Men get away with being fat. Why can't women?

By Sharan SaikumarIt had to happen one day. Body weight had to eventually become a matter of national law given the obsession it has sparked the world over. In an attempt to save its girls from being victims of malnourishment, Israel has actually placed a ban on employing underweight female models who seem to have taken a fancy to being hospitalised with severe health issues.Never before in our collective history has the human race been so dedicated to the pursuit of a goal that can be achieved by simply eating less pizza. The thin obsession is not just an Israeli phenomenon. Women the world over are chasing weight loss with such a ferocity that girls as young as six develop major body issues before they develop rapid motor skills.Why, pray, is it always the girls? Where are the bulimic men? Or the teenage boys starving their way to perfection? When did fat join menstrual cramps to become an exclusively female problem?India has shifted fat from the ‘prosperous’ bracket that it once occupied to the ‘obnoxious’ bracket but it seems to have done so only for women. Men seem to get away with beer bellies while the Fat Nazi hits out at every woman who eats carbohydrates after six. Why else does Ram Kapoor, the heartthrob of suburban housewives across the country, have a belly the size of a beach ball when one jiggle from Vidya Balan’s tummy is enough to give us the heebie-jeebies?[caption id="attachment_252216" align="alignleft" width="380"] A man walks past an advertisement displayed on a main street in Tel Aviv, Israel. A new Israeli law, passed Monday, is trying to fight the spread of eating disorders by banning underweight models. AP[/caption]It’s not just Ram Kapoor. We’ve accepted Vinay Pathak, Govinda and numerous other heroes in all their adipose-laden glory, but still demand that the ladies opposite them — be it Lara Dutta or Katrina Kaif — maintain lingerie model statistics. This is an industry in which a talented woman called Uma Devi Khatri has been immortalised as a celluloid joke based purely on her size and screen name. Tun Tun is now a standard insult aimed at every woman with a BMI above 25.Those who think that the ‘fat’ label is not sexist consider this: When is the last time you read a matrimonial ad asking for a ‘slim groom’ when nearly 90 percent of them demand a ‘slim bride’? Does anybody bat an eyelid when overweight industrialists bag skinny wives but do you remember any of them opt for a size 16 woman? Why is it that we allow a decidedly plump Arnab Goswami to show his face on national television yet expect Shireen Bahn to be shapely forever? And why are we bombarded with images of sexy Special K women with no special K men in sight?Let's face it, India is no longer ‘female fat’ friendly. Only the South continues to have a healthy respect for bootylicious bodies but in other parts of our country, curves on women are an undesirable thing. If you call a man fat, it’s not a slur but a simple statement of fact. When aimed at a woman, however, it’s a powerful blow to smash her self-esteem.When Seema Goswami, a writer for HT Brunch, faced a wave of wrath in the aftermath of an unpopular article, nobody attacked her intellect, upbringing, education or argument. They went straight for the jugular and came up with slew of insults creatively configured around the one thing that they knew would hit where it hurt most – her ample girth. (Vir Sanghvi, on the other hand, seems to have got lifetime immunity for his exploding blubber and blithely continues to attack one buffet table after another without remorse.)As women we already deal with enough prejudices without saddling ourselves with another. Perhaps it’s time to share the bounty, let loose the Fat Nazi on men and demand the annihilation of all beer bellies if they refuse to stand by our jiggling tummies.Failing that, just move down South.As a blogger, ex-marketer, evangelist of socialfootprint.in and would-be novelist, Sharan Saikumar wears many hats, none of which really fit.