Can a man appreciate vintage and be metro?

[Baron Kurtz]

But we get nowhere. We've returned to the standard argument of what constitutes a "real" man.

Surely if there's nothing wrong with being a macho man (and i'd say there is not; but it's not something i'd want to be - or even come close to being able to be) then it follows that there is nothing wrong with a male being "effeminate", whatever that might be. Can't we all just get along?

I worry about the notion that you can be one or other of these, but not anything else. (black and white, as Fletch mentioned above)

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

here's a crazy idea: why don't we ignore these labels that advertising comes up with and just be ourselves ?

 

[Lincsong]

It comes down to the gauntlet

Metro---takes pride in appearance and hygiene. When confronted by evil; melts down and cries.

Golden Era Vintage---takes pride in appearance and hypgiene. When confronted by evil; attacks and annihilates.

Example; metro male is at stop light. Evil jumps on car and attempts to open door screaming obscenities. Metro male breaks down, cries for mercy. Golden Era Vintage is in same situation; he drives car over evil, gets out and knocks the hell out of evil for damaging the wax job on the car.

This whole modern bit of the "fat slob" as being masculine is a recent phenomenon brought upon by a political agenda which is banned on this forum.

 

[scotrace]

here's a crazy idea: why don't we ignore these labels that advertising comes up with and just be ourselves ?

So... zany! So madcap!

 

[Fletch]

Better run it past the focus groups...

 

[Kimberly]

Better run it past the focus groups...

Yup, that is all we are to the marketing gurus in the fashion and beauty industries. They have done this for decades with women and made half hazard attempts with men. Now men can chose from dozens of jars of special creams, hair shampoo, shaving creams, etc. It is working too. Both my sons have their very own toiletries that they use including soap for men, shampoo for men and other things like that. You have to give the beauty industry credit though for thinking out of the box and diversifying their niches.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I knew the apocalypse was upon us when I noticed "Nair For Men" at the drugstore. I guess instead of smelling like rotten eggs it must smell like something really manly -- rotten eggs with jalapeno, maybe...

 

[Fletch]

Thanks Liz. I just threw up a little. And so did my legs.

 

[carebear]

yeah. it should be "i'm a woman's man"... as the Bee Gees so succinctly put it.

Don't you mean a "Ladies Man"?

 

[Lincsong]

I guess I could use both of my Grandfathers as examples. This thread has had me thinking of them alot in the past few days. They were born in 1902 and 1905. One was superintendant of parks and the other was a truck driver. I never saw either man outside with out a hat. I never saw either one with blue jeans on or tennis shoes. I have a news paper article of gramps mowing grass at the park wearing a fedora, carrdigan and cuffed pants. I wouldn't consider either one a metro sexual because they dressed nice no matter what they were doing.
I consider the term metro sexual to involve the blurring of gender roles and associate it with effiminant men, or men that have become feminized by today's society.
Real men do still exist out in rural fly over country. They aren't brutish louts either, but more the type of men that my grandfathers were.
I personally would be offended if I were to be refered to as a "metro sexual".

Excellant point there. My grandpa was very well dressed, used Pond's Cold Cream everyday and could crawl out from fixing the plumbing under the house and still look like a million bucks. He was also tough as nails and kept a tire iron next to him in the car "just in case".

 

[Kimberly]

I guess I could use both of my Grandfathers as examples. This thread has had me thinking of them alot in the past few days. They were born in 1902 and 1905. One was superintendant of parks and the other was a truck driver. I never saw either man outside with out a hat. I never saw either one with blue jeans on or tennis shoes. I have a news paper article of gramps mowing grass at the park wearing a fedora, carrdigan and cuffed pants. I wouldn't consider either one a metro sexual because they dressed nice no matter what they were doing.
I consider the term metro sexual to involve the blurring of gender roles and associate it with effiminant men, or men that have become feminized by today's society.
Real men do still exist out in rural fly over country. They aren't brutish louts either, but more the type of men that my grandfathers were.
I personally would be offended if I were to be refered to as a "metro sexual".

I too think of the term metro sexual as effiminant men and a lot of it has to do with the media, the fashion industry, etc who have helped to create that image.

When I see a well groomed man that is not overly groomed, I just see them as very handsome, so I don't automatically assume they are metro sexual. In fact, I haven't even given the term much though except for now or when they talk about it on the news or blogosphere, etc.

Another key difference between the well groomed men of the past vs. those who may fall into the "metro sexual" stereotype is how they appear to society. In the past, a man felt as if it was his duty (for lack of a better word) to be well groomed and well dressed before he walked out the door. It was one of his many duties along with duty to his family, duty to his job, duty to his church, etc.

We are currently at a time in society where a lot of that sense of duty is not as common as it was back then (for both men and women). I often hear it referred to the "Me Generation". With that said a man who is so groomed that he is almost "pretty" appears to a lot of people as obsessed with self. Nowadays there is no duty to be dressed to the 9's so therefore, they must have some sense of narcissism. Not really my opinion, but just an observation.

 

[jpdesign]

Basically a man might spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours getting ready for something and arrive ontime and no one will know how long it took.

A metrosexual will spend 2 hours getting ready, show up late, and complain about being late because of how long it took to get ready.


Straight Razor shaves - best you can get, but always wait for the head barber, they are the ones who have put int the time building their business. If he has shaky hands then ask him who should do it.


I use Taylor of Bond St. myself. Their shaving cream gives me a closer shave then any of the gels I have used.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=13216&highlight=shaving

Jimmy

 

[Rooster]

Excellant point there. My grandpa was very well dressed, used Pond's Cold Cream everyday and could crawl out from fixing the plumbing under the house and still look like a million bucks. He was also tough as nails and kept a tire iron next to him in the car "just in case".

There, that's the problem, men these days just don't know enough to have a good tire iron around.!lol
It's all the feminisation of our culture in the 70's ,80's and 90's that have confused men so badly. They have forgten how to be men.

 

[Rooster]

But we get nowhere. We've returned to the standard argument of what constitutes a "real" man.

Surely if there's nothing wrong with being a macho man (and i'd say there is not; but it's not something i'd want to be - or even come close to being able to be) then it follows that there is nothing wrong with a male being "effeminate", whatever that might be. Can't we all just get along?

I worry about the notion that you can be one or other of these, but not anything else. (black and white, as Fletch mentioned above)

bk

" Macho man" is a term I avoid as it reminds me of the VILLAGE PEOPLE....we couldn't survive another round of that.
I don't think I or any one else here is saying being a metro sexual is somehow wrong or undesirable. Be what ever you want I say. But, if you give me a choice of which men to hang out with I'd hang out with the dude in the cowboy hat.

 

[Son_of_Atropos]

Nothing wrong with being effeminate?

What's right with a man being effeminate??? Is a better question.

man and effeminate. Man taking on qualities associated with women?

The statement is contradictory.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Around here, wearing a tie with one's flannel shirt is enough to mark one as a prancing dandy.

Some of my best friends are prancing dandies!
This gal had to look up online the definition of metrosexual.

 

[Dan G]

Some of my best friends are prancing dandies!
This gal had to look up online the definition of metrosexual.

So did I.... I guess maybe it doesn't mean wuss after all? Then again, maybe it does... Not sure....

 

[Baron Kurtz]

man and effeminate. Man taking on qualities associated with women?

p'raps the associations are tired and outdated? (see men who can cook thread . . .)

bk

 

[Fletch]

Then again, perhaps the associations are handed down from sky-boss (one name for that which is greater than all yet present in each).

 

[Baron Kurtz]

exactement