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Being a man these days can be confusing. And Sex and the City has a lot to answer for on that count, having showcased every conceivable male shortcoming. It's no wonder a ripple of subconscious paranoia swept through male ranks worldwide. Who, or what, should we be?
In the 1990s, British journalist Mark Simpson (www.marksimpson.com) defined an emerging male character: 'A well turned out young man with money to spend, living in or close to the metropolis, and taking himself as his own love object, and pleasure as his sexual preference.' The rest is history. In 2002, he made a useful addition to the classification, being the first to use the word 'metrosexual' in print.
While males of any sexual orientation can be classified as metrosexual, it is often simplistically viewed as the reference point between polar opposites: the chauvinist, hetero, alpha male and the uber-camp homosexual. In broader terms, it was suddenly acceptable, comical even, for men to have a 'metrosexual moment'.
As fast as you could say 'back wax', male grooming spas popped up everywhere.
Most people just want to be accepted for who they are.
The problem with stereotypes is we want to run as fast as possible from those we don't like - the 'chav' (www.chavscum.co.uk) is a prime example - and embrace those with more flattering characteristics. Metrosexual is one such classification. We trick ourselves; in the absence of anything more appropriate we subconsciously assume we might be metrosexual when the reality is entirely different. Cue sighs of relief from men the world over. Cast aside your metrosexual delusions, you may in fact be 'retrosexual'.
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