What is a pleasant first impression would you want to have on guys? What are some of the very qualities girls look out for in guys? Many a times, physique play a large role in the initial stages. This is coupled with physical attractiveness in terms of looks.
Many people are aware that looks do count in the very impression created. This has been a marketing strategy that is widely used. Guys are shown to be fit, big and toned. Girls are perfect when they have flat tummy, well toned legs and a hour glass figure.
An image taken from California Fitness website
It has been shown through media everywhere that having a beach body is the ideal shape. The beach body would help to connect and is more lively and fun-filling. I imagine how many people haven fallen for this type of commercialisation. Many a times, we fail to see that this attraction would only last for the beginning period of any relationship. Relationship cannot be based on physical looks alone.
Is it the western culture to perceive having a beach body as wholesome and outgoing? I cannot agree more to this. Westerners, generally excel in sports and have buffer bodies. However, who are the one subscribing to what they preach?
Asians, more often than not, look to the West for ideas. The West is considered to be a bigger brother and mentor to Asians. But notice the celebrities chosen to endorse the various commercial gyms in Singapore. The celebrities are Asian or local. Take for example California Fitness. This fitness company has partnered with international superstars Jackie Chan and basketballer Yao Ming. A not-so-distant star that we have who endorses for True Fitness is Allan Wu.
These people chosen to represent or partner the gyms are definitely well known either in the Asia region or internationally. They are selected because they are sporty and have a good body.
What are the reasons people hit the gym? People with the interest of either burning fats or becoming The Hulk! With common traits and similar goals in mind, it is easy for people to come together and discuss on how they can help one another achieve their goals individually (through a Personal Trainer) or as a group (group exercise, buddies hitting the gym together).
Food for thought, would you want to spend time with people that have so different goals and views from you?
showcase 
derek said
hey man,
you know, being here in LA for 4 years, i’ve come to realize that its not really true about physique. needless to say, there are a great number of Americans who go to the gym often to build up their physique, and that their bigger physique is also partly due to genes/anatomical differences…..but i think the issue comes down to self-confidence. asians in general build confidence in physique, to get bigger and buffer for guys, and skinner for girls. but here i see American girls being very confident of who they are, not screaming “i want to be stick-thin”. everyone’s always trying to hide the tummy, but not the pple here, interestingly.
so….i think its a self-confidence issue, on how we place our confidence on the way our body looks…?
just some random thoughts.
derek.
andy said
Well it is rather obvious that well endowed physical appearance is the first step to communication but not many realize the momentary impression it creates, or the dearth of it. Worshipping such superficial excellence has been our culture for a while now and the driving force behind it is the benefits. Having presentable frames and features increases success rates for example, clinching deals and forming relationships which are obvious in our world of desires. I believe not many people would deny such a claim.
Abigail said
I agree with Derek regarding the issue of self-confidence. I guess the whole idea of having a great looking body could help in making first impressions. But self confidence really helps too! Also, attraction does rely somewhat on the physical appearance of the other party. It’s true that people often look out for similar qualities in finding a partner. But I was just thinking of the saying, opposites attract? To put it simply, it is possible for someone who is very physically inclined to not necessarily look out for someone who is equally physically inclined.
Perhaps Asians look to the West for ideas because we’re so exposed to the Western media. Those of our generation, especially, grew up, in some form or other, in the presence of the Western media. Thus we tend to often look at things through Western lenses and not our own. However, despite this I feel that we do have other sources of influence as well. Just look at the impact of the Japanese culture and what it has birthed in the form of cosplay. The is evident in the fact that a cosplay cafe exists right here in Singapore. We look to other types of ideas as well.
That the gyms in Singapore hire Asian figures such as those you mentioned could possibly be because the local audience can relate better to them? My take is that it’s more to do with the whole idea of being able to relate. If I’m Asian, and I’m going to look at an ad, I’m more likely to “trust” the one with the Asian guy speaking because I can identify with him.
sy said
The desire to look good can also be explained from an evolutionary point of view. It is ingrained in human beings to look out for certain physical traits as clues about one’s potential as a mate. For example, bulging biceps and hulking shoulders would highlight a man as a good protector for a woman’s offspring. The bare and basic needs of any human being are centered around survival and this survival translates to a need to propagate and to ensure your genes are passed down to a next generation.
In modern times, Man no longer behaves in such animalistic terms, but essentially, in our bid to look good, we are in fact doing so in order to attract a good mate. Everyone wants to look good. Who doesn’t? Looks transcend cultures and skin color. It doesn’t matter if you’re Asian or Caucasian or African. There are certain universal physical traits that highlights one’s potential as a good mate and everyone wants to be able to secure a position in a competition for partners; Which means that you have to be outstanding in one way or another to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack. This explains the long hours some people take to preen their hair, put on make up, hit the gym, or pick the clothes that match and fit.
