In Kyivpost here, Alina Rudya regrets what she calls “Slavic man syndrome.”
This is what happens to a man in his 30s when he doesn't engage in sports very much, when he drinks and smokes heavily, and when he eats a lot of unhealthy food. It appears that 80 percent of Ukrainian men have this syndrome.
It also gets worse when a man is married. He stops thinking about his looks and health altogether, it seems, and at the crucial age of 40 he turns into a balding, beer-bellied unattractive creature with yellow teeth and bad breath. My father was not like that. You are probably not like that either. But I am not writing about you, remember, so don't be offended. Nevertheless, I didn't invent this term. Moreover, I've noticed a tendency among my 20-something male friends to get this syndrome.
The reason men develop this syndrome is obvious. For every 10 girls, there are only nine guys in Ukraine. So, no matter how bad you look, you still have a chance to find a girl. This is why you can see so many cute girls with not-so-attractive guys on the streets. And since some girls are not satisfied with this deal, they go looking for a husband or a boyfriend from somewhere like New Zealand, where there are 10 guys for nine girls. But that's a different story.
Some might say that leading a healthy way of life requires a decent amount of money, which some men don't have. But please, quitting smoking and drinking and starting to jog every morning doesn't cost money – it saves money.
My observation is that most Ukrainian men think that a guy has to look just a bit better than a gorilla, an attitude that sets them apart from most European guys I've met. I also think many Ukrainian men tend to be a bit homophobic, so caring too much about one's appearance is considered too gay.
Some guys don't even take a shower more than once a week, let alone get manicures or shave their armpits. If you don't believe me, walk into a stuffed metro car during rush hour in the middle of summer. The smell is so bad that sometimes it feels as if you're under a chemical attack. more....
However the headline is: People of Ukraine: Part 1 – Men. So presumably Part 2 - will give men their revenge.
