Glow/Gloat
The New York Times Style section is hardly a beacon of journalistic originality, but in this article about the New Age Cavemen, the author uses a particularly annoying cliché. When discussing his subjects - New Yorkers who follow the “paleo” lifestyle - he describes their appearance in a very specific way which buys into everything these “lifestyle artists” try to uphold:
Most of the cavemen at Mr. Durant’s gatherings are lean and well-muscled, and have glowing skin
In another lifestyle piece about raw foodist resorts from 2007, a similar vocabulary:
The guests here talk about babies, compare travels to exotic locales and check out one another’s skin in hope of that mythical “raw food glow.”
In 2006, about yoga
“You have this glow about you,” he told Lienette as if it were just a matter of fact, extending his right hand and then introducing himself by my name.
It seems that the vaunted “glow” can be acquired in many conflicting ways: eating meat, not eating meat; throwing rocks for exercise, meditating in downward facing dog pose for several hours. Assuming “glow” exists and is not in fact a projection of the author’s insecurities, we could also come to the conclusion that “glow” is really just a subset of “gloat” and that it occurs when one is utterly convinced that his or her lifestyle is the best of all lifestyles. Personally, I have found that chocolate, oysters, steak tartare and champagne work wonderfully, especially when one has recently left New York for Paris.
