Metrosexual ............ the term

Erynn Masi de Casanova

Assistant Professor
Romance Languages and Literatures - Affiliate Faculty
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies - Affiliate Faculty
Sociology - Tenure-Track Faculty
1015 Crosley Tower
513-556-4707
erynn.casanova@uc.edu

Erynn Masi de Casanova, of the University of Cincinnati, presented her new research (although it is a very small sample) at the recent American Anthropological Association conference in San Francisco earlier this month. I decided to look at this issue a bit after seeing an article excerpted below from sciencecodex, an online publication.
Extinct or Passé? New Research Examines the Term, 'Metrosexual' (November 13, 2012)

Did the "metrosexual" male come into being and die out with the last decade, or has he become the new normal? Erynn Masi de Casanova, a UC assistant professor of sociology, presented truly irrelevant research about the label at the 111th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in San Francisco.

Casanova's research consisted of interviews with men in three major metropolitan cities and the interviews led to the belief that men in general were taking more interest in a well-groomed appearance and that they felt the term, "metrosexual," was a stereotype that had run its course. Some men who were interviewed indicated that they preferred dressing up and looking sharp – especially on weekends – even though many American businesses now promote workplace casual dress codes. This was prominently reported in New York.

So was ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" sung by metrosexuals? Was Fred Astaire a metrosexual?

Casanova based her presentation, "Is the Metrosexual Extinct? Men, Dress and Looking Good in Corporate America," on interviews with 22 men in which the word, "metrosexual," came up in the conversation. The men were white-collar workers in three major U.S. cities: New York, San Francisco and Cincinnati - a midwestern liberal city bookended by coastal liberal cities.

"I was really interested in finding out how individual men think about social categories, such as metrosexual," says Casanova. "It's a word that's out there, but do men really think about it – does it mean anything to them?"

Probably not, it was just a marketing designation. Casanova rightly notes the label was coined by British journalist Mark Simpson to describe a single, young, heterosexual man with a high disposable income, who worked in the city.

"I found out that people had contradictory opinions about what being metrosexual was. Sometimes one person would reveal both negative and positive connotations about the word," says Casanova. She says the majority of the men referred to the aesthetic aspect of the stereotype – men who were well-dressed and well-groomed.

Most Americans think of metrosexuals as wearing black suits one size too small, though. Incredibly, the men in the surveys had heard the term despite it having its 15 minutes of fame in 2004, mostly to insult Presidential candidate John Kerry when he spoke French. The men also said that the term was being used less and less – that it was likely a buzz-word that was fizzling out, or that now it has just become a label, as more men pay more attention to their appearance. "One of the interviewees said it's just a new word for who used to be called a 'pretty boy,'" Casanova says.

Casanova's interviews also found that the metrosexual moniker opened up a way for heterosexual men to enjoy fashion without being stereotyped as gay, although others considered the term a more polite way of calling someone gay. Some men, says Casanova, saw the interest in fashion as a possible way to bridge gaps between gay and straight men. Some of the heterosexual men interviewed admitted taking fashion advice from gay men.

"As many men confirmed, this bridge seems to be a relatively new – and still somewhat tenuous – development," Casanova says.

Of the 22 men interviewed, half were from New York, 41 percent were from Cincinnati and nine percent were from San Francisco. The majority of the interviewees identified as white; three identified as African American; one as Indian and one as "Afro-Caribbean."

The men held a variety of positions in the corporate world, from sales/marketing to finance, recruitment and architecture/design. The average age of the men interviewed was 36. The youngest was 24 and the oldest was 58.

Funding for the current research project was provided by the University of Cincinnati Taft Research Center and Casanova says the research is part of a larger study that she plans to publish as a book.

ENDS

Given Jamaica's recent sojourn into this realm by popular culture predominantly dancehall with the once vilified "tight pants" as worn by major acts now and who themselves were strongly opposed to such and the skin lightening or bleaching phenomenon that is so normative older folks like myself wonder sometimes if we are in the same Jamaica where men would have been beaten literally if they ever tried such things just five years ago. 

Most major clothing stores these days of the informal commercial importers (higglers) have some sort of Euro designed Jeans or pants that are deliberately form fitting as "big clothes" are considered outdated, male students go as far as to adjust their uniforms to match how the adult males dress with ass/boxer showing and more in some instances.

popular bleaching creams used today 

Yet despite the aesthetic changes and the vain scale turned up or as we say "tun up" in colloquial terms homophobia as expressed in flat out rejection of same gender love displayed publicly of any form of remote effeminacy is promptly opposed yet gay for pay accusations fly about for men (as masculine as they are in attitude) who present as metrosexual, tight pants, bleached skin and ass crack showing to include form fitting boxers which females find attractive at certain socio economic levels complete with full body tattooing now, a practice that was also revered only to uptowners or foreigners. Controversial dancehall star Vybz Kartel (photo below) has become the poster child for male bleaching and subsequent metrosexual modes of dress in as far as the dancehall arena is concerned despite his legal woes.

More polished and conservative dressing and attention to detail have also been seen in white collar males and if one should visit particular barber shops despite the barbers being all male personal services are delivered that involve rather intimate contact such as tweasing, facials and mani/pedicures as well, practices once frowned upon when offered or done by males that female staffed barber shops were opened to respond to that bias but now who cares for the most part? as shops diversify due to economic realities and holding customers while meeting the ever changing trends lately in Jamaica. Did I mention pink as well where men are so comfortable with the "gay colour" that it is hardly noticed in a negative way. 

But how do we bridge the gap between the heterosexual fashion conscious male versus the already held notion that overly picky men in fashion are gay or are we looking in the wrong places?

Questions left to be answered I guess given our peculiar circumstances of extreme homophobia on one hand and extreme attention to detail in grooming once viewed through stereotypical lens as homosexuality expressed through style.

Nuff to think about.

Peace and tolerance

H