Is Metrosexual Man History?

I know, I know-- this one's old news. The term "metrosexual", first coined way back in 1994 by journalist Mark Simpson in the UK Independent, had everything to do with the rise of an ostensibly straight man who mimicked all the feminine vanity interests of the "typical" woman-- or gay man. Thanks to the efforts of Simpson, ad whiz/trend spotter Marian Salzman, and the bobblehead media, the term gained momentum. Female trend watchers and consumers of popular media were blanketed with the idea that previously Cro-Magnon men were taking over their hair-care products and bathroom-mirror time with glee. The whole notion reinforced the concept of a future overrun with glossy, stylish, sweet-smelling fellas, who could not only chat away with certitude on subjects of art and style, but who would scold you for wearing sweats to run errands and flush the Chunky Monkey down the toilet when PMS overtook you.

Did this look good to women? Probably not. Well, if you were fed up with your boyfriend drinking out of the milk container and never wanting to see a movie starring Hilary Swank, you might've picked up "The Metrosexual Guide to Style: A Handbook for the Modern Man." You might've hoped to do for your man what the boys at "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" could not. But even then, the notion that it would be a good idea to eradicate male cluelessness in this arena, and replace it with that small feminine vice-- personal vanity-- really wasn't all that smart.

Despite the breathless prose of those cheerleading for it-- or indifferent to it-- insisting that the smooth-chested, eyebrow-groomed dandy was the wave of the future, I just never bought it. Yes, men account for a growing percentage of cosmetic procedures, proving only that human beings are all subject to pressures of vanity. But more likely the trend was and is the result of marketing "push" rather than a groundswell of "pull", a theory set forth by a self-proclaimed Metrosexual named Greg Lindsay, writing on the website theBlackTable.com. He makes the point that the image-making machinery (read "marketers")hopped onto Simpson's and Salzman's bandwagon in an effort to lure men into the same "beauty myth" that harangues females from the time they reach kindergarten. This makes a lot of sense to me, much more than the idea that men and women both are happy to be interchangeable, post-sexual drones. The polarity between the sexes, what makes us tantalizingly different, gives our lives that delicious whiff of spice. While we may like our guys reasonably groomed and capable of enlightened discussion rather than belches, I don't think either sex is ready for the Brave New World. I think Metrosexual Man is dead.

What do you think?

Comments

[Tom Babcock]

I think it so odd that a skin care product advertises that it is so good, it is being given out in the VIP gift bags at the Sundance File Festival. That icon of 70's and 80's maleness, by whom I mean Robert Redford, is not an obvious poster boy for the product. And while I may have been more interested in the costars, I don't sense that he, or Clint Eastwood, or Sean Connery (I don't sense the use of skin care products) needed to be metrosexual, or needed to provide the full monty, to attain status as a male sex symbol.

[Lisa]

Liz,
Are you the same Liz as Liz Ferrante in the NatWest LODP training program K? We are trying to plan a 25 year reunion and need to track you down. I lost your address. Lisa

[Liz Neville]

Lisa Pattinson?? Yes-- it's me-- how nice to hear from you!! Email me at the yahoo address (click on my highlighted name at the end of this comment) and we can catch up.

Another community service brought to you by ModestyZone!!

[Liz Neville]

My email address: modlizzy@yahoo.com-- Liz Neville

[Mark La Roi]

Someone once called me Metrosexual just because I can match my clothes with my shoes, socks and belt. I cannot tell you how I long for that word to die a swift and painful death!

Or at least be reserved for guys who wear makeup and it isn't to conceal a hideous scar. Although even then, the right scar can be kinda cool, so...

[Jennifer B]

Metrosexual Man seems to be nothing more than Frat Boy in the "real" world. Granted, it could be just the ones I knew. :)

[Amber Lee Peace]

Metrosexual does tend to go with the vice of vanity. Of course I don't like slovenly, but there is a nice medium. It usually involves washing your hair occasionally, matching, and just being clean. I think of clean hands and a washed face going with a good diet and exercise - we are a creation and creation is made to glorify our Creator. You don't have to get a $30 manicure to glorify, just wash your hands and use a nail clipper :)

[Reader]

As is the case with most media inventions and fads, I don't think meterosexual man was ever really alive.