Farewell metrosexuals, hello menaissance?

Yay. Goodbye overgroomed douches, hello bearded douchebags.

it’s a cold day in hell when people take Jim Belushi seriously…

but in serious, Manliness has always been pressed in society. In my opinion the only reason it is so much or apparent is because you are able to see it everywhere, from TV, radio, billboard etc. there just hasn’t been as many mediums to push it through. I mean, you can watch commercials from the early 60s about some wealthy looking guy only smoking “a man’s cigarette. insert brand here” it’s always been around, it’s simply that today advertisements can reach you virtually anywhere.

Yeesh.

Real men?

The term manaissance doesn’t seem to fit well with the trend you’re describing. It references the renaissance or renaissance men. Both of course are related to the fruition of diverse fields of learning, arts, sciences, philosophy and reason either in a civilization as a whole or regarding a single person dedicated to diverse intellectual or artistic pursuits. Neither seems even remotely related to drinking beer in hell or otherwise.

I demand they rename it more appropriately. Preferably something with allusions to Chuck Norris or chesthair.

No-one in the mood for a real convo?

I don’t know what to say about this issue, I believe its already gone too far as it is.

I don’t care if men want to gel their hair or moisturise their skin, why do you care Zen what other men do?

Hi @hillo and welcome to fluther. I didn’t say I “care” but it is an interesting topic. I’d like to hear more from women (sorry, can’t tell by your name or avatar which one you are) about this: are they sick of metrosexuality? Is there not enough of it? Etcetera.

Besides: why so serious?

Welcome to fluther, I’ll toss ya some lurvski.

This is just ridiculous. There has always been metrosexuals and manly men and everything in between. You can’t just assume that the entire female population has gone from liking metrosexuals to manly men, since everyone is different and everyone likes different things to different degrees, and the entire female population never liked metrosexuals to begin with. I think it’s just people in the advertising industry making stuff up and pushing it on us. It shouldn’t change what women want.

\The menaissance definitely fits my style more so than the metrosexuality.

I sit somewhere in between the two extremes – so I guess that I am not about to be trendy just yet. (A shame – it has been a long time since I was trendy – and to be so would freak my kids out.)

Actually, the more I read your comments, the more trendy you appear to me @DarkScribe. You’re pretty cool.

@Zen Actually, the more I read your comments, the more trendy you appear to me @DarkScribe.

Thank you – appreciated. But with regard to style – not so cool. Bearded and with Tweed jackets and chinos as business attire – I think that Steve Jobs copies me – jeans or shorts on weekends. (I was trendy for a few moments back in the seventies…)

I do own suits – and could probably find one of them within an hour or two – if I had to. ;)

@shrubbery What do women want, anyway?

Just when one thinks one knows, one realizes that one doesn’t shit, or know shit; both cause and are the effect of frustration. Sorry, this has nothing to do with metrosexuality. As far as that goes, feminine looking or acting males have always been around. The frequency of masculine-seeming men, in a population or society like ours, probably changes with trends and other related factors. For example, the fact that beards are or were trendy is one factor that might influence perception on this matter. I’m sure there are an infinite amount of other factors. I guess my point is that there probably has not been any real change, just the appearance of change. If anything, there seems to have been a fairly recent trend in the use of humorous ‘man-...’ words; words like man-whore, manties, menaissance, man-date, man-pregnant, mantrum, man law, man points, manaconda, manchino (ass cherry), manorexic, you get the idea.
But who knows, modes of behavior, like other things, wax and wane. When the population of lumberjack-looking dudes hits the boiling point, there will once again be plenty of guys sporting ghey shoes like these and spiking their ‘messy’ hair into fohak formation.

@peedub Just when one thinks one knows, one realizes that one doesn’t shit.

Eat more fruit and fibre – I hear that it helps. :)

Haha, good call.

Sorry, ‘fohawk’...

I will glad when I don’t have to see any more of those. It’s such a half-ass hairdo. Go for the mohawk; stop at the halfway point to buff your shoes.

@DarkScribe I meant intellectually trendy, especially on fluther: or Flendy.

@Zen I meant intellectually trendy, especially on fluther: or Flendy.

Thank you again. Flendy – you could be starting a trend here, a rash of “flutherised” expressions.

What may be happening is a reaction to the economic situation. I think metrosexuals tend to be associated with high rolling Wall Street types, who are not currently held in high regard. It would be nice if the trend were away from consumerism, but the fact that advertisers are latching onto it would seem to indicate otherwise.

@Zen
Flendy – you did it again.

As a woman, I am attracted to a variety of types of men. They all have one thing in common… they are genuinely themselves.

Well, self confident people are often attractive.

