Perceived Desperation

If your town has an imbalanced sex ratio--more men than women--Mayor John Molony has a solution:

May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa.

And he said it all polite-like, with "ugly" even cloaked in nice terms!

Because "beauty-disadvantaged" women will take whatever, whomever, whenever. They have no right to be discerning, to have preferences, to seek someone whom they might actually like.

And they'll even be happy about it!

''Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face,'' [Molony] continued. ''Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness.''

Grateful, she is, for having been saved from a fate worse than death--HAVING NO MAN--which is surely what her "disadvantaged" state would have led to.

In a patriarchal, heterosexist world, when there's a sex imbalance, guys just can't lose. If they are outnumbered, they are supposed to have the luxury of being extremely choosy or enjoying multiple partners. If they ounumber women, well, they might have to "settle" for an ugly girl, but they gain her undying gratitude and thus, hopefully, servitude.

Because an ugly chick, Molony apparently believes, has few prospects, and will likely do annything to keep her man.

The women of Mount Isa (in Australia) weren't too keen on Molony's suggestion.

The quotes, published Saturday in the Townsville Bulletin, sparked outrage among the town's female population, led to furious online debates and drew criticism from the local chamber of commerce.

Poor Mayor Molony is feeling "twisted and warped" and "shredded."

And I loved this quip women make:

''We've got a saying up here that the odds are good, but the goods are odd,'' 27-year-old Anna Warrick told The Brisbane Times.

And H/T to Trin who sent me the link to CNN's page.