Are You a Metrosexual?

15.06.2012 | By: Alex F.

Or does your boyfriend belong to this new type of man? How and when did metrosexuals come into existence?

A metrosexual is a synonym for a successful urban man who finds himself in the whirlwind of the business and fashion world and tries to lead a healthy lifestyle. (PhotoXpress)

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An important factor in the feminization of men is magazines, which stress the new type of men, different from a traditional “macho” man. We’re talking about heterosexual men with feminine features who circumvent conventional sexual stereotypes regardless of their sexual orientation. Male feminization has its roots in the changed social roles of the sexes. Men have become more confident, caring and emotional, and have also started to pay more attention to their appearance. A metrosexual can be compared to men such as David Beckham or Brad Pitt.

Idealized and aesthetic images of more or less naked male bodies first appeared in “bodybuilding” magazines, only later in gay magazines, but nowadays we see them everywhere. The common factor is presenting the ideal man as someone muscular and in great shape, someone successful in his career and in seducing women. It’s not unusual if the male body, which is trim, muscular and beautiful, is put into "feminine" poses. A metrosexual doesn't only have a great masculine body but also typically female facial features.

The metrosexual phenomenon

The term metrosexual was first heard of at the end of the millennium. It was first used by Mark Simpson, in the British paper Independent. He used the term to describe a narcissistic man with an excessively high profile in the media. This man was supposed to represent a successful man in the new millennium. He was created by Hollywood with the help of advertisements and magazines that give us insight into various lifestyles. The reason for this was the desire to do away with a traditional male who is not concerned with himself and is not a big enough consumer.

The concept of metrosexuality was further developed by Simpson in his book Male Impersonators, where he analysed the workings of a male world that was becoming more and more aesthetic. Let's focus on the term itself for a moment. "Metro" means metropolis, an environment rich with infrastructure - in terms of fashion, beauty salons and sports facilities. The word "sexual" is supposed to refer to heterosexuality and stress the feminization of the new man, while at the same time it maintains the stereotype that only homosexual men are concerned about their looks (or at least were before the appearance of metrosexuals).

According to some people, metrosexuality is a way of living where all conventional patterns of behavior are doomed to fail. Metrosexuality is supposedly the final stage of human sexuality, where sexual differences are reduced to a minimum. This is possible mostly because of the modern idea - according to Sadra Bartky - that we’re born as men and women but we’re not born into manhood or womanhood. The emergence of metrosexuals shows that the dividing lines between sexes are artificial and that individuals can set their own norms and change them whenever they want to. This is also exhibited on the outside, in a person’s appearance.