PSYCHEDELIC VIOLENCE OF WORDS : THE FLIPSIDE OF MANHOOD
THe PiNK SpIdER
Teru
Teru with the goatee. *
Teru recently grew a beard during the self-imposed "exile" that Glay placed themselves under. He announced this (with glee? I hope NOT!) over his radio show, TERU ME NIGHT, and as a result of that beard, he was able to travel "incognito" in Okinawa without being recognised and mobbed by the fans.
This is seemingly at odds with out dear Teru of Hai To Daiyamondo days where he, with the long luscious hair (that probably put many girls to shame) probably shaved religiously every single day and would be mortified at the very thought of spotting even a single strand of facial hair. What then prompted Kobashi Teruhiko to change his image and decide to go au naturel?
I venture a guess :
1) Re-discovery of MANHOOD
Glay has always defined manhood their way and defied convention. Look at Hisashi - the epitome of manhood within Glay's definition. Hisashi expanded our minds to what a man can look like and still ooze testosterone sexuality. What then can we make of Teru's beard? A re-discovery of manhood. The conventional way. Sean Connery, the Hollywood sex symbol of the 70's, continued to charm his way into the hearts of women worldwide even to this age. All done with the extra help of the beard to help him age gracefully. If Connery could do it, why not Teru? He could be plotting to charm his way into the hearts of obaasans in the near future, Afterall, fans do grow old.
2) Hippie Power - John Lennon
Recall Teru's obsession with the 60's and the 70's when The Beatles reigned and wowed the world with their brand of rock and roll? Teru could well be following in the footsteps of his idol - John Lennon, the definitive icon of the flower power era. Lennon, when he first started out with The Beatles, spotted a squeaky clean image but with the advent of hippism, Lennon wore his hair long and grew a beard. The Beatles grew bigger and bigger and became the biggest rock band in music history. Is there a correlation between Lennon's beard and the band's phenomenal success? I am pretty sure that it has more to do with their great music but nevertheless, Lennon's beard may have played a minor role in the band's success.
I hereby venture a guess that Teru may be imitating Lennon, but in the hope that Glay can emulate part of The Beatles' success? I leave it up to the fans to decide. Who knows, Takuro** may well be the next one to spot a beard since both he and Teru are obsessed with that iconoclastic era of freedom and great music.
3) Cutting Edge of Fashion and Style
The trendsetters in Glay have always been Hisashi and Jiro. Always at the cutting edge of fashion and style, both Hisashi and Jiro can spawn an entire fashion industry just by the clothes that they choose to wear in public. But Teru the trendsetter? NAH! Sure, he may want to change a few mindsets with this outrageous "fashion accessory" but I have this to say to him "Baby, leave it to the masters of fashion to spark off the next trend. That beard just ain't you."
4) Laziness
This is the most probable reason for Teru's beard. Being in vacation mode, it is only natural that he doesn't feel the need to shave. Afterall, with no interviews and no music shows to go on, Teru can be as sloppy as he wants to. He has a right to do what he wants in his own time and that includes having a beard!
Having ventured to guess the reasons for Teru spotting a beard, was this a good move on his part?
Pros of Teru Spotting a Beard
A) A Mature, Sexier Teru
With that beard, Teru looks more mature and maybe, even sexier. This would enhance his "bohemian" image and undoubtedly, there are female fans out there who love for their idol to look older and more mature, With this beard, there may now be more fans exclusive to Teru than to Jiro, the reigning ladykiller of Glay.
B) Freedom
With that beard comes a total new look for Teru and it would be harder for fans to recognise him from a similar crowd of hippies. Maybe then, Jiro would change his mind about refusing to shop with Teru as now, there would be no mobs of fans chasing after them when they shop. Undoubtedly, Teru of the past was easily recognisable and shopping with him would be a chore but now, it is a different story altogether for with that beard comes the added advantage of freedom and privacy. Afterall, who needs 1000 pairs of eyes staring earnestly at you when you buy Calvin Klein underwear?
C) Cure for Bad Skin
By growing a beard, it effectively means that Teru no longer has to shave every morning. That leaves him with more time to catch up on his much-needed beauty sleep without having to wake up extra early just to shave. As Teru-fans may have noticed, Teru looks extremely tired these days and his skin complexion seems to have deteriorated quite badly. Without having the added task of shaving in the morning, Teru can sleep longer and hopefully, restore the original healthy glow to his skin.
D) Cover-up
Alternatively, if the beauty sleep does not do the trick and Teru's skin complexion still looks as terrible as ever, the beard comes in handy as well. It could cover up the bad skin and Teru can still look good. Fans would be more focused on that forest of facial hair than his bad skin and thus, the beard helps to detract attention away from the skin problem.
HOWEVER, IS IT ALL PINK AND ROSY FOR TERU TO HAVE A BEARD??
Cons of Teru Spotting a Beard
A) Backfire
The plan to look more mature and sexier may well backfire on Teru as female fans may not take his "bohemian" image. Afterall, who wants her idol looking like some prehistoric Neanderthal? The consequent result could be that Teru may not have any fans left exclusive to him as all his former fans flock to Hisashi, Jiro and Takuro.
B) Shopping With Jiro
Then again, Jiro (or for that matter, the rest of the gang) may still not want to shop with Teru. Sure, the problem of mobs would be solved, but Jiro, being the fashionable clotheshorse, may not want to be caught dead shopping with a bushman. It would reflect badly on him since others would not recognise Teru anyway.
C) Hygiene
Having a beard comes the major problem of hygiene, or rather, the lack of it. Eating becomes a nightmare as bits of food may inadvertently get stuck in the beard. This scenario is especially real since Teru loves to eat. This is made worse if the beard is not thoroughly cleaned after each meal as washing a beard can so often be rather troublesome. The bits of food stuck in the beard becomes a feast for the bacteria and the beard becomes a fertile nesting ground for the bacteria to thrive. As all good students know, such bacteria makes us quite sick and the irresistible inference is that Teru may fall ill more frequently. Having a beard is no tea-party and it takes a lot of work to keep it in good condition and free from harmful bacteria. Teru may just not have the time for it.
D) POP?
It is a sad fact that Teru has officially divorced from his wife. I would make an educated guess that his ex-wife has custody of their children. Thus, it is just about certain that Teru would not get to see his children as often as he would like and coupled with his busy schedule, it would nearly be impossible to visit them on a regular basis. Add to the fact that he now spots a beard, his young children may not recognise him, given the way he looks now. They may think, as all innocent and good children do, that Pop has morphed into Sesame Street's Snufflenophagus!
There is really no compelling reason for Teru to grow a beard unless he was too lazy to shave during vacation and would get rid of it once Glay's HG Arena Tour begins.
I have noticed a trend with good-looking men : they tend to want to make themselves look ugly, This is very puzzling indeed when most other men would kill to look so good and be the object of women's affection. I just hope that the beard that Teru is spotting for the moment is just a passing phase and he will shave it off and return to his former self, even if he decides to wear his hair long again. ANYTHING BUT THE BEARD HONEY.
*This article was submitted to the editor before I really knew how Teru looked with his facial hair and thus, I thought that he was spotting a beard. It turned out that he was spotting a goatee instead and to be honest, I was really quite taken with it. Anyway, in case he decides to grow in the future, he may want to consider these pros and cons.
** This is a real fluke because after I predicted Takuro growing a similar beard, he really spotted a goatee! He can be found with the goatee in the May issue of WHAT'S IN.
*All pictures here are the courtesy of Aciel.
