Are Arms the New Legs?

I've known plenty of men in my time who are "leg men" and even more that are "breast men."  Seems this was the standard, aside from facial features, men used to determine if a woman was attractive or not and therefore worth spending any energy pursuing.  Clearly neanderthals all of them, because not a one actually gave an ounce of credence to a woman's brain let alone soul - but that's another story for another blog.

Anyhoo, back to this subject.  Last night as I was channel surfing with the one whom I adore snoozing on the couch beside me, I had a sudden realization.  In the words of my hero Oprah, it was an "aha" kind of moment.  I had flipped on Inside Edition which is hosted by tall, lithe, blonde, Lara Spencer.  Usually, I cannot actually watch her report the latest celebrity news because frankly her voice irritates me to no end, but last night I just had to stop and pay attention.

Inside Edition was reporting the latest news on the Jon & Kate Plus 8 potential divorce, affair, break-up scandal, which is why I paused long enough to see "them".  Her arms.  Lara Spencer's arms are perfectly sculpted.  They are toned and fit and have superb muscle definition.  Her side-kick (a stunningly beautiful woman) also had perfectly toned arms.  These are women, people!  Women, who prior to Michelle Obama coming on the scene with her perfectly buff guns, were seldom, if ever, photographed, let alone taped for TV in sleeveless tops.  But not any more.

I blame it on the first lady, but really, I think the person that should be held responsible is Kelly Ripa the co-host of Live with Regis & Kelly!  Seriously.  Have you seen her pipes?  Aside from the fact that she's what 5'2" and maybe, just maybe 100-lbs soaking wet, this woman has zero body fat.  And arms that would rival any body builder's.  I kid you not.

Now I know she works hard to maintain her physique.  You'd never know by looking at her that she's had 3 kids because her body at her age is better than my body has been any ANY age (including when I was 13 years old and 5'2" and definitely not weighing 100-lbs wet or dry).  Again, I digress.  She does work hard for her body.  She's in top form.  She's a runner, a dancer and clearly a weight-lifter.

But the thing I have to wonder is...has it all gone just a little too far?  Are we now competing in the "gun show" against men?  Since when did women need to have bulging biceps and trim triceps to prove themselves?  Seems to me like it's the new standard today.

Which frankly gives me some encouragement.  Because after oh, say 20 years of yo-yo dieting, slowing my metabolism to a mere crawl and attempting to lose my ever expanding ass and thighs it just all seems too much to handle.  But, if after a few bicep, tricep and hammer curls I can have sculpted arms to rival those of the First Lady, not to mention the First Lady of Morning Talk Shows, well, then I guess there's really hope after all!