Ignophobia – Nathan Mallory's Weblog

Now explain to me why do this?

I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep, pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for ten minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol (because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older). Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final, moisturizing protective lotion.

-Patrick Bateman, “American Psycho”

In our society, we tend to laud the dedicated person that can restrict his eating and exercise consistently. Yet if the same person eats too little or exercises too much, they earn society’s scorn. But where does the line get crossed, and care for one’s physical self becomes excessive? When is it vanity?

Does it have something to do with the person’s motivation for behaving as they do? I suppose someone who eats well and exercises purely out of concern for their own health and not for image are doing right by themselves. But in a world where everyone speaks of not judging a book by its cover (yet we do), should someone be faulted for wanting to improve their appearance? Webster says that to be vain is “to have or show undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements.” Again, there must be a line that is crossed into vanity. Is it society that determines when a person’s efforts become undue or excessive, or does it depend on the individual? My first inclination is the former, since it is society that scorns the anorexic and sees the female bodybuilder as freakishly outside the normal spectrum. But isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder? If you are satisfied with your physique, who am I to tell you that you shouldn’t be? And contrarily, if I am unsatisfied with my body, who are you to tell me I must be?