"This is not a real man’s body!”
I can’t quite accept my body,
But it’s not because of me,
It’s because of almost everyone around me,
Starting with my parents to my friends.
It’s because of the stereotypical ideas of what a man should look like,
And societal standards of masculinity and manhood.

I’m thin,
I don’t have any muscles or abs.
I was okay with that, to an extent, in the beginning,
Because my body hadn’t fully developed yet,
Or basically, because I hadn’t decided to go the gym yet.

But the thing is, to be a “real” man in Egyptian society,
You have to abide by certain rules:
You have to talk a certain way,
Sit a certain way,
Look a certain way,
And have a certain body type.
If you don’t have this certain body type,
You start to feel like you’re not doing enough,
And you start to get annoying comments.

My family is nice.
They’re not mean,
And they always wish me well.
They always want what's best for me.
But when it comes to my body, especially,
They, too, always have something to say.

For example,
On more than one occasion,
My mother has said to me,
“No girl will ever even look at you!”
As if girls only like men for their bodies.
My sister made fun of the fact that I’m skinny more than once,
And joked about how no girl will ever like me.
“If you get into a fight,
You won’t be able to do anything.
You’ll get beaten up,
And the girl you’re going out with will think you’re a sissy!”
My father once told me.

Not to mention the amount of comments I get from friends and acquaintances.
Comments such as,
“If a girl doesn’t like the way you look,
She won’t bother getting to know you!”
“Why are you so thin? Does someone else eat your food?”
“If you’re not good looking and have a good body,
Your good personality amounts to nothing!”
“You need to gain some weight.
You don’t look good!”

Then there is the media in general, and social media in particular,
Which portray women as liking men with nice bodies,
Men who are ripped and muscular,
And there is an aversion to thin or “regular” body types.

Personally, I decided that I’ll start going to the gym,
But I’ll do it because I want to.
I’ll do it for myself and my own well being,
Not for anyone else.