More about the appIt claims to determine,

through a series of 20

questions, whether or

not the survey-taker's

offspring is a homo-

sexual.These are:

� Does he like to

dress up nicely?

Does he pay close attention to his

outfits and brand names?

� Does he like football?

� Before he was born did you wish

he would be a girl?

� Has he ever gotten into or

participated in a fight?

� Does he read sports magazines?

� Does he have a best friend?

� Does he like team sports?

� Is he prudish/modest?

� Does he like diva singers?

� Does he spend a long time in the

bathroom?

� Does he have a tongue, nose or

ear piercing?

� Does he spend time getting

ready before being seen in public?

� Have you asked yourself

questions about your son's sexual

orientation?

� Are you divorced?

� Does he like musical comedies?

� Has he introduced you to a

girlfriend ever?

� Is the father (you) very strict or

authoritarian with his son?

� In your family is the father

absent?

� Was he shy as a child?

� Is he close to his father?

WITHIN days of

bringing baby num-

ber four into this

world, mom Victo-

ria Beckham was seen giving new-

born Harper Seven her introduc-

tory shopping experience, bal-

ancing both the baby and her dan-

gerously high heels with equal

ease. But that’s Posh, and you’d

expect no less from her. No trace

of flab, no just-had-baby bulge,

not any the worse for wear.

Model mums!Posh is not the only yummy

mummy out there. New-age new-

ly-minted moms these days are

knocking off the pounds and get-

ting back to their pre-pregnancy

figures before you can even say

‘hey baby’. Actors Malaika Arora,

Tara Sharma, Suzanne Roshan, J

Lo, just to name a few.

Motherhood is no longer about

making allowances for the ro-

tund shape in the belief that it

ties in with the new role, or re-

signing oneself to the fact that

from hereon the XL series takes

over. These days it’s a sprint from

the delivery room to the treadmill

for many mothers.

Says fit and fabulous first-time

mother Aparna Gupta, “I had

seen some women around me

letting go after they had their ba-

bies. I didn’t want to be that.I

didn’t want to look at my

wardrobe and sigh, ‘those were

the clothes I once wore’.”

Selfless, no moreWhat happened to notions that

motherhood was about selfless

love, and all that mattered was

how healthy and happy the new

arrival looked? When moth-

ers obsessing about their ap-

pearances would at worst be

called selfish and at best nar-

cissistic. Explaining this at-

titudinal shift, Dr Ajaya

Kashyap, senior cosmetic

consultant at the Fortis La

Femme Hospital, says,

“Even though the joy of

motherhood is unparalleled,

it does cause changes to

the body that can

leave some women

yearning for their

pre-pregnancy

figure. Unhappi-

ness with their

bodies can cause

them to feel con-

scious, thus, af-

fecting their behaviour, so-

cial engagements and emo-

tional wellbeing.”

The drill!Another gorgeous mom, actor

Tara Sharma, insists that getting

back to one's former glory after

delivery is not as tough as it

might seem. Tara, who’s pas-

sionate about fitness and inspir-

ing new mothers to take up fit-

ness-related activities, walks her

talk. “My secret to be-

ing back to being size

zero after my pregnan-

cies is a combination of

exercising, eating right,

breastfeeding, keeping

on my toes with potty

cleaning, diaper chang-

ing, playing with Zen

and Kai, and as my hus-

band says, the fact that

years of exercise have prob-

ably helped me have a fast

metabolism,” shares the

pretty actor on her blog.

Barely three days after her

first kid Zen was born and

the very next day follow-

ing her second son’s Kai’s

birth, Tara was back to

WHEN pop sensation Lady Gaga

paid tribute to our existence as

human beings accepting who we

are with her song Born This Way,

the lyrics found a connect with people who had

been mocked for being different.

Coming out of the closet and accepting

one’s sexuality is an important phase in a per-

son’s journey towards self-realisation. How-

ever, the process is not easy for the individual

or their loved ones. French developers

Emmene Moi (which translates in English as

Bring Me) aim to clear your doubts about your

offspring’s sexual orientation with a new app

called ‘Is my son gay?’

While gay and lesbian activists in the West

have slammed the app for its ‘stereotypical ques-

tions’, some have even asked Google to revoke

it. So, what do people back home think?

Is it an apt app?Sapna Desai, a working professional, says, “I

don’t know how I would react if my teenage

son came out and told me he was gay. It’s not

something I am ready for. However, I would

not use an app, because I don’t think it’s

something I would rely on. I

would prefer to discuss it

with him in person.

Does the app deliver?Ashok Row Kavi, a prominent

LGBT rights activist, says, “I

found the questions so silly

and stereotypical as to be

laughable. However, I know

what might happen with ap-

prehensive mothers — they

might force their sons to go for psychiatric coun-

selling or worse ‘revulsion therapy’, which de-

pends on using shock treatment to cure homo-

sexuality. There are no ‘20 questions’ I’ve seen

or find possible to find out a man’s (or woman’s)

sexuality. It’s mostly a journey of self-discovery,

and the best way to deal with that is for mothers

to sit down and talk sensitively to their children.

