I leave for Mexico in a few weeks and I’ve begun to think about my physique, such as it is. For months now, it’s been covered up, turning pale and growing soft. A friend was recently telling me how she’s also going on vacation to a warmer climate and felt the need to lose 10 pounds before she left because one of the women she is traveling with is in incredible shape. She admitted that her husband wasn’t going to care if she lost ten pounds or not, but that she felt self-conscious knowing she’d be laying by a pool next to her friend. She also mentioned that women were nuts.
I work for an advertising agency and the other day I was discussing a radio commercial that a freelancer had written, with said freelancer. He had written a male character that was overly impressed with his ripped abs. As this spot was supposed to be aimed at women, I mentioned that I thought this was a particular male point of view. That while women were certainly attracted to fit men, women were actually more concerned about their own appearance than ours. Only other men would think that a guy impressed with his own ripped abs was funny.
His response was that if he had ripped abs, he’d never wear a shirt. Or at least walk around in a half shirt, all the time. We laughed for a full five minutes.
But it’s true. He and I are both what the department stores used to call husky. Which sounds much better than overweight. Husky. It just sounds more manly.
