Work out, primp to impress yourself, not men

To me, the greatest thing about working out is the feeling I get after it’s over. There’s… To me, the greatest thing about working out is the feeling I get after it’s over. There’s something unique and incredibly rewarding about pushing your body and feeling physically exhausted, knowing that no matter how grueling the workout, you just did your body a favor.

I greatly appreciate the individual satisfaction of working out, as well as the desire to make your body stronger and better – which is why it irks me how some men automatically assume that women work out to get better bodies only to impress them.

For example, just because summer is quickly approaching and it’s probable that more people are working out now as opposed to other seasons of the year, it would be utterly ridiculous to conclude that girls are hitting the treadmills only so that boys will think they look cute in their bikinis.

Sure, everyone knows that in the summer shirts get tighter and skirts get shorter. But instead of being motivated by impressing men, it’s very possible that many women use that thought – cute clothing- as motivation to start working out more.

After 20 and a half years of gym class as the only exercise she got, my friend started working out. After getting used to it, she’s really come to enjoy it, especially how good it makes her feel.

Rather than being happy for her and proud of her, her boyfriend got protective and defensive. He grilled her about why she needed to work out, tone up and lose weight when she had a boyfriend who liked her body the way it is. A little insecure, are we?

I guess he just can’t fathom the idea that maybe she is working out to make herself happier about her body and to simply lead a healthier lifestyle.

I find it fascinating that the human body is something we can change, strengthen and sculpt. It’s likely, and probably often, that both men and women make such improvements solely for the resulting fulfillment and self-satisfaction.

If anything, I firmly believe that in regard to physical appearance many women consider the opinions, not of men, but of other women.

While some may call it catty or superficial, it seems that many women have an inherent tendency to want to be physically superior to their female peers. When compared to other women, we want the silkiest hair, the fullest lips and the thickest eyelashes. We may envy some qualities of other women that we don’t possess. Although this is probably true about men to some degree, it isn’t to the extent for which it’s true for women. I don’t remember the last time I heard a guy say he was jealous of another guy’s high cheekbones.

Aside from a few exceptions, when it comes to matters of appearance, fashion, hair and makeup, women tend to be more critical of other women. I don’t mean to sound like I’m hating on women, though – along with being more critical of one another, we can also better appreciate the different aspects of physical appearance.

Most guys don’t even know the difference between eye shadow and eyeliner, let alone have the ability to notice that a girl did her makeup in such a way as to bring out the color of her eyes. In addition, if a girl is wearing a really cute pair of stilettos, I’d venture a guess that another girl would compliment her on them before the guys in the room even noticed she was wearing heels.

When it comes down to it, women can make changes to themselves for any number of reasons, but it’s unfair to think that any and every physical change made is to become more attractive to men.

My roommate dyes her hair with the changing of the seasons just to break the monotony of looking in the mirror and seeing the same thing day after day. I keep my toes painted all year long just because I think it looks nice. Since my flip-flops and heels hibernate for about five months out of the year, there’s no way I’m doing it just so my little piggies look good for other people.

So girls: if dying your hair, busting your butt – or should I say busting your calves – on the oh-so-dreaded Stairmaster or pampering yourself for a day at the spa makes you happy, then good for you. Keep it up. No matter what our male counterparts may believe, we know the truth: That truly feeling good about ourselves is far more powerful than any compliment a man could give. And men, don’t take this an excuse to slack. Just because we don’t need the compliments doesn’t mean we don’t like them.

Compliment Anjali at amn17@pitt.edu.