Metrosexuality

[sleeve]

Im all for "man stuff" (not a shred of metrosexuality in me) but the show just... sucked. Now it just sucks more.

diffx made this remark in the Man Show thread in Cinemania, and I thought I'd start a thread on it.

I became aware of this expression only recently, and I don't like it.

Part of the reason is, I'm not really sure what it means. People use the word to describe straight guys who act gay. But what is considered "acting gay"? Caring about your physical appearance? Appearing "sensitive" in public? Having platonic friendships with women? Not wearing a baseball cap in public at all times?

Me, I care about the way I look, try to eat well, and treat women with respect without kowtowing to them. Am I a "metrosexual" because of these things? Of course not. And I think men should feel free to be fashionable and knowledgeable about certain aspects of personal grooming without fear of the "M word", which is rapidly becoming a synonym for being gay.

Comments?

[Tones]

Stolen from a topic at Neomega:

(MET.roh.sek.shoo.ul) n. A dandyish narcissist in love with not only himself, but also his urban lifestyle; a straight man who is in touch with his feminine side.
?metrosexuality n.

Example Citation:

The only problem facing the metrosexual in an otherwise carefree existence is the inescapable effects of ageing. If 30 is 45 in gay years, then 26 is retirement age for the metrosexual ? and no amount of biotechnological, rehydrating, whale sperm dermo-care can alter that.
?Jonathan Trew, "I love me so much," The Scotsman, July 24, 2002

Backgrounder:
Mark Simpson invented this term in 1994 (see the earliest citation, below), but it has been picked up by numerous media outlets, including The Observer, The Herald, and Maclean's magazine. Here's Simpson's succinct description of the metrosexual type that appeared recently in the Salon.com online magazine:

The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis ? because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere.
?Mark Simpson, "Meet the metrosexual," Salon.com, July 22, 2002

[Kenshin]

Derived from the term "metropolitan".

In other words, you tend to only see these guys in big cities. Toronto has a fair share of them...

[Calliander]

So, basically, Vega from Street Fighter.

[Schlep]

So, basically, Vega from Street Fighter.

Guess I better steer clear of them, then.

[Calliander]

But... metrosexuals love you! MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!!

[Kenshin]

I've got friends in the city's art community.

The people that term refers to are scary.

[Ragnarok the Red]

So, basically, Vega from Street Fighter.

Only if complete with mask and hand claws

For some reason after I read the first post on this thread, the first thing that came to my mind was Robokopf from "We Are Robots"



"Yah, people tell me I have a big ego, but, really, my ego is tiny compared to my enormous talented genius.... "

[MVS]

Blame David Beckham.

I do.

[jiji]

Me, I care about the way I look, try to eat well, and treat women with respect without kowtowing to them. Am I a "metrosexual" because of these things? Of course not. And I think men should feel free to be fashionable and knowledgeable about certain aspects of personal grooming without fear of the "M word", which is rapidly becoming a synonym for being gay.

Indeed. The term has quickly become a politically correct, veiled form of the typical "gay"-as-insult. It seems to have come from the same family of media-created non-words as "ebonics" and "electronica." There are already terms for the traits the M word describes - well-dressed, cultured, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, narcissistic, effeminate, vain, materalistic - all dependant on the person being described. Expand your vocabulary and avoid this poor excuse for a word.