Vanity thy name is man
Everyone wants to look good. Gone are the days when vanity was just the perquisite of the fairer sex. Male vanity has existed since time immemorial, but never has it assumed such epidemic proportions as it has today.
Actors have become role models, and teenagers and young adults love to emulate them. Be it Hrithik Roshan’s six pack abs or beefed-up actor John Abraham posing for Dostana, actors have always inspired fashion fads.
But, how far has this fad gone? So far it seemed all about women and their aspirations to have size zero figures a la Kareena Kapoor. Times it appears, have changed with men getting aspirational as well. The beauty salon and gym routine is no stranger to men these days.
Seventeen-year-old Advaita Pandey refused to attend college for no particular reason. On psychiatric consultation, he pulled out a small photo from his wallet and said that until he did not look exactly like the man in the photo, he would not attend college. He added that he needed a plastic surgeon for the job, and not a psychiatrist. The photograph was that of Salman Khan.
“It goes without saying that Bollywood and Hollywood are mainly responsible for transforming the need of looking good into an obsession,” says psychiatrist Girish Banwari.
So how can parents be really supportive of their sons in handling such obsessions? “Right from the beginning, and especially in the formative years, parents need to tell the child the importance of ‘being good’ and not just ‘looking good’,” says Banwari.
Talking about this obsession of staying fit Kunal Bhatia, a model and a television actor says, “Women love to date men who are physically fit and have well toned bodies.”
Vishal Singh, a television actor who gyms at least four to five times a week adds, “Gymming helps to boost my self-confidence. I feel very restless on days when I am unable to make it to the gym. The audience enjoys watching your face. But you can’t ignore the body. It’s very important to take care of your body and be in shape all the time,” he adds.
To be gymming is good for health but to make this your whole existence just because you must have six pack abs, is perhaps not so good. As actor John Abraham, who was quoted in a media report, said, “I think it is important to look at one’s body in a holistic way and to understand that one needs to have a disciplined lifestyle to have a good body.”
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