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Home: India |
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Indian men nip and
tuck for ‘perfect’ body, face
| Published:
Friday, 23 May, 2008, 01:19 AM Doha Time |
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MUMBAI: For years, Indian women have been relying
on the surgeon’s knife for that perfect body, that
flawless face, and now, the men are muscling in.
India’s economic boom has spawned a new breed of male,
middle-class professionals with the desire to look good and
the money to make it happen.
“As little as two years ago, the ratio was 80% women, 20%
men,” said Dr Manoj Kumar J Manwani, senior consultant in
cosmetic and plastic surgery at Criticare Hospital in Mumbai.
“But now it’s almost 50-50.”
Manwani, who has been practising for more than 18 years,
said most of his male clients already had a good body and
worked out regularly, but they just wanted to look perfect.
“Now young men can afford memberships to gyms and swimming
pools, or even go on beach holidays. There are more chances
for them to expose their bodies,” he said.
“Even fashion has changed that way with tighter clothes.
Well, they don’t want to be embarrassed when they take off
their shirts so they turn to surgery.” In the past, face
lifts and nose jobs were the most common cosmetic surgeries
for men, but now increasingly the most sought-after
treatments are removal of abnormally large breasts and
abdominal liposuction and reshaping.
Leading image consultant Prasad Bidapa said increased
exposure to all things Western brought the well-groomed,
style-conscious “metrosexual male” to India and the
booming economy gave men the means to attain that look.
Many Indian men used to rely on their parents for cash
because most jobs did not pay well, but now, their financial
independence means the freedom to spend at whim.
“The quest for the perfect look is a manifestation of the
new India. We’re more stylish and prosperous now, and
people don’t feel guilty about spending money on
themselves like they might have in the past,” Bidapa said.
“Today it’s quite acceptable for men to go for facials
and manicures, get waxed and plucked. There’s no stopping
it.”
In November, John, a 26-year-old software professional who
was very self-conscious of his unusually large breasts,
joined the growing ranks of surgically enhanced males.
Instead of living with his body like many men would have
done in the past, John had his breasts reduced, empowered by
moving to Mumbai and taking on a job in a multinational
firm.
“Now I feel great. Not shy at all,” he said, preferring
to go by only one name. “I was pessimistic that I would
not find a good girl to marry, but now I’m more
positive.”
Competition for lucrative jobs has also helped spur the
trend towards looking good, and the Internet has made
finding the right doctor quick, easy and painless: you
don’t have to get a referral from a general practitioner
who might not be sympathetic.
“The influence from the West is changing our society,”
said cosmetic surgeon M S Venkatesh from Bangalore,
India’s booming IT hub. “Patients in sales or marketing,
who have to meet clients, feel they’ll get a better
response if they look better.”
As an aspiring actor, 23-year-old Piyush dieted and worked
out daily in his village, and after moving to Mumbai, he
decided to have fat suctioned from his already flat belly to
improve his prospects in the film industry.
“If you ask me, Indian men are more self conscious about
the way they look than woman. They just don’t show it,”
he said.
“Maybe five or 10 years ago the idea of surgery was an
alienating concept,” said Piyush. “But now it’s not
that scary. Times have changed. People are more open, more
aware. Now my career is on a roll and things are starting to
happen for me.” – AFP
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