Thigh Gap? What About Muscle Maniac?

There have been many - numerous articles about how women feel pressured by society to look a certain way, or to be of a specific body shape.  A phenomena that has been increasingly popular these days would be the issue of the "thigh gap".  I'm honestly not too sure about the thigh gap phenomena, but if I'm not wrong…  There has to be a gap between a lady's thighs, if not, she's fat?  :/ Okay, so I don't know much about the thigh gap, but I can empathise with girls who feel the need to look extremely thin so society will view them as gorgeous, slender, sexy.  But besides the girls that feel this pressure, I can't help but notice that guys feel the same pressure too - just not to look thin and slender, but buff and muscular.  Maybe it's just me, but I've got man friends who are extremely particular about what they eat, they're super health conscious, and they put me (as a girl) to shame.  Not to mention, they hit the gym regularly so as to keep in tip top shape.  If you read this, you may think it's hilarious, but to me, it's just made me feel fat and sad.  HAHA.  I call this phenomena "Muscle Mania" and those who are part of it "Muscle Maniacs".  

Here are some real, very very real incidents that have happened due to this phenomena.

1. "I can't eat this.  It's so fattening."

I always thought guys ate anything.  I mean, it's a "man thing" isn't it?  To be able to eat lots of food, to eat all kinds of food without a care.  Well, not anymore.  If it ain't chicken breast or cooked without oil, IT'S FATTENING.  

I remember an incident where I was with a group of guys, and while the majority wanted to eat Carl's Jr., some would be dead against it or order only the burger to cut calories.  I mean, we barely eat fast-food together, and I'm sure they don't eat it on a regular basis, so what's wrong with eating it once in awhile?  Surely everything can be taken in moderation?  

An even funnier incident.  I was at Gong Cha with some friends when I asked my buff nut friend why he wasn't buying anything.  He said his diet required him to drink milk.  I then told him I was buying milk tea with grass jelly, and asked him "Surely this is healthy??"  He told me "Grass jelly is actually really unhealthy.  It's made out of tapioca."  I remained silent after.  

2. "Do you wanna hit the gym?"

This comes in variations.  It's not merely "Do you wanna hit the gym?", it sometimes comes out as "How much do you lift?" or "Have you gotten buffer??"  These questions are usually posed after the males have checked their fellow males out and feel the need to be as buff as the other.  I guess it's a man-pride thing.

Such incidents always occur:  a guy arrives at a meeting point.  All the other guys take a good look at him.  Seconds later, there's commotion.  

"WHOA.  Bro, you've gotten buffer."  

"Wha, you've gotten bigger man!"  

"Have you been gyming?"

The guy then sheepishly smiles to himself and says a few "No la, it's nothing." or "Really meh?"  

It's pretty hilarious.  ;)

3. "Are you checking that guy out?"

Guys love to check out complete strangers.  Obviously, they don't just check the women out because they especially love to check out men.  You might be thinking "Are they gay?"  But nope, they're completely straight, and they do it to compare their muscles with the other.  They want to see who's the bigger/buffer one - who looks better.  Sometimes, if they're not convinced, they'll ask those around them, "Am I buffer than that guy?"  If the answer is no, they'll go "Shit.  I must go work out more!  Now I have more motivation to work out!"  And if the answer is yes, they'll feel that sense of elation as though they've just won Mr. Universe.  Haha!

4. "Why are you eating that?!"

When the guys are sooo particular about what they eat, they'll become particular about what YOU eat.  They'll even start condemning you for eating the foods you eat, which then make you feel fat and gross.  

I remember an incident where I bought cupcakes home and a health conscious friend of mine asked me "Why did you buy that??  It's just full of cream and sugar!  So fattening!" I wasn't really bothered by it, but I was thinking, "Man!  Most girls love sweet treats!  It's not as though we eat creamy cupcakes everyday!  What's wrong with treating ourselves to something sweet once in awhile??” 

Another incident occurred where a buff friend of mine asked me why I liked to eat fried mantous because they were just fried bread filled with oil.  It's true, fried mantous are unhealthy, but dayuum are they good!  So I told him I loved bread - all types of bread, mantou included.  Thankfully, this friend of mine was nice about it.

This being said, I'd honestly love to see how these guys control their girlfriends' diets one day!  I wonder whether they'll be asking them such questions.  Haha!

5. Others - "Don't say I'm buff!”

I truly don't know how to categorize this, but I find this so amusing! 

I've got a particular friend who works out a lot.  He's real buff, and a real health nut.  Whenever people tell him he's buff, he never fails to say, "No, don't say such things!  Actually I'm not that buff luh.  If you tell me I'm buff, I'll be satisfied and content and I'll feel like I can stop working out.  But if I keep telling myself I'm not buff, I'll be more motivated to gym and get buffer." It's hilarious, truly.  

So, I guess girls aren't the only ones having issues with their appearance, their bodies, how thin they are.  There are tons of guys out there who feel the need to be some big buff dude who can speak with his muscles.  Truthfully, it's great to healthy!  It's great to eat right and exercise regularly!  But it gets kinda absurd when guys gym excessively and can't eat certain things once in awhile because of their fat percentage or their muscles.  It's even crazier when guys question others about their food choices or compare themselves with other guys to see who's buffer.  I honestly would love a guy for his heart - his character, his personality.  That's good enough for me.  :)