Who is the metrosexual male? The one who buffs his nails, sports designer goodies and agonises over what to wear at an art soirée. Where did he evolve from? Bina Bakshi investigates.

A Quiz: Who are most likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies? (The appearance of their chests, hairlines or simply acne.)

Women, Girls, Teenage boys, 30-plus men?

"My husband, a successful 35-year-old engineer, still frets if he scratches his face while shaving…because it leads to eruptions very like zits," says L’Oreal model, Anjou Chawla. The numbers, in a recent study conducted by the American Institute of External Beauty, suggest that body image concerns have gone mainstream – nearly half of men don’t like their overall appearance, in contrast to just one in six, in 1994. Men would rather look good than be acknowledged for their brains! They have become obsessed with their bodies, causing a new term to be coined to describe this obsession – The Adonis Complex. The name Adonis, refers to a half man, half god of Greek mythology, who had killer looks to aid him become a lover to Aphrodite.

Urban lifestyle magazines have now substituted the official Adonis Complex with the meterosexual male, to encompass man’s hormonal changes down the last couple of decades. Men desperately want to be Adonis’ because their muscles are all they have over women today! In an age when women are flying in space and getting blown to bits, proving to be knockers at bowling alleys, bars and workplaces; producing babies and getting back into shape like rubber bands; juggling more than one sexual partner and letting everyone know about it, man asks: "What can I do to distinguish myself as being masculine?"

So, he takes a look at all the popular, unattainable images of testosterone oozing bodies that accost him at every turn. In fact, studies prove that men think about their appearance either ‘frequently’ or ‘all the time’, enough to have passed up even romantic opportunities because they refuse to disrupt workouts or dine out on restaurant food. They need to have their protein versus carbs per cent as per the doc’s orders, they’d rather indulge in acquiring a mate than keeping one…. In other words, an increasing number of men would rather look brawny for their mates than have sex with them.

Wives, kids, jobs can wait…at least till this muscle mania is viewed from a different perspective. Gyms, like Qi, SYKZ, Idea or salon-gyms on any day, are filled with boys and men working out beyond endurance, appointing trainers, purchasing home exercise equipment or memberships to more than one gym.

In fact, it’s nothing short of an obsessive compulsive disorder. Apurva Bhatt (name changed), 35, a film distributor, says he has developed a form of this disorder, centred around his workout time. He has been weight training for the last 13 years, working out even when he has been unwell. He adheres to a rigid regimen for every session and if he is unable to make it or if the regimen has to be changed, he feels anxious all day.

A 50-something, Mickey Martin, an instructor at an upmarket suburban Mumbai club, is flamboyant and very visible about his stuff. He’s a great guy, a fabulous manager but he’d rather pump iron and look good than connect with his teenage boys or take his wife out to dinner. "He has a great body for his age and he loves it more than he loves anything else," comments his 19-year-old son. Bobs Raghav, a small built 38-year-old, works out because he feels insecure if he does not. "I buy clothes not for the designer label or the cut but depending on whether that trouser or shirt makes me look bigger. You may have heard of a condition called ‘bigorexia’ thinking my muscles are puny when they aren’t. That’s what I feel like all the time." A good-looking man, completely uncomfortable in his skin… this feeling, is shared by thousands of men who suffer from it.

Nikhil Angad (name changed), a 28-year-old, studying for his master’s in surgery at KEM, Mumbai, does not subscribe to the trend. He feels this syndrome is the output of a social stratum that is trying to look and feel a particular way. "Romance, success and my job are still high priorities. Men who are trying to ape actors would naturally suffer from all kinds of delusions."

What’s more, macho is out, as far as deeds go. No wars, no manual work, no chopping trees or working on the farm! No helping around the house. Zilch! Men now fight for mirror space, get bigger cars and bigger bank balances. Boys live in a different boy zone altogether. Men/male partners/ sons do not run errands like changing bulbs, gardening or even carrying luggage. Oh no! They have grown bigger and brawnier but, in terms of being macho, it’s one-dimensional. Women are getting their own cars serviced; changing gas tubes, bulbs, paint, wall paper, never getting the men to pull out their chairs or open doors…. Women have their babies, run their homes while the men would rather be sensitive Brad Pitts wearing sarongs and earrings, shopping with the gals, getting their nails buffed, buying jewellery, going to tarot readers and baby showers, insisting on olive-oil based pastas to go with their Tequila Sunsets, reading Vogue and Vanity Fair at beauty salons and furniture stores, agonising over what to wear to an art soirée….

Among our local heroes, Bobby Deol personifies the quintessential metrosexual. He hangs out with his wife’s friends; has his hair styled at Juice, preferably with Avan Contractor, and takes wife Tanya, on regular jaunts. He epitomises the macho metrosexual (as against the girlie kind) with sensitive habits. Not lagging far behind is Akshay Kumar who, despite his on-screen tough image, is known to be super gentle with son Aarav and gentler with wife, Twinkle. Socialite industrialist, Yash Birla, is the classic example in the looks department as are restaurateur A. D. Singh and designers, Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula.

And, when these men are social, they end up looking snazzier than their women! Gelled hair, triceps visible, jewellery, and tattoos…see-through shirts, waxed chests…. A guy needs a lot more maintenance than a woman, these days. Shoes, clothes, accessories…the entire look is coded. Had you ever seen your dad or grandfather looking into the mirror for more than the cursory few seconds? It used to be a shave, bath, wear, zip and out. The exfoliating gel, foot packs, hair gels, face packs and the ubiquitous moisturiser market for men is booming,…nothing can beat gels with testosterone, applied on muscles to keep the look pumped up!

Even the toys that men play with have changed – they have almost turned to feminine pursuits – collecting leather-bound books, netsurfing, partying and image-building. Men were into electronics, stamp collecting, travel and manual pursuits like carpentry. Not anymore. It’s amusing, this change.

So, what is Mr Hunk’s most common request? "A manicure, pedicure and a facial are on top of the list – the number of men opting for shaped eyebrows is slowly rising," says beauty expert, Dilshad Pastakia, who styles men’s hair from Akshay Kumar to Raj Thackeray. Hair fashion of the most enterprising kind, for men.... Hair colouring, treatment, softening, extensions, weaving and more are available at leading salons like Juice, Dilshad’s Salon, Nalini and Yasmin and Raih where a top line of male stars constantly troops in.

The drawback? The thinly veiled metrosexual, well-heeled man is not a companion in the real sense. With his obsessions, he is more likely to be a partner for fair weather forecasts, delineated mirror space, shared beauty product counters – with a couple of baby nappies and burp drills thrown in, to complete the image.