will not be rushed into it by you or my mother.

00:24:35 - MAX: You don't have much time. - 99: Where is the drink cart?; 3/28/14, 5:17 PM
Anonymous said...: You know, in all this talk of relationships, I hear very little discussion about love or awareness of what people feel they have to give to another person (not what they have to "offer" or trade like it's a freaking job interview).

Love is giving. Really. And it helps at any age. I'm very uncynical about Love in all its forms.; 3/28/14, 5:30 PM
Paddy O said...: I thought that was funny.

Our 2nd is due in August. My wife is 36.

She spent her 20s making music, recording CDS, living in Southern France.

She loves being a mom now, having been able to live her dream for a number of years before we got married. She has incredible peace.

Meanwhile we have friends who got married in college or soon after. Very angsty now that their kids are older and they realize they've put off their dreams.; 3/28/14, 5:39 PM
This said...: Kristen Schaal turns up in the deleted scenes on the DVD for a Jane Campion movie called In The Cut.; 3/28/14, 5:59 PM
Patrick said...: Hey that's great Paddy! Congrats!; 3/28/14, 7:10 PM
jr565 said...: Susan is right though. If your goal is to have a family and kids. Which seems to be a goal for a lot of women.guys don't have that biological clock to the same degree.
And while Princeton college types might be drunk frat boys. they are also rich enough to pay for a Princeton education.
Imagine going through life with two people educated at Princeton. That's serious kaching power.; 3/28/14, 7:14 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "The video of Stewart mocking Patton in her interviews was pretty funny. Also, his interview of Schaal was pretty good, but her skits in the spin class and in the kindergarten were subpar."

I agree. But I did laugh when I saw the spin class setting, because I just find spin class women sort of desperate. You never see men doing spin classes.; 3/28/14, 8:18 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Patton does have a point, but there's substance and there's form and she's chosen, in form, to be aggravating. That's working for her. She's getting lots of attention and selling her book.; 3/28/14, 8:21 PM
Paddy O said...: Thanks, Patrick!; 3/28/14, 11:31 PM
Michael McNeil said...: Women only have a limited number of eggs. When they are gone, they are gone.

Except that it has been discovered that stem cells can grow into wholly new eggs. So far this has been demonstrated to work only in mice, but it appears likely that it can also work in primates. Give it a decade or so, and women will be able to make new, not only new but young, eggs for themselves.; 3/29/14, 1:26 AM
stlcdr said...: The decisions women have to make...where do they find the time to bitch about how hard they have it (heh heh heh. 'Hard')

Oh, and 5 seconds into the ad I turned it off. It was a credit card. I just find that ironic.

Kristen wassername (sic) is kinda cute - her voice does play well for voice acting - she was in an Archer episode, I believe. The drawn character actually looked like her (except for the larger boobs).; 3/29/14, 5:51 AM
roundeye said...: Ann, isn't the criticism of her methods just tone policing? In my experience of the two dozen college sweetheart marriages of my friends bone have resulted in divorce and all have families, usually 3 plus kids. All my other friends divorce at the usual rate. I regret not getting earlier (I'm 45 and chasing around a 3 and 6 year Olds as I type. My back hurts.); 3/29/14, 6:57 AM
Jaq said...: I agree with the poster above, recording music and living in the South of France should be plan a, and put off having kids until you are in your thirties. Just because risks of complications rise, and the energy to keep up with kids wanes with age, it didn't happen to him, ergo, it will not happen to anybody. Plus, it is easier to get such a job than it is to get a job at McDonalds so anybody who chooses a stable career is obviously an idiot, since it is so much better to be a successful artist, and just as easy to get eh work.

Plus, by the time you are forty, your life is over and you may as well spend your later years on the joyless task of raising children, having the time free to enjoy life is pointless by this time.

Oh, and age brings no wisdom, all it does is make you forget all the stuff you knew when you were younger. That decline starts at the age of approx 15, when you know absolutely everything. By the time you get old, you only know a couple of simple things that your dementia causes you to think of as truths earned over a lifetime of experience, but are actually false consciousnesses produced by the slow death of the brain.

So yeah, put off having children, by all means. By the time you are fifty, it will be possible for you to have them then.; 3/29/14, 7:25 AM
Paddy O said...: "it didn't happen to him, ergo, it will not happen to anybody."

That's a silly conclusion.

More that, do what you feel is right and don't listen to the people who say everyone has to do "This!"

If you find the right person, marry young, wonderful!

If you find other paths, wonderful!

Don't be all angsty. Just live life as it comes and know there's always a chance to fill out the rest of the stuff. Examples abound on both sides of it working and note working.

The complications issue is silly. Complication risk rises, sure, but complications can happen at any point, young or old.

And having more wisdom and personal peace when older actually can help aid in child raising too.

It all goes both ways. There's risks and challenges with getting married and having kids young, and risks/challenges with getting married and having kids older.

It's the absolutism that is absurd.; 3/29/14, 9:40 AM
dbp said...: Kristen Schaal reminds me a bit of Sandra Bernhard:

1. Both work in comedy

2 Neither are pretty. Not ugly or even homely either, just not pretty in any conventional sort of way--though perhaps contradictorily they both have enormous sex-appeal.

3. The parts they play are just creepy enough to make them both a little intimidating.; 3/29/14, 10:08 AM
Spunky said...: I like the Daily Show but I found the skit with Kristen Schaal really offensive. They go to great lengths to ridicule Susan Patton. Ok. I get it. But then they take it to an utter extreme by lampooning the same women at the heart of Patton's critique: women who are single and childless and, god forbid, have a career. Yeah, I get that they were aiming for satire and irony, but the joke fell horribly flat. Not the Daily Show's finest hour.; 3/29/14, 7:42 PM