'How can skinny boys who wear jeans that barely stay up protect their sisters?'

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Women's Commission chairperson Suman Sharma is not a fan of the lean, androgynous look for men, and makes no bones about it. At an event organised on the eve of International Women's Day on Wednesday, she reportedly said, “There was a time when every girl would desire a man with a broad chest and thick chest hair. But no such men can be seen today.”

Sharma also lamented that boys wear earrings and jeans that barely stay up. “How can he who can't even handle his jeans protect sisters?” she asked.

As her remarks went viral, Sharma elaborated to TOI on Thursday, “I was talking about the 1970s-80s when men were seen as 'he-men' and expected to be well built with broad chests. With changing trends, today, boys are as crazy about a lean figure as girls and that is not good.”

Talking to TOI, Sharma observed that old Bollywood songs like 'Yeh desh hain veer jawano ka' also included lines like 'jahan chowdi chhati veeron ki (where the bravehearts have broad chests)'. “A braveheart was recognised by his broad chest then but now it is not the case,” she lamented.

Sharma added that the onus of bringing up boys with 'broad chests' is squarely on mothers. “I advise mothers to see to their boys' diets so they grow to be strong and can protect not just their sisters but also the country,” she said. And not just diet. “It is the mother's responsibility to inculcate values among the children,” she said. In her speech, Sharma cautioned girls “to not go all out in the name of freedom and create imbalance in society”. “Women, too, cannot go a long way if they leave the men behind. A balance should be there in society,” she said.