decided to take a look at an episode of "Millionaire Matchmaker" on Bravo, through the lens of Ariel Levy. Now if you haven't seen this addicting t.v. show before let me give you a brief synopsis. In this particular episode, Patty who owns a business called the "Millionaires club", claims she is a 3rd generation matchmaker with a 99% success rate. Women and men who are worth a million dollars or more, come to her office in L.A. in hopes of finding true love, which is what Patty promises to deliver. But the best part of the entire show, is the way in which Patty's ethics behind "dating" and "what men and women should wear and or say when they date" is what makes the show so appealing and funny. In this episode in particular, this millionaire comes in who is about 28 years old, a CPA, VERY good looking with a great body. Patty is the kind of girl Levy would call a FCP. She greets the man, gets to know a little bit about him, and immediately off the bat tell this guy that he is way too shy, and that women need hunters, who throw them against the wall and rip their clothes off, and that his hobbies, which included cooking and yoga, were not manly enough. This is a perfect example of what Levy says will happen to a woman who tries to act like a man and vice-versa, it isn't appealing and its looked down upon as too "girly". And so she takes him to an improvisational class where he can learn to open up and be less shy. Patty tells her customers exactly what she thinks about them, and for her, a man should be confident, and very physically aggressive hunter, no exceptions. Now it was time for Patty to interview the girls that were trying to go on a date with this millionaire. Patty has them come in one by one, and the first thing she says to one, is how big are your boobs? Show them off, take off your shirt. To another, "You look like a librarian why are you dressed like that?" To another, "You need to lose about 20 lbs". I mean i cant even begin to tell you how crass this girl is. And here you see the perfect example of a woman, who considers herself a FCP, who believes that sexuality is power, and that by sticking out your boobs, guys are more likely to want to date you. Patty deals with so many girls that walk through her door trying to get a chance to date a millionaire but it is clear that her targets are aimed at small women, with a pretty face, big breasts, and a nice smile. She is what some women would claim were hurting the second wave of feminism when the porn debate began. I think patty would say, men will be men, and why not show off your hot body if you can? The best part of this show is when this female millionaire walks through the door asking Patty to set her up with a man. The problem with this woman Patty says, is that because she is so successful in life, that is why she is alone. "You're 42 years old and your in Los Angeles, don't expect to date a younger guy because they're gonna drop you for a younger girl and all they want is your money". This girl was livid because she did not want to have to settle for an "older" man, but Patty insists that she will be alone for the rest of her life, if she does not become more feminine, less aggressive and more open to dating older men. This girl also embodies the FCP which is why Patty and her end up fighting and she kicks this client out of her club. But the real issue here is that this woman at the end said she wasn't going to settle for anyone and that she'd rather be alone. Another one of her issues is that she is attracted to younger men, but is upset when she finds out that they were only after her money, she wanted to be taken care of because her career keeps her so busy that she wants an alpha male but is more attracted to younger unexperienced men. FCP. She has learned how to be a man in a mans world and her first instinct is to use her aggressiveness on younger impressionable males, but the other part of her feminine side still wants to be taken care of. Her hunter side that she has developed in the business world has taken over, this makes it appear that women cant have it both ways. The situation many women face today that Levy points out, in that men are afraid and intimidated by women who have more money than they do. Ironic no?But the thing that is different about both Patty and this client of hers, is that they both look down in disdain at the women who have to parade themselves around with their boobs hanging out, even though they know that it is the boobs that is going to seal the deal and bring in the $$$. But both Patty and this girl, still share some qualities that Levy does not address, in that they are both very pretty, very girly-girl in the way they dress, but not in their attitudes. Both of them are crass, overly confident, and extremely straightforward but put together and girly. They both realize that to be successful they have to be a hunter, but they are both still single because they cannot find men who are attracted to their confident attitudes. The thing is though that even though Patty is going to set this girl up, she guy that she chooses for her to go on a date on, will stay have to play the role of the man and plan every single part of the date. Which is patty's way of telling the girl that she needs to be a girl and allow her "feminine side to come out". Patty's view is no matter how much progress women make in the world, the man is the man and the woman is the woman, and there is a sort of hunter hunted relationship that is ingrained in our biological natures and are inherently unchangeable.
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