(24 Feb 2023, 17:19 )MIWSTIUS Wrote: Anyway, do you think the 'mamil' types, who have become the target of public Lycra ridicule, inadvertently, spoil things for Lycra lovers in general?
I mean, they could make an effort to get in shape, choose better fit combinations that dont look like a chubby rainbow.
No. While a very fit/attractive man can pull off more, the real issue here is that society wants men to look powerful, not pretty. An athletic man looks better in a nice suit than a fat man, but both are very acceptable to society, because both are playing the classic part.
A chubby man who wears spandex while exercising will be mocked for the same reasons a woman would, because humans are nasty and love to get “one up” on each other. A fit man who wears shiny or colorful spandex will be mocked because it is feminine to be a passive object of attraction. Even if women sometimes enjoy looking at a “pretty” man, other men (and many women) will ridicule such men for “being vain” in this way.
A century ago, women revolted against the culture, and were often (and sometimes still are) ridiculed for it. But today women can vote, wear pants, and do all sorts of other male-coded things with most people happy to ignore it.
Some day men will have a similar realization. We live shorter lives than women, we are more brutalized by society and each other, and we have worse mental health. It may be natural in that we are evolved to be much stronger and more aggressive, to dominate and kill each other, but it is also natural to shit on the ground and freeze when it’s cold. As humans, we have the power to think and choose to live differently.