One way is to ask him whether he would like to

talk about this life in general and take it through

several episodes called ‘life-stories’. It may not be

about sexuality at all. So why worry till he brings

up the subject?”

Vikram Doctor of Gay Bombay, says it cre-

ates safe spaces for gays, and adds, “I think the

application should be ignored. I doubt people

would use an app in the first place to find

out their son’s sexuality. You may be curi-

ous about your child’s sexual orientation,

but you have to let them come to you and

open up about it. All you can do is be sup-

portive and let them know that you won’t

shun them for their decision.”

ExpertspeakDr Kurien S Thomas, clinical psychologist and

psychotherapist, says, “I do not think the giv-

en parameters are enough to label a guy as

‘gay’. Going by recent trends, we see that many

guys like to look a bit feminine. Guys today ap-

ply make up, bleach their face, wax their body,

etc. Does it mean that a guy who does all this

should be labelled as ‘gay’? Parents and friends

must refrain from using such tests. ”

Clinical psychologist Seema Hingorrany,

adds, “ I’m completely against such applica-

tions as they are misleading. These traits can

also be in a heterosexual per-

son. And some of these traits

do change over a period of

time. We have had cases

where parents have under-

gone depression because they

had wrong information on

several topics. The right way of

testing the sexual orientation

is taking a proper clinical in-

terview with a person, who

seems confused.”� TIMES NEWS NETWORK

melissa.dcosta@timesgroup.com

brisk walking every morning.

Having had a C-section deliv-

ery, Aparna’s regimen was a lit-

tle different regimen. “I started

with simple exercises and walks.

I had the typical maalishwalimassages for three months

post delivery. This helped

tone my sagging mus-

cles. For tummy fat, I

think nothing

works better than

crunches/yoga.

To prevent

stretch marks, I ap-

plied Clarins anti-

stretch mark cream + oil

from the second trimester and

made sure I didn’t scratch my

tummy.”

Sculpted shapes!Not all new mothers, how-

ever, take the long, hard

route to the gym. Many prefer

the easier, if more expensive,

option of going under the

knife. Says Dr Rashmi Taneja,

senior consultant, plastic & re-

constructive cosmetic surgery,

Fortis Group of Hospitals, “ Avail-

ability of medically approved, safe

aesthetic procedures has

made it easier for

women to achieve their

pre-pregnancy body

shapes.”

But do surgical inter-

ventions sustain in the

long run? “If one fol-

lows the post-oper-

ative advice

carefully, im-

plants can

last very

l o n g .

However,

post certain

procedures like

liposuction, a per-

son has to main-

tain a healthy lifestyle

to ensure sustainable

results. In any pro-

cedure, it is impor-

tant to follow the

doctor’s post-operative instruc-

tions,” says Dr Rashmi.

The main concern areas

women have post pregnancy, says

Dr Ajaya, are related to the tum-

my and breasts. “Excess skin and

fat deposits near the tummy and

loss of volume and shape of the

breasts are common complaints.

These can be rectified through

cosmetic procedures like tummy

tucks liposuction and breast aug-

mentation. Usually, women

should give their bodies about six

months to a year after their deliv-

ery before going in for cosmetic

surgery, provided they are not

breastfeeding.”

Their little bundles of joy will

always be the centre of attention,

but these yummy mummies too

are revelling in the admiring

glances coming their way and

even loving the tinge of green in

the eyes of those who… umm…

don’t quite measure up.

� You can hit the gym in less than 20

days after delivery, though you need

to take permission from your gynaec.� A 45-minute routine should be good

to get started.� Do not go on a low-cal diet while

nursing the baby.� Even during pregnancy, while the

first three months are a no-no for

workouts, from the second trimester

you can hit the treadmill and continue

with it right to the end.� Core strengthening exercises for the

abdominal and back muscles are

important.� Do normal workouts, crunches,

cobra position, Swiss ball, treadmill

and elliptical trainers, but go easy

with it.� Get a fitness assessment done before

enrolling in a gym or deciding to work out.� Finally, place your favourite pair of

jeans that you used to live in before

pregnancy on a hanger, and use that

to motivate you.

Inputs from Leena Mogre,

director Leena Mogre’s Fitness

Getting fit

SUNDAY | OCTOBER 9 ,2011 3

‘Is my son gay?’A new Android app promises to help parents answer this

question in seconds. Melissa D’costa gauges its acceptability

New Age moms can’t wait to get back into shape the minute they’re done

delivering the baby. Purba Dutt tracks the trend

Tara Sharma

� TIMES NEWS NETWORK

purba.dutt@timesgroup.com

MalaikaArora Khan

“AVAILABILITY

OF SAFE AESTHETIC

PROCEDURES HAS

MADE IT EASIER

FOR WOMEN TO ACHIEVE

PRE-PREGNANCY

SHAPES“— Dr Rashmi Taneja

Waiting to exhale!

Victoria Beckham

© C

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