Metrosexuality

Don't think that Morrissey, who recently was resigned to a label, was a metrosexual since he was so anti-image in his public persona though in his private life who knows . . .

The term itself is a bit odd but that just reflects the marketers' desire to label everything so that it looks good in a PowerPoint presentation to a client who is going to foot the bill on the study.

The idea of the "metrosexual" is interesting and useful, but I don't like how it directly associates homosexuality with narcissism (as Simpson does).

In my experience most gay guys don't put a lot of time into how we look because we're pure narcissists (and the Freudian bit that we want to have sex with ourselves because we want to have sex with guys is often a fairy tale, as it were). It's often simpler/less pathological than that: We want to get laid. Like straight women, we're trying to attract men, who by nature tend to be intensely focused on the physical appearance of potential mates. Too much hair in the wrong place and the deal is off.

The endless primming of gay men to attract men seems to me only fair, while all the effort many straight women put into how they look and the comparative laziness of their straight male counterparts seem a great injustice. Evil corporate marketing ploys aside, I for one am glad straight women increasingly are wising up and expecting straight men to do their part. No one should have to endure excessive shoulder hair. No one.

Re: shoulder hair: It seems shoulder hair itself isn't the problem, but an excess of it...so, what exactly defines...um...excessive?

I was able to hold in my laughter until the line near the end, where the liquor salesman says, "[a Metrosexual] doesn't buy green beans, he buys haricots verts."

It looks like denial's a big part of d'analysis of the data. In business school, we watched this mktg video about the launch and failure of Levi's Suits. They did their research in San Francisco in the mid-80's and found there was a 20% segment of guys who "don't defer to girlfriends or wives; they do their OWN clothes shopping, and they love it." These fashion-forward Establishment Men were the metrosexuals of their day. *Cough*

Think about it, if _Cary Grant_ is the archetype of a metrosexual, it should be redefined as "straight guy who hooks up with guys." Even A&E knows that now.

At least we can finally label Tom Cruise appropriately! (orientation be damned)

I don't know...placing yourself on a waiting list is a fairly low-energy commitment. If he went down to the shop every week to see if they'd come in, that would be obsessive. It seems to me that his point-of-failure was in being aware that these apparently-rare jeans existed in the first place. (He probably read about them in some foofy magazine.) It would never occur to me to do anything but buy clothing off the rack.

Is a jean waiting list anything like pre-ordering Harry Potter?

In my college days we did workshops with Tim Bergling on his book "Sissyphobia," which is based on the idea that the guys who get the most shit are not necessarily those who are gay but rather those who act gay, a high percentage of whom are straight. Here's the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1560239905/qid=1056391031/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-1664875-4980741?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Anyway, it seems to me straight men have a vested interest in dismissing all so-called metrosexuals as secretly gay--propagating the belief that only fags remove their excessive shoulder hair enables straight men to keep their own. It's a vast hetero shoulder hair conspiracy. Even so, if I were a straight woman, to be safe, I'd avoid dating men on waitlists for jeans (unless they have excessive shoulder hair clearly exonerating any perceived limp-wristedness).

It ties into the inherent laziness of most men that they'd like to get away with doing the least amount possible so anything that knocks someone displaying a bit more flair is fair game. Waiting a year for jeans, while a great way to make sure one doesn't gain any weight in the interim, however, qualifies as excessive behavior in my mind …

Um...that last comment was mine.

Or an appointment for a wax.

We are happy you are posting comments, Karru - we love lively debate. And I agree, being on a waiting list for a pair of jeans does smack of being more obsessive than anything else. What can I say, I love the crazy, obsessive boys. They love me, too, though.

(Hey, my hairy feet remark finally got some traction!)

Actually, they are ... polar bears have hair on their pads that help them avoid excessive slippage.

