There's nothing quite like a first and second date to really awaken our physical insecurities. Women fret about it all from their hair to their toes and everything in between. If you don't believe me, pick up any women's magazine, turn on a talk show or simply eavesdrop on a group of young women chatting about an upcoming date. Sooner or later the conversation will turn to what they like (precious little) and dislike (far too much) about their bodies and how to make the best of a, perceived to be, bad situation.
Men on the other hand don't seem to suffer from the same insecurities. I've never heard a man ask "do these pants make me look fat" (Hint, if you have to ask you already know the answer!!). Nor have I ever heard a man ask another man's opinion about his hair, his eyebrows, his shirt or anything else about his appearance. But that's not to say that men don't have insecurities about their looks. I'm sure they do; they just don't feel it necessary to share them with the world.
Take receding hairlines for instance. The guy I'm with is practically bald and has been since he was in his late teens. It's in the genes, and short of pots of money, there's not a whole heck of a lot he can do about it. When we first started dating he always wore an incredibly ugly hat, of which he seemed to have an unlimited supply, when we went out anywhere. Okay, so it was the middle of the winter, but winter turned to spring, and there came the ball caps and the fishing hats. I rarely saw him without one. Though he never verbalized the fact that he was uncomfortable without a chapeau, it wasn't until I started slouching when we were out in public that it all came to a head (pardon the pun).
Slouching? Yes, slouching. I'm exactly one and a half inches taller than my guy, something that's just never bothered me. I've dated plenty of tall guys and short guys, and the second date always depended on how well we got along, not their height. Anyway, I started slouching and he commented on it. "What's with the bad posture all of sudden?" he asked. "I slouch because I'm uncomfortable being tall" I replied. He looked at me in disbelief and retorted "that's ridiculous". I smiled as I removed his ugly hat and tossed it in the trash. "So's the hat" I replied.
