Standard of Beauty

One of the most horrid things I have come across about western world is anorexia, the eating disorder. I have never understood how people can have such a disease. Day in and day out, we were worried about Malnutrition here. We had our mothers stuffing the kids as much as possible. Children had anorexia, yes. I mean, they refuse to eat anything which mother thinks is good for them. But, adults?

Four years ago, I heard for the first time about Anorexia and could not believe my ears.

Never heard of men being anorexic till now. A lesson for women - Be selfish like men; eat everything in the plate, without thinking if others in the house have something left to eat.

Situation has reached such alarming proportions in the developed countries that girls do not eat. The reason? Being thin is beautiful. The major sinner is the Fashion industry and advertisement companies. Governments even had to step in to put the record straight, it seems.

"France, the country that defined haute couture, launched Europe's most aggressive assault yet on the promotion of ultra-thinness by the fashion industry, advertisers and web sites. Since the deaths of two anorexic latin american models two years ago, European countries - particularly those known for their fashion industries - have faced pressure to better protect and regulate the health of fashion models and curb advertising that promotes unrealistic standards of beauty.
Spain has banned models with less than a specified BMI. (Body Mass Index). Last year, Italy barred girls under 16 from its runways and started requiring all models to present health certificates proving they do not suffer from eating disorders. New laws in Britain require models with anorexia or bulimia to prove they are being treated for the disorders before they can participate in London Fashion week."

In India, (especially Tamil Nadu), we used to have our standards of beauty a bit different from the rest of the world. Our old Tamil film heriones were pleasantly plump. Fat? No, never. "Just well nourished," as Obelix will say. Our famous Bhanumathi, Padmini, Savithri were all like that. And, we were proud of their beauty. My mother even today will swear that there isn't any herione as beautiful as any of them these days. Here is Bhanumathi, my favourite.

Who will need a skinny hero or heroines? Only comedians were either ultra thin or ultra fat. But, things are changing even in Tamilnadu. Though we have an occasional Kushbu and Prabhu to give solace, the new kids are tending to resemble the western models. I am scared that they may break into two in the middle anytime - so thin they are.

After all, comparison is the standard of beauty, I guess. When all of us were thin and skinny, probably, we wanted our beauty queens to be well-rounded. And, today, when child diabetes and such eating disorders are threatening our kids, we want our beauties to be thin. Like everyone in India wants to be 'white' in colour (Fair and Lovely cream), the foreigners want to become tanned (Brown and Beauty).

Where do men figure in all these standards?