Metrosexual

Recently it has come to my attention that I may be a “metrosexual.” Many people have told me that I look “metro” (short for metrosexual), act metro, and have metro tendencies. I was never exactly sure what people meant when they used the phrase, but it seemed to me the word had a negative connotation, one that was emasculating. On one occasion I was asked, “as a metrosexual, who would you say spends more time on their hair, you or your girlfriend?” For these reasons, I have decided to examine the concept of metrosexuality closely and to try to understand what it means.

Urbandictionary.com, defines metrosexual as, “[a] heterosexual male who appears slightly gay due to his impeccable sense of style, belief in designer hygiene, and willingness to emote. [B]y definition, a metrosexual must be male due to the ster[e]otype that women are usually conscientious of these things from the beginning.” Furthermore, it has broken up the typical metrosexual into 2 groups, Metrosexual A and B. Metrosexual A, is defined as a individual that depicts a more apparent form of metrosexuality--men that are physically metro. “This includes but is not limited to: hair dying, matching/nice clothes, clean nails, and tanning.” The other group, Metrosexaul B, is considered the less obvious metrosexual because you cannot tell from their physical appearance that they are metro. Instead, they are described as being interested in metro activities, which include but are not “limited to: musical theatre, celebrity gossip, appreciating fashion, and occasionally dressing well.”Metrosexual B men do not necessarily openly show their interest in these activities; in fact, one might describe them as “closet metrosexuals”.

These definitions really got my head spinning. Do we really need to create a category for men that have the qualities mentioned above? Am I some how short of being a heterosexual man for using hair products, wearing nice cloths and enjoying celebrity gossip? I certainly don’t think so. Our society as a whole has placed great weight on appropriate gender roles along gender boundaries. Stereotyping in this manner really threatens to limit the self-expression of others and promotes a specific image of what is appropriate for a particular gender. If we continue this practice, we will be taking away from what makes each of us human, freely expressing our uniqueness and who we are as individuals. I don’t want to be forced to become, what I guess you would call, a Metrosexual B male, but rather, I want to be free of any worries of how I may be perceived or treated by others.

One way we may be able to combat this type of limited thinking is to put a stop to it from a marketing perspective. Advertisements and marketing campaigns too often outline what is “manly” and what is “feminine.” This can be seen in ads for fragrances by companies like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Kline, and Hugo Boss, where you can clearly see the emphasis on the “for men” or “for women” label. Do fragrances really need to be labeled in such a fashion? Shouldn’t people be allowed to choose for themselves what fragrance defines who they are? It is sad that companies have such a large influence on how we essentially behave in society, but given that we live in a capitalistic society, we must learn to approach social problems, such as the one at hand, with this controlling presence in mind.