"self-esteem is for everybody..."

kindergarten teacher: herman, i would never date you because you're so skinny.

other volunteer: yeah, me neither.

should i have:

a) considered it a compliment - two very personable, confident and attractive women finding me threatening to their self image? maybe i could become professionally good-looking.

b) cried myself to sleep - no one wants me =(

c) taken offense - hey, i try fairly hard to eat to bulk up a bit, and also to exercise on a regular basis (play tag with the kids, climb ladders to put up decorations) to make sure it bulks up in useful places. i'm pretty sure i'd be sitting pretty with a 1-pack if it weren't for this awesome long-lasting cough that is molding my abdominals into a washboard.

d) found it a sad and frightening indictment of the overwhelming pressure to be attractive our society burdens women with - two very personable, confident and attractive women finding me threatening to their self-image? they're not rail-thin supermodels, but they are not superhuge triple-cheese-and-mayonnaise-pizza-with-fries-for-breakfast type people either. this pressure doesn't just come from men. most of it comes from the media big-wigs who try to determine what is 'beautiful' and what sells. the worst kind, in my opinion, comes from the mothers who tell their daughters to stop being so fat and ugly or tomboyish or outspoken or any number of 'unladylike' things.