@buster, there’s this year’s Halloween costume—Buster as Metrosexual.

Why not call it the menopause until things have settled down, and the new way to carry oneself is made public by the broader media?

There was a lot of buzz about the Rudius Media guys like Maddox, Tucker Max, Dick Masterson (not sure if he’s Rudius or independent) but it all died down a while ago.

Tucker Max was supposed to release a movie so maybe his PR people are trying to revive the buzz he used to enjoy? I remember he was exposed as a fraud on a radio show (Opie and Anthony I think) about a year ago so I’m not sure many people still pay attention to his stories.

I feel like most guys, at least in America, fall somewhere between the super-effeminate-ness of the so-called metrosexual and the beer-guzzling, date-raping, gonorrhea-spreading douchiness of Tucker Max, the guy who wrote “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.”

Just as metrosexuality was a media construct when we as a society had more money (or at least credit) than we knew what to do with, the return to so-called traditional manliness is probably directly correlated to the economy. We have less money for things like $10 cocktails, why not buy a domestic beer? Everybody’s shopping less, so of course sales of hair gel and designer jewelry for men will go down.

Hello brilliant marketing ploy!!!

Check who’s home infront of the TV more now in this awesome American economy.
Hmmm. Martinis from the top shelf with oysters on the half shell or beer at Bobs and a happy hour burger?
Stimulate your local economy.

Ugh…hate the phrase “real man” with a passion…you guys really need to hear my rap song on this subject.

I´m not sure where i fall into this category… i am very meticulous about my attire when going out but am equally comfortable in baggy jeans and t-shirt or shorts at home.. love wearing flip-flops when hanging out but am also partial to designer clothing and love wearing suits. am very careful with the hair.. but no manscaping for me.. just regular maintenance. Either way… i do these things because it´s what i like not because tv tells me it´s cool. and the missus seems to like it so i think i´lll continue to do it.

@Dr_C Uh, you sound like a, ahem, metrosexual.

@Zen even though i´m constantly rocking the 5ó clock shadow and hav eno qualms about the hairy chest, stomach, etc?
(Also.. beer drinker, BBQ fanatic, outdoorsman.. cyclist, camper, surfer, golfer)

5 o’clock shadow = sexy; hairy chest = genes; stomach, eh, work-out more. You still qualify for metro, babes.

I don’t think this is a trend. You could probably find just as many examples of high-profile men that are metrosexual. There will always be manly men, and there will always be well-groomed metro guys. When newspapers write about trends, it seems like they’re kind of behind the curve. For example, my local paper has had articles on the “trend” of vintage/ secondhand shopping every month or two since the recession started.

Zen- I never heard the word “menissance” before, but I think it’s hilarious. That’s even manlier than “heterosexual manpanions.”

“A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.”
Oscar Wilde

Apparently a recurring trend.

The press is just looking for another angle that might sell. It’s a tempest in a teapot. Or maybe a beer that’s lost it’s fizz.

Though the man bag is something I will never understand. I don’t think it’s practical even for women.

The term ‘Meterosexual’ is an unecessary term as it is misunderstood as only about appearance and manner (products of human evolution)

Meterosexuality is about the first generation of men that understand that sexual orientation is irrelevant to their manhood.

I dislike the term Meterosexual, I think modern man or new man are more descriptive terms.

Yes, I said evolution above, as men change as more and more of them produce with their minds as opposed to their bodies.

The world might always need lumberjacks so they should be considered a demographic too.

@oratio Good one for man bag – were you thinking of the Friend’s episode with Joey’s audition?

@Zen No, my brother has one. He asks me to hold when he needs two hands.

@zen, the ‘manbag’ is an indicator of male evolution as well. Men as well as women need to carry their tools for their life and their living (notebook computer, PDA, cellphone, etc.) Nobody smirks when they see a chef carrying his knives or a plumber carrying his tools.

Besides, there should only be one bulge in the front of a man’s pants.

@proXXi Well, it works for some, but what’s wrong with a shoulder bag?

My younger daughter mentioned that the boys she knows go through this “Let’s be Lumberjacks!” phase, where they don’t shave, don’t cut their hair, don’t shower, and wear a lot of plaid shirts. Then they sit around and wonder why girls aren’t attracted to them.

@PandoraBoxx What’s wrong with not shaving, cutting your hair or showering? When I was in college, that was a surefire way to get with girls. Especially at concerts.

Nothing says lovin’ like a guy with greasy hair and BO, doused in Axe.

For me, “old style masculinity” is a polite, graceful, confident, well groomed man considerate enough to dress for the occasion and show respect to others around him by being clean. It’s disappointing to me when I see men not even 30yrs old, ill groomed, pot bellied and sloppily dressed with an attitude they are hip and desirable.

i held the door for an older woman yesterday and she said something along the lines of “wow, real men still do exist”

I’ve stopped shaving since this thread. I am also drinking MANtini’s now, out of a frosty pint glass.

