Lula: Men, Leave the Primping to the Ladies
Karolina Lula, op-ed columnist
Issue date: 3/27/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
A new poll shows that women no longer have a monopoly on feeling bad about their bodies.
The United Kingdom's Norwich Union Healthcare conducted a new poll which was nicknamed the "Mr. Vain Survey." Of the 500 men polled, a third expressed dissatisfaction with their gut, 20 percent wished for better legs and a quarter disliked their whole body.
These findings are bad news for everyone.
The problem with men jumping on the beautifying bandwagon is that they truly do not understand attraction. For men, attraction is based on vision. For women, it is based on emotion.
Did you ever see a beautiful woman walking hand in hand with a man and thought she was out of his league? The explanation is simple. She likes the way he makes her feel. In order to attract women, a man needs not to spend hours in the gym. Instead, a man needs to make a woman feel comfortable and attract her on a psychological level.
The modern man's quest for beauty is self-defeating. Often, the best looking men are men who have serious insecurities. They strive for the perfection seen in the media. Men feel that they need to prove themselves. Even Dr. Doug Wright, the spokesperson for Norwich Union Healthcare can vouch for this. "Men need to regain their body confidence," says Wright, "and remember it's about developing a healthy body both inside and out, and not about living up to anyone's expectations but their own."
No matter what a person looks like, if he can carry himself with confidence, other people will be drawn to him. Men who are average on the attractiveness scale, but have charming personalities, are often more successful with women.
We cannot deny thousands of years of evolution. Women are genetically programmed to be attracted to the alpha male. In the animal kingdom, an alpha male is the dominant or highest-status male in a group. He oozes with confidence, power and ability. He makes and breaks his own rules. A man who is a slave to his own body is not an alpha male.
Picture a macho character, someone who is always tending to his physical appearance. A real man doesn't beautify himself. Manicures, tanning, and facials are for women, and by principle, real men do not do these things. The only things a real man will allow himself to do are haircuts and shaves. Of course, a real man would take care of personal hygiene and wear cologne (but only a dab, not a tablespoon).
Instead of living in the gym and sipping on protein shakes, men should resort to traditional manly activities. They should develop hobbies that also make them feel more fulfilled, such as team sports or home improvement. Men can look like Brad Pitt without even trying. I'd take an Ed Norton with a good personality over a Brad Pitt any day.
We all know that in that relationship, Angelina wears the pants.
Columnist Karolina Lula is an NCAS political science and economics double major.
The United Kingdom's Norwich Union Healthcare conducted a new poll which was nicknamed the "Mr. Vain Survey." Of the 500 men polled, a third expressed dissatisfaction with their gut, 20 percent wished for better legs and a quarter disliked their whole body.
These findings are bad news for everyone.
The problem with men jumping on the beautifying bandwagon is that they truly do not understand attraction. For men, attraction is based on vision. For women, it is based on emotion.
Did you ever see a beautiful woman walking hand in hand with a man and thought she was out of his league? The explanation is simple. She likes the way he makes her feel. In order to attract women, a man needs not to spend hours in the gym. Instead, a man needs to make a woman feel comfortable and attract her on a psychological level.
The modern man's quest for beauty is self-defeating. Often, the best looking men are men who have serious insecurities. They strive for the perfection seen in the media. Men feel that they need to prove themselves. Even Dr. Doug Wright, the spokesperson for Norwich Union Healthcare can vouch for this. "Men need to regain their body confidence," says Wright, "and remember it's about developing a healthy body both inside and out, and not about living up to anyone's expectations but their own."
No matter what a person looks like, if he can carry himself with confidence, other people will be drawn to him. Men who are average on the attractiveness scale, but have charming personalities, are often more successful with women.
We cannot deny thousands of years of evolution. Women are genetically programmed to be attracted to the alpha male. In the animal kingdom, an alpha male is the dominant or highest-status male in a group. He oozes with confidence, power and ability. He makes and breaks his own rules. A man who is a slave to his own body is not an alpha male.
Picture a macho character, someone who is always tending to his physical appearance. A real man doesn't beautify himself. Manicures, tanning, and facials are for women, and by principle, real men do not do these things. The only things a real man will allow himself to do are haircuts and shaves. Of course, a real man would take care of personal hygiene and wear cologne (but only a dab, not a tablespoon).
Instead of living in the gym and sipping on protein shakes, men should resort to traditional manly activities. They should develop hobbies that also make them feel more fulfilled, such as team sports or home improvement. Men can look like Brad Pitt without even trying. I'd take an Ed Norton with a good personality over a Brad Pitt any day.
We all know that in that relationship, Angelina wears the pants.
Columnist Karolina Lula is an NCAS political science and economics double major.