Mr. Good Enough?

by Aditi Mehta

In her recent book titled “Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr Good Enough”, Lori Gottlieb presents her case on why young women shouldn’t wait for Mr. Perfect, but rather keep an open mind to well– settling. Her book highlights not only Lori’s journey in dating guys for more superficial reasons early on, but also her accepting the fact that she would have to in the end settle for a man that doesn’t necessarily meet all her requirements.

The book has brought a firestorm. You can read some of her points here.

Women from all backgrounds are wondering, is settling really a good idea? Here’s some discussion from Brown Girl Readers:

“I mean, I see some of Lori’s points (like, I hate when women aren’t practical at all and think that love conquers all – call it being less naive, call it being more cynical, I don’t know), but I also don’t think we should be resigned to settling for someone we’re not actually happy to be with. Definitely interesting.”

“I think women shouldn’t settle, but only if settling means being with someone with whom you are unhappy. If settling means re-prioritizing what is important in a mate, and realizing that 6 pack abs, 6′ or taller, or extreme wealth are not a necessity, then I think that definition of settling is correct.”

“I don’t believe that there is only one person out there for you.  But at the same time, I don’t think I can completely agree with what Lori is saying… that all you need is the basics.  I’ve mentioned this before…for me its like levels of people.  There are a handful of people I know I will be extremely happy with, then there is a larger group of people I will be happy and content with, and then there is the generic group which is what Lori is talking about.  I mean realistically speaking, there are 6 billion people on this planet.  Foregoing the children, married people and the senior citizens, I’d say there is a good pool of about (safe estimate) 2 billion left over.  There is no possible way there can be only 1 person, just as likely, there is no possible way you can cope with all 2 billion of them.”

Jezebel has posted some great reads on Lori Gottlieb’s book and point of view. Check them out, and feel free to post your opinions below!

http://jezebel.com/5452836/do-women-actually-have-dating-checklists

http://jezebel.com/5455439/just-because-you-settle-doesnt-mean-you-marry-a-good-man

http://jezebel.com/5455771/the-end-of-herstory-and-the-last-man-manual

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