The Editor, Sir:

I am very troubled for Jamaica's young men, many of whom are only concerned with vanity, that is to say, they are obsessed with how they look. There are no boundaries to how far these young men will go to achieve the 'in look'. They have no fear of what others might say about them. Our young men wear tight pants, earrings, etc., and then they even go over the boundary of self-destruction and indulge in skin-bleaching.

My question is, who are these young men trying to attract? Females, males or both? I have seen white people cross-dressing and wearing outlandish clothes and accessories. I never knew that our black people could mimic them.

Could it be that our young men, subconsciously, do not see our race as worth 'mimicking'? Young men today are too self-absorbed. Is there an identity crisis? A study should be conducted to find out what's going on.

It is said that Jamaica imports most of its commodities from America. Because of this, American lifestyles, music, attitudes and clothing are adopted to go along with these commodities.

'Gay pimp' lifestyle

There is a chance that our young men today are adopting the 'gay pimp' lifestyle, attitudes and clothing without even realising it hip-hop and R&B music are popular among Jamaicans, the accompanying looks. What had triggered this wave of change among our young men?

I would urge our older men to set an example for these youth and to offer them guidance and assistance whenever possible. Most of these young men hardly have a solid father figure in the home.

I am, etc.,

RASHIDA BRYAN

suzzannebrn@yahoo.com