I'm not sure whether I'm pro or con on this "metrosexaulity" issue. On some level, we need to recognize it for what it is -- a blatant attempt by marketers to tell straight men there's nothing wrong with spending $350 on a pair of shoes, dropping $40 for a mani and a pedi, and obsessing over their looks to the point that forking over $160 for 2 oz. of Creme de La Mer looks like a reasonable decision. Face it, this is stuff men currently feel a little embarassed about, if they do it at all -- take away that embarassment, and you have an awful lot of incremental spending pumped into the services and cosmetics industry. It's not coincidental that Conde Nast is rolling out a male version of Lucky soon. And did anyone else notice the husband-and-wife pair in this NYTimes Magazine's ad for cosmetic Botox? And I thought the 25th anniversary was the *silver* anniversary. Silly me.

On the other buffed and moisturized hand, however, shouldn't straight men feel free to engage in this sort of thing, if it suits their fancy? As a culture, isn't it a little ridiculous to regard a man who cares about his wardrobe as a little light in the loafers? It's a pretty juvenile pose consumerism is prompting us to drop, I'd say.

But straight women, be warned: any man who has more beauty products in his medicine cabinet than you is likely not the Prince Charming of your Hallmarkian fantasies. If your vision of the ideal mate is, however, someone who squeals in delight at the sound of a spa weekend, the market is making room.

Warren St. John thoughtfully suggested that anyone interested in reading more on metrosexuality can check out Mark Simpson's book, Sex Terror: Erotic Misadventures in Pop Culture.

And if you want more about homosexuality and narcissism, it'd be time to break out the copies of Homos by Leo Bersani and Homosexual Desire by Guy Hocquenhem.

The emphasis on sexuality gives the marketing concept an edge that doesn't come from labeling such individuals as alpha consumer or super-bees … hence why the article and discussions I've had with folks have focused so much on the beauty product/maybe he's really gay angle. In the end though, this isn't about sexuality but rather identifying a sub-group of males who are trend-setters and early adopters, helping to spread the gospel about products, services, entertainment, etc. Sounds a lot less sexy when you put it in those terms.

And few things generate buzz and sell products like good old sex and controversy. Completely agree that they would love to run everything but believe it has become a battle of who can stay one step ahead: the in-the-know consumer or the marketer.

As the guy in the article, I'd just like to point out that the press in this case came to me and not vice versa. Regardless, whether or not I was talking to the press about the product aspects of my metrosexual ways, nothing changes in terms of how I view myself or my masculinity so I just don't see the harm (beyond ribbing from friends and family) in the article.

Wasn't there a time when men who enjoyed these kind of activities were considered effeminine. As much as I think it is good for men to get in touch with their softer side, after speaking with my female friends, a strong majority like men to be in tune with things women would enjoy but certainly want a man to be a man.

i think it's a big marketing ploy. along the same lines as the other categorization that is going on these days: generation Y (in order to sell cars and x-games related crap to teens and twenty-somethings), i'm two too many beers in to think up any other names, but another good example of a commercial is the miller high life commercial that makes fun of people who put limes in their coronas. seriously, who cares? why can't people put limes in the coronas, lemons in their hefeweizens, cream on their skin, mayonaise on their pizzas, tomato(e?)s on their grilled cheese sandwiches, or cereal in their yogurt without drawing fire from media knuckleheads? kind of makes me glad that in new orleans (the hometown) people are either two too many beers in to care/notice or they don't care/notice in the first place...this is especially true for clothes and cars. as long as your reasonably covered up your clothes are ok (partially b/c it's damn hot and humid) and as long as the car moves your wheels are tight.

i'm convinced this is partially a regional thing. (although i do have to admit that the debutante thing is more prevalent down here...judging from the local paper).

eep...hope this thread isn't already dead.

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i think that it is about time that men start to take pride in their appearance. i myself am a metrosexual. and i am ok with that. and just to touch on the whole "jeans" thing...it is not as unorthodox as people might think. i myself and several of my friends check out fashions for the upcoming season. all in all it is about what makes you happy. i think that is what we all strive for.