Oh, I'll readily admit to vanity. And why not?
You condemn us for wanting to look good, but if we let ourselves go and blow up into whales, you sure wouldn't like that.
As a man, you better be grateful for female vanity.
No, I didn't. I criticized you for being so vain you let yourselves be conned into paying ridiculous prices for junk that doesn't do anything to make you more attractive.
but if we let ourselves go and blow up into whales, you sure wouldn't like that.
No, we wouldn't, any more than you would like it if we let ourselves become slobs. But you're offering a false dichotomy anyway. The choices aren't limited to being utterly vain or being a whale. There is middle ground.
As a man, you better be grateful for female vanity.
Hardly. That's at the root of the "Do these pants make my butt look fat?" question, which every man dreads and no man can answer right. Self-pride is one thing; vanity is altogether another.