Going nowhere on November 30, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl

I have a problem. It’s an embarrassing problem, and I don’t know if there’s much I can do about it.

You see, I am unattractive, physically. Not for lack of trying, mind you. I exercise, I have good hygiene, I try to wear what flatters me, I even went so far as to get my legs waxed and my hair done. But the fact of the matter is that I’ve got some acne scars from my youth, I’ve got crooked teeth, and I’ve got the obligatory family curse of a huge ass. And these things aren’t the kind of traits that I can change without some plastic surgery, and when you work as an office temp, well, there just isn’t a way I can afford that sort of thing.

It’s really hard when you get constantly passed over when you’re out with your friends, or when you find out that one of them invites you out so that she can look better. It’s hard to know that inside, you’re as beautiful as any supermodel, and about a million times as smart, but no man will come near you because you are (in words I over heard once, coming from a grown man no less) “a big bow-wow.”

I’m tired of being lonely, and I was wondering what advice you had for a girl like me.

— Miss “Great Personality”

BG’s answer after the jump!

Against type on October 19, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I just met this guy who seems to be really nice, and seems to be giving me the eye. Yes, I am quite attracted. BUT– he bears a STRONG resemblance to my ex-boyfriend, who turned out to be an a**hole. Which I am not trying to hold against the lookalike, nor am I really trying to redo past history– at least I don’t THINK so. I think I would have been attracted to him before the boyfriend too, as I don’t go for one particular kind of look in a guy (as in “I only like guys with dark hair and blue eyes” kinda thing). BUT– is it just a terrible idea to date someone who looks like someone you used to date?

— Mahina

Dear Mahina,

I do realize that looks are in a realm all by themselves. But you should also realize that WHOEVER gives you the eye is going to have something about him that resembles your ex — his speech pattern, his favorite team, his failure to call, his gender. So go ahead and see if you feel something for Clone, see if he treats you fine. And see how he looks to you then.

Love,
Breakup Girl

Fooling around on October 19, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

What’s a good way to tell my sweet, incredible boyfriend that I think he’s beautiful and I adore his body, even though he’s fat, and I’d like the lights on once in a while (nudge nudge, wink wink)?

— In the Dark

Dear Dark,

You pretty much already know, but I’m so glad you asked. How about saying, “Sweet incredible boyfriend, I think you’re beautiful and I adore your body. I love what we do in the dark, but I’d also love to try having the lights on once in a while.What do you think?” If he’s bashful, start with lots of candles (think: that scene in the new “Romeo + Juliet,” except without the death part). Alternatively, you could simply “show, not tell” (nudge nudge wink wink).

See, shy big/beautiful people out there? Saying, confidently, “Here I am!” — as opposed to hiding — is what’s truly hottest of all.

Love,
Breakup Girl

Making a move on September 21, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I like this boy I barely know, but I know him well enough to know his name. We are both in the same grade, 8th. I’m not the type of person to ask someone out, I’m afraid I’ll be rejected. Plus he’s going out with someone and I doubt he knows who I am.

All the other people say that I should flirt with him, say hi and stuff, but it’s hard on me cause im kinda shy. What am I supposed to do, walk up to him and just say, “Hi!” That’s kinda awkward for me.

His girl’s locker is in the same aisle as mine and he’s there. I never said a word to him, same for him to me. But if he breaks up, I KNOW for a fact that he won’t go with me. He likes those preppy girls that wear their hair in a bob, a messy ponytail, flares, (I wear flares) with those plaid or checkered button up shirts that they wear over white tees.

NO guy has ever asked me out in 2 years! I have a feeling that I may be ugly. When I look in the mirror, I look fine, but when I look in the 3-way mirror I look demented! My nose is crooked and everything.

What can I do to make it *normal*? How can I make myself look and feel better??

