“Lumbering toward me: Bigfoot,” wrote columnist Georgea Kovanis. “OMG, I thought, as I reached into my purse for my phone. I need to get a picture! But as the creature approached, I realized he wasn't Bigfoot, Sasquatch or any other member of the yeti family. It's Grizzly Adams! Hmm he always looked taller on TV! Wait, it's a pimp! No, he can't be; his coat isn't long enough. In the end, it turned out to be just some guy in a waist-length and very tragic fur coat.”
The thing is, fur has never really been about looking good. In its origins, it was about keeping warm. Then it became a status symbol in Medieval Europe. And it hasn’t really evolved past that point.
Cruelty-free fashion icon Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute explained, at length, the sociological, cultural and masochistic nature of fur use in an episode of Defender Radio. To sum up, it isn’t good for anyone.
Without going into animal welfare, Free Press columnist Kovanis gave a rather simple overview of why fur is unnecessary:
“Fur isn't necessary for warmth. We have coats made from insulated microfiber, fleece and goose down, and other fabrics and fibers designed for optimal comfort during the winter. Plus we have indoor heat. Most of all, fur looks silly. In fact, I can think of few things that look more ridiculous than a man a fur coat — I'm still chuckling over the image of 70-year-old Joe Namath, who showed up at last year's Super Bowl in a white fur that made him look like a cross between fictional anchorman Ron Burgundy and the Abominable Snowman.”
Please keep in mind, too, that if a man want to discuss the historical use of fur, he should also be struggling with the concepts of fire and/or the use of the wheel.
We came up with all kinds of witty ways to end this blog, but Ms. Kovanis did a better job in her column that we’d be able to:
“Which is why, ladies, we must help remedy this situation by letting men know how ridiculous they look in fur. If you care about a man who likes fur, you must tell him to leave his hide at home. It's a public service.”
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