So it’s no surprise that fit looking people are chosen to front the advertisements that now have become so commonplace in our society. Sex sells and once a certain brand is associated with good looking people, the masses shall then follow blindly.
Of course, people are not so shallow nowadays and a lasting relationship requires more than just a good body. But one cannot deny the importance of looking good when it comes to attracting a mate. First impressions always make a difference, just like in an interview and similarly, just like in a good advertisement.
iuhiq said
Look is the first time that people will look at and judge you upon. However, Self-confidence is also the face that bring out the beauty in the person. Even you are average looking, if you are confidence about how you look, people will thing otherwise of you. It is the first impress that you have that pin the image in you of who the person is like. It’s sometime hard to chance that impress.
Like what abigail say, Asian are greater influence by the western culture. As were are more expose to this form of media, asian would then tend to follow what they do and portray.
Zhezhang said
i agree that people have to develop more self-confidence in themselves. In this way, we won’t make ourselves so depressed when we cannot achieve a perfect body. In fact, a perfect body is what the media portrays to us as the “IN” thing. Yet, such a culture does us no good and can harm society as a whole. This health industry and gym industry has been putting so much effort into this. They want us to feel inferior,that we are never good enough, so that we can — go to their gym (profit for them) or buy their health products (profit for them too).
Like what Mitch Albom said in his book, if we cannot fit into this culture, we have to have the courage to abandon it. We can create our own culture, we should follow a culture which doesn’t belittle us and makes us feel bad. Although people can argue that that spurs us to exercise more. However, i think that one should really think about what matters most in this life. Ultimately, when we die, our bodies will turn into ash. I wonder who has the last laugh at that time. Most probably the people who have kindly persuaded us into spending so much money and reaping the profits. In my opinion, what we should really spend time or money doing, should be developing our character. We should focus on personal development because that is the best investment anyone could buy. When our death comes, at least what people will say is ” Oh what a great person he/she had been”
instead of “oh what a beautiful body he/she had”. haha
Passerby said
I agree this boils down to self-confidence. A person can be fat and think she’s beautiful. Thin isn’t always beautiful is it?
Media has played a very big role in misleading people to think thin is beautiful…. you rarely see plus size people in posters. Why? Advertisers believe that using sexy girls/ sunshine boys will attract more people’s attention.
Westerners are portrayed to be stick-think. Quite to the contrary…. I have friends in the states who aren’t your typical perceived size 0 girls. Yet, they have this confidence aura around them that you rarely find in asian girls… They are very comfortable and confident of themselves… They wouldn’t care what others thought of their dress sense or their size. All that matters, is feeling good, for themselves.
Here, you see girls dressing up to impress people around them.
Eva said
The grass is greener on the other side? Perhaps not so much, yet, it is undeniable that Western media plays a big part in how people see themselves. Do everyone living at California looks like they are on Baywatch 24/7 ? I doubt so, but, the image sure leads people into thinking that that is how they should look like if they want to be “hot”.
Ultimately, it is about self-confidence, and it really is time for people to look hard into the mirror and realized how beautiful we all are in our own skin ^^
Hong Mun said
I think it’s good to spend time with people different from you. It widens your perspective. It’s good to spend time with people similar to you because they understand you and can support you better. By spending time with people different from you, you can feed off their strengths and improve. By just hanging out with people similar to you you will not be able to see your weaknesses as clearly.
Jonathan said
The concept of beauty has been raging on over the past decades and it seems that people’s concept has been readilt streamlined by the media has more and more people are exposed to it. Now what is termed beautiful are tanned bodies, whitewashed bods, curvy bodies… its scary how the fad of beauty changes from season to season and even affecting young kids. Many young children are so affected by the notions of being slim and beautiful that they are willing to sacrifice and put their bodies into torture and starving themselves just to attain that ‘perfect’ figure. In the words of Scripture, charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting… what people needs to know is that ‘inner beauty’ that everyone possesses, and can only be realised not by a flippant flipping of the magazine at a quick glance or a quick browse of fashion websites, but through an extended period of getting to know someone better and realizing their beauty within.
KS said
Appearance is definitely only one of the factors at the start of a relationship. As it progresses, other factors like character is going to take more prominence. Is a pretty face/hot bod going to clean the dishes after meals? Chances are it depends on the individual. In addition, 30 years on, the people who looked tanned, muscular etc are going to be the same as any other elderly person, so at that time are you going to have the same opinion of beauty within the same person? Alot of stereotyping is taking place when one places judgement just on looks alone.