–Unloved

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Getting ugly on September 7, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I am 22 years old and never had a relationship. Every guy I met has used me for money and sex. I have always been so nice and caring, the most sweetest person to men, even helping them out financially when they need it. (I don’t want to get into the amount of money I gave men, because you probably will be shocked.) From the age of 17, I started sleeping with men just for the hopes of a relationship, so they’d like me, etc., plus they told me all the things I wanted to hear. Me being very shy and unattractive, I would become very happy from hearing a compliment. I also learned that if I said no to sex, the guy would leave and I’d never see him again. However, last year one guy did not accept “no” and I was raped. The whole court ordeal lasted one year and I was not able to date anyone. Yes, I did go to rape therapy for that year. It helped, because I still didn’t give up on men after that. I basically just dealt with it and accepted it. When I was finally able to start seeing men again, my friend hooked me up with this guy. It took me a while to trust him, but finally I did and I slept with him (which was a pretty big step for me at this point). Of course, he didn’t want to be my boyfriend, but to me that was “normal.” I just blamed it on my looks. I found out he was married. This devastated me because again, I trusted someone and shame on me. I think I have heard all the lines by now. I saw another guy for two weeks right after the married one, but he didn’t want to be my boyfriend either, even though I spent every day with him. I took care of him when he was sick in bed for several days. I gave him rides all the time in my car. He told me he loved me, even though sometimes he put me down about my weight and how I looked. But I never slept with him, so he ended up leaving me. He got in a relationship with some one else within a matter of days. I could go on and on about the many other guys I’ve tried to be with, but I’ll spare you the misery. They all have practically the same scenario, same ending. I really feel that all I am good enough for is sex and my money. It hurts to think that all I did for each guy didn’t mean nothing to them. Sometimes it hurts to look in the mirror. Please help me.

–Melanie

BG’s advice after the jump!

Don’t go changin’ on August 31, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I am very shy. I know I’m not pretty or anything but I’m 16 and never had a boyfriend. I have low self-esteem and that is why I’ve been told I can’t get a boyfriend, and the guys I like never like me back — they always like the skinny show-all types. My friend who is pretty, all the guys stare at her. My question is how to attract the guy I am interested in without changing myself.

— Depressed

Dear Depressed,

Staring and liking are not the same. “Skinny show-all” and “self-esteem” aren’t either. But otherwise, you’re on the right track: don’t you dare change — or show — a thing. And no, don’t just “be yourself, blah blah blah” — be even more of yourself. Do the stuff you love; really really enjoy it; be good at it. Excellent boys will not stare; they will notice.

Love,
Breakup Girl

Trying to fit in on August 31, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

My problem is that I don’t have a boyfriend. I know this may sound stupid, but it kinda upsets me. All my close friends have boyfriends, but I’ve never had a good relationship with a guy. I’m only 16, I know, and have kissed a few guys but none really like me, that I know of anyway. All my friends are really pretty too, and I’m only average (but on the plus side of average, I think…) so I think no guys want to settle for me when they COULD have someone like them. I DO have low self-esteem, I know that, and this doesn’t help matters at all. I’m fairly smart, but not a geek, and am in what is considered the “cool” group. I play in a band and stuff like that and have heaps of friends, but can’t seem to get a boyfriend. I know you’ll probably say, “You’re fine the way you are, yada yada yada,” but what should I do?

— Jayne

BG does NOT say she’s fine, after the jump!

Getting comfortable on August 10, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

My boyfriend and I started dating two years ago, and everything has been very good. We are both very athletic and enjoy running, etc. together. When we started dating, he had a great body. However, despite all the working out, his waistline has expanded greatly due to the his terrible eating habits. I have tried very hard to maintain my shape and have succeeded — which he is very happy about. I have known him for a long time and know that he has always had very high standards with respect to the bodies of the women he dates.

