Sun, Feb 13, 2000 page17

• Body image

  Ever since a woman from National Chiao Tung University wrote a song complaining about the lack of 'good looking men' on campus, the question of what is the ideal body for Taiwanese men has prompted spirited debate

  • By Catherine Sung / Staff Reporter
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  As the melodic rhythms of Kenny G play in the background, a man walks onto the dance floor bare-chested with a white towel around his waist and a bottle of baby oil in his hand. He seductively scans the audience and picks out one woman, who runs her well-greased palm over his defined pecs.

  "Kawaii!!! Kawaii!!" screams the 21-year-old sales clerk as she ogles the Man's Power exotic dancer. "He is very sexy, but in a very adorable way."

  Her friend, a waitress, caresses the dancer's smooth chest. "He has a really nice body," she says, "but I would not expect the same from my boyfriend. He is a bit too bulky for me." But, she notes, "I don't want my boyfriend to be too thin; it would be nice if he is toned."

  

  Performers say it is not uncommon that the women get so swept away that they voluntarily join them in the spotlight.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAITEI TIMES

  The ideal male physique has been a hot topic of debate in Taiwan lately, ever since a woman from National Chiao Tung University wrote a song lamenting the lack of "good looking men" on campus.

  The tune provoked an immediate response from the offended gender, culminating in a tongue-in-cheek male beauty contest at the university and media frenzy over the topic. The dust-up increased attention paid to the male physique and spurred debate over whether the perception of the ideal male body is also changing in Taiwan.

  Putting down a set of dumb bells, Vincent Chiang, a buyer for Donna Karan and DKNY mens-wear line, thinks the ideal male physique is shifting from bulk to slim. "The Arnold look is totally out," he says. "I am working out to achieve the inverted triangle look, so my clothes hang better on me."

  

  ...And once the women are in the spotlight, the difficulty is getting them out again.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  Fitness trainers point to an increase in gym memberships in Taiwan as indications that Taiwanese men are finally shaping their gluts, instead of sitting on them, and looking to build tone rather than bulk.

  A-Cheng (阿誠), a fitness trainer and avid body-builder, says most of his male clients are looking to define rather than enlarge their physique. "With the opening of these fitness centers, the emphasis is shifting away from traditional weight lifting to focus on increasing endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular ability," he says. "Most of my clients want definition, to work on the cut and shape of the muscle."

  Fitness trend

  As the fitness industry in Taiwan shifts more toward recreational users, local and foreign fitness firms are lining up to cash in on the trend. The US-based California Fitness Center is due to open a US$5 million fitness playground in central Taipei next month and Taiwan's Alexander Fitness Club is planning to spend US$4.1 million to open additional chains with a focus on leisure activities and beauty services.

  But big is still beautiful to some Taiwanese men. At the more traditional weight lifting-oriented Taipei Gym (台北健身院), the manager, A-Ding (阿丁), says most of his clients are looking to build muscles.

  "The students who come here are mostly looking to beef up so they have a presence among their peers," he says. "I body build because I want to get bigger and it boosts my self confidence."

  Pulling on a black sweater after his act, the dancer, whose stage name is Elephant (大象), says his main appeal is not so much his bulging chest (50 inches) but his personal interaction with the audience.

  "The most frequent compliment I get is that I have a nice smile," he says, while dragging on a cigarette. "I think the most important part is how you tease the audience. It's all about suggestive glances and the feeling that you want to convey to them."

  Most bodybuilders work out not to elicit attention from others but more as a form of self-narcissism, he adds. "Have you noticed how people who work out like to look themselves in the mirror?"

  Night Shepherd (夜牧人), the manager of the eleven person Man's Power (羅漢藝體), agrees that Elephant and another performer named Deputy Commander (副連長) have the glances that can "electrify and rape" the audience.

  "We want to present the ultimate masculinity shown through the male physique," he says, "but it's more than that; it's about flirting and romancing the audience.

  "All of them are former body builders. They are being trained in dance classes to make their bodies more lithe and nimble. We want Mr. Fitness combined with a dancer's physique."

  Back on stage

  For the climax of his performance, Elephant finally removes the bikini to reveal a g-string firmly secured in place, eliciting a wave of "Take it off!! Take it off!!" from the predominantly female audience.

  It is a response that illustrates the argument of Liu Yu Hsiu (劉毓秀), a feminist and professor at National Taiwan University, who says the Man's Power performance reflect the commercialization of the male body.

  "The woman is using money to buy fantasy and enjoyment. They can touch and see this extreme presentation of masculinity," Liu says, adding that the women like the kind of electrifying feeling they get from the teasing dancers. "It's a separation between reality and fantasy. That's why they say they would not expect their boyfriend to have or achieve the same physique."

  Roxy, a waitress at the bar where the performance is taking place, said her boyfriend would not be threatened that she would be lured away by Elephant. "I would take my boyfriend to see him perform. It's not sexual at all but just plain entertainment," she says, adding that although she finds Elephant attractive, he's a tad too muscular for her taste.

  But elderly ladies in central Taiwan seem to differ in opinion. Having been in the business for four years and performed on various occasions, including an election show for Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jing-pyng (王金平), in Kaohsiung County three years go, Elephant says he gets surprising proposals -- some from grandmothers.

  "They would come up to me and say `You have such a nice build. Can I introduce my granddaughter to you?' "
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