Metrosexuals

By mid 1990s metrosexualbecame a buzzword all over the world. With the burgeoning revolution in liberating society from the shackles of patriarchal and sexist society, not only were the conventions broken, the tide of changes among the sexes came in waves. For instance, liberation were not only felt by the gays and the lesbians who suddenly had the freedom to flaunt who they really are, but men (and women) as well who suddenly felt free to show their feminine side. Some of which were vastly different from the former stereotypes of society so much so that new phenomenon caused confusion among the populace or some may put it as the general public found it hard to catch up with the revolutionary changes happening. A case in point is the metrosexuals- what is metrosexual?

The term metrosexual was introduced in 1994 as a combination of metropolitan and heterosexual. It was first used by Mark Simpson in his novel Here Comes Sundance. It is defined as a tag for heterosexual males who are particular about vanity and neat freak. It can be used both as a noun and an adjective, both of which are considered informal. Usually this refers to a group of urbane men whose sophistication is closely related to the manners and cultured lifestyle and preferences of men living in the city. Oftentimes, metrosexuals are said to be vivid personification of a consumerist lifestyle where people are readily attracted to get and try out products that are heavily advertised and those that are considered good and instrumental in helping people to become acceptable and attractive according to the mainstream standards. In general, there are numerous similarities between the metrosexuals and the gay.

The term is surrounded by a host of controversies one of which is whether metrosexual is just an allusion to gays since technically they seem to have the same behaviour and image. Some on the other hand believed that metrosexual is just another strand of homosexuality. Nevertheless, the vanity and neatness that metrosexuals exhibited are usually associated to femininity and clashes against the machismo image that has been pinned to the word men. However, these new breed of people (metrosexual) usually models and celebrities, do not hesitate to portray their self- image regardless of whether it is quite unconventional. They can easily find their niche in the mainstream/ pop culture and to some extent they can be considered as trendsetters in so far as fashion and personality are concerned.

Needless to say, metrosexual is technically not a term for another form of sexuality but a term for specific way of self- expression where men can freely project their self- concept/ self- image regardless of whether it is in synched with society's notions and conventions of how people should behave according to their sexual orientation. What is metrosexual? In a nutshell, it can be defined as another term for vanity exclusively used for people whom the society never expects to exhibit such characteristics like the men. But it should never be confused with homosexuality, it being an entirely different story.

By

Dr. Barry Lycka