In any event, he has let himself go and I feel like he is taking me for granted. He told me that he has always been in great shape in between relationships and looking to date new people — but that he tends to gain weight when he is in one, because he gets “comfortable.” I know I sound superficial, but I feel as if he is being very hypocritical. He would be very unhappy if I had gained almost 20 pounds over the course of our relationship. On top of that, it is beginning to have an impact on my physical attraction to him. I have dropped hints, but nothing seems to work. How do I approach this subject with him?

— Holly

BG weighs in after the jump!

The “looks” theme generated quite a few responses, including one from an earnest Swedish boy — “Are Americans that obsessed with looks?”– who somehow thought that all my columns, every week, and all my letters, were all about this theme. I took a moment away from “House of Style” to gently set him straight.

Next, here’s a pic of the Bride of Wildenstein (thanks, Kathleen and Linda). Breakup Girl is unable to write a joke about it at this time because she is hiding under her chair.

And speaking of plastic surgery, remember Mole Boy (as in, one of last week’s letter writers, not as in, “Mulder, do you mean to tell me that this young man with no eyes has learned to survive by burrowing underground and eating only insects?”)? He evidently felt some sort of cosmic/cosmetological link to Sunkissed, the young woman wondering if a face lift would boost her prospects with boys, and here is what he wrote about it. Everyone who’s ever wondered “what’s missing?” (from your face, your weekend, your soul) should read carefully; everyone else (like, both of you), should enjoy the lovely ride.

Dear Breakup Girl,

It’s Writer Boy / Nothing Like The Sun again. We can stick with Writer Boy. [This repeat-writer is a man of many aliases. — BG] I was so pleased that you did several questions on the looks issue. I actually was a little worried about asking the mole question because I knew it raised some serious self-image issues, but the answer in one case is not necessarily the same in another. A haircut that makes you feel fabulous is a healthy self-image adjustment, but not so much for massive plastic surgery in most cases. Anyway, seeing everything in a larger context was very cool.

Oddly enough, I was more struck by Sunkissed’s issue than your admittedly spot-on advice about my own (If you had advised the other way, I guess it would have been “spot-off”, hehe.) Suddenly I remembered what it was like to be me at 15 and discovered that in the past decade I’ve already made the most important self-adjustment I could make–transforming from shy, neurotic Antisocial Boy into Very-Much-OK-With-Himself Boy. [More aliases! — BG]

So, I have a shout-out snippet of advice of my own, for Sunkissed (and anyone else who’s recently been Dumped or Slumped for that matter). Dancing is my personal prescription panacea for relationship woes.) I’m cribbing a little from your notes to her, but consider my plagiarism a mildly devious form of flattery.

Dear Sunkissed,

Take heart. At 15, you have had more boyfriends than I had had girlfriends by age 21. In fact, Writer Boy remained un-kissed until he had notched off two decades on his belt and just begun his third. But that same Writer Boy is now mostly happy, well-adjusted, and can find no bigger relationship problem in his life than a silly mole (which I am pleased to say I am keeping!).

(more…)

A low point from June 22, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

I moved 2000 miles to live with “the love of my life.” Once I got there, he broke up with me. I was stranded, broke, and alone. It was hell. I am now back home with my parents, trying to move on. But I am haunted by questions of “why” and “how.” Last night, I talked to him, and the same subject came up as to why I’m “not his type” — not attractive enough, not thin enough. I accept the relationship is over, but now I have the leftover feeling that I was dumped because I’m unattractive. I’m now terrified of meeting anyone, because I fear it will just happen again. And now my self-esteem is zilch, since I see myself as fat and unappealing. (Especially since I have gained about 15 pounds since the breakup, and I just took my exam to be a registered dietician! I feel like such a failure.) How do I go on and repair this damage? Will I forever hear him in my head saying that I am unattractive and not thin enough? I feel like our whole society is obsessed with looks. On TV, on the radio, and in my relationships, that’s all I see. It just makes me want to hide away forever. Please, can you help me see things differently?

— Crushed

BG responds after the jump!