Arms and the Man (with Apologies to George Bernard Shaw*)

Fluff alert - no deep thoughts this morning, just an aging boomer's fantasies (the safe ones, anyhow).

We're getting to that part of the year that is the favorite of those of us who admire the shapely female arm - the sleeveless dress season of late Spring through early Fall. Those of you who have been reading this blog for very long know that I am a great fan of the feminine arm, but what you may not know is that there are others who think long and hard on this wonderful limb.

Consider this article by Libby Copeland I found yesterday on Slate.com: Sleeveless - The Sheath: a Particular Brand of Female-Anchor Sexy. From the article ...

"The sleeveless sheath dress, now ubiquitous on cable and local news, and especially beloved by morning news programs, is as much a uniform for TV newswomen as androgyny was in the mid-’90s, when boxy blazers and short hair reigned." 

Yes, Dear Readers, there is a reason why many of the most popular television newswomen tend to wear sleeveless sheath dresses - they're 21^st century professional sexy. One of the reasons I can crank out my time on the elliptical machine in the early watches of the morning is the opportunity to see the news delivered by Diana Perez of ABC News ...

Followed by local newscaster Cynee Simpson ...

Poor old Walter Cronkite ...

How can you compete with today's news announcers?

Returning to the Slate.com article ...

"There’s a reason why the women of TV news have embraced sleevelessness while treading carefully in matters like cleavage (sexy weather reporters aside). Bare arms read as a kind of smart-sexy, a look that women in positions of authority can pull off. Michelle Obama is responsible for this, as are socialites of the Manhattan cocktail circuit, for whom bare arms long ago became a currency of wealth and fitness. MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and Chris Jansing are fans of the look, as is CBS’s Gayle King, and CNN’s Brooke Baldwin. Fit arms are about control, a state of poised strength you work at ... if cellulite and cleavage can read as sloppy, toned arms are the very opposite; they’re all about intention and control. Which is why newswomen get to show them off. They are appropriate for early risers and Ivy League overachievers—the sexiness of success rather than vulnerability."

Well, we could analyze this to death, or we could just admire the ladies who have beautiful arms and aren't afraid to show them off ... like the First Lady, for instance ...

She makes news, rather than reporting it ... but who cares? - she's beautiful.

Enjoy the summer. Ladies, thanks for sharing with the rest of us ... I, for one, appreciate it.

Have a good day. Consider that the right to bare arms is a lot safer and more beautiful than the right to bear them.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Arms and the Man had to do with the sort of arms beloved of the NRA ... not the sort of arms exposed by tank tops, camisoles, and shells. I like the latter sort much better.