HOW ABOUT A TURNABOUT?

The rosy-hued photo essay of a young woman spending an entire day getting ready for a dinner date (“Indulge Yourself,” Fall Beauty, Style, Sept. 10) not only affirms that a woman’s main preoccupation in life is to snag a man but also offers her helpful hints on how to do it. Forget meaningful work, developing self-esteem or taking an interest in the world around you. Instead, spend the day pondering weighty grooming decisions. How indeed “to decide between mod pinks and whites and the vampire berries and plums?”

It’s been said that the way to expose sexism, racism or any other limiting judgmental attitude is to reverse the participants. Might we not imagine a follow-up article detailing a day of narcissistic pampering and preparation indulged in by the young man for whom our dewy-eyed young lady has invested such time and effort? Let’s have seven full pages, including pictures of him with mud and cucumbers slapped on his face. Will he, too, be found fretting over his toenails?

Jo-Ann Morgan

Los Angeles