I had a curious experience at the life-drawing class recently. The model (new to this class but evidently very experienced) wore throughout the evening a cloth around his head. This was, of course, the only clothing he wore during the evening. I pondered, on the drive home, why this might be, and it occurred to me that perhaps he is bald. It struck me as noteworthy that he seemed to be more self-conscious about his hair loss than about being in a state of nudity.*
Reflecting on this, I came to the conclusion that the issue in this case might be one of perceived normality. Hair loss is, of course, common among men, but nevertheless it could well have been the case that he was comfortable with the rest of his body, but that he was actually self-conscious about his lack of hair.
I am aware that there has been a great deal of discussion in recent years about female body-image, but this is the first occasion on which it has been drawn to my attention in the case of men. As a former sociologist, of course, I can’t be unaware of the possible interest of my own failure to recognise the issue.
*Particularly in the context of a class which was three-quarters female.