@judochop Mantini? Hmm. I am a hairy guy, but I do shave. I kinda like feeling fresh.

I perfer men a little ruff, facial hair, callused hands, etc. It is also lovely when a man has good dental hygiene -well good hygiene in general. Attitude wise, I am more interested in a guy that would be confident and have a backbone, who wouldn’t complain about escorting me to a ballet, no spineless whiney types for me.

@judochop lurve for mantini

@Zen lurve for your lurve but in a hey bro didja catch the game last night sort of way? Our team won!! Wanna go fishing or arm wrestle or something?

@judochop or something.

@Zen….I’m proudly 100% metraissance (wanna see?)!
See ya….Gary/wtf

@whatthefluther You know I do.. say when and where.

@Zen….You’re a mere 5000 miles away….I’ll hale a cab.
See ya soon….Gary/wtf

@is it the magical mystery cab you ride after lighting up a doobie? I am 5000 real and actual miles away luv.

@Zen…You are, of course, correct. Perhaps L ucy in the
S ky with D iamonds will give me a magic carpet ride.
See ya….Gary/wtf

One more Beatles pun and I’ll take a Silver hammer to your chestnuts.

@Zen…. You win.. I’ll let it be. See ya…Gary/wtf

damn, gary – don’t let me down! @whatthefluther

@Zen….Hey, Slow Down and take it from This Boy, who is one Bad Boy because when I Call Your Name, I’ll Get You and then can say I Feel Fine…and Yes it Is, From Me To You
that’s eight in case you re not up on your Beatles and that’s not as in Eight Days A Week (make that nine as in Revolution 9 ,which makes ten)......need I go on?
See ya..Garywtf

@whatthefluther _Yeah, yeah yeah. I noticed my friend. With a little help from my friends, I’ll get the last word in this little tif. Did you see augustlan? I saw her standing there>>>>

word

eeek

(I lurve you Zen….I shall depart…the floor is all yours….do sweep up before you take leave…see ya….Gary/wtf)

@whatthefluther I lurve you too, even more… but you’ won’t lull me into relinquishing the last word. Sweep away, for my guitar gently weeps for you my love.

@Zen….Come on Zen. I was serious and not trying to lull you into something or deceive you in any way. Where’s @eponymoushipster? He’ll back me up. Surely you know everybody’s got something to hide except me and my monkey. See ya….Gary/wtf
so sweep away and mop up those guitar tears

@whatthefluther Hahaha… you nearly fooled me, and yet, you have all my loving.

@Zen…You win. I have no more. Good night. See ya….Gary/wtf

Upu win, @whatthefluther – you old fool on the hill.

@Zen….Fuck, I thought I had you with Good Night (White Album, last track, Ringo singing). Perhaps I’ve met my match. Yeah right!~ But I’m weary and must take leave (no tricks here, I promise…..but keep an eye over your shoulder, buddy…..I may return and I never take prisoners). Good night (just kidding)! Much lurve…..Gary/wtf

@whatthefluther Hmmm, don’t close your eyes, or I’ll kiss you… tomorrow I’ll miss you… I’ll be at Penny Lane corner of Abbey Road.

Here’s some food for thought. Reactions?

Oh to be a young man, today!

Of course, I don’t like the idea of disrespecting anyone, or of playing games, but it seems to me that if the person you’re with is playing a game, then game playing is the appropriate response. I hope there are men and women out there who prefer relationships to game playing.

I always wanted to be one of those dangerous guys. I’m not. Never have been. Never will be. I had to take another strategy in order to find girlfriends and my wife. Actually, I’m glad I’m not a young man today. I still couldn’t compete in that arena. I’m short. I’m overweight. I don’t work out. I have “issues.”

@kevbo Loved it. How’d you happen upon it?

Makow gets regular space on rense.com which is a conspiracy site, and it happened to be linked there. The other article by Kay that she references early on is also worth a read.

Male identity is one of Makow’s regular topics, although he’s a little old school for my tastes sometimes.

@kevbo , I found this article stating that women’s happiness level has declined with the rise in feminism. http://www.doublex.com/section/news-politics/whine-womyn-and-thongs#

Maybe empowerment is not all that it is cracked up to be. At the risk of appearing as a male chauvinist, maybe women are more wired than men to be nurturing and to look out for the interests of the community rather than focus on their own advancement. And maybe that would be a good perspective for all of us to adopt.

@LostInParadise, interesting read. I don’t think it’s plausible to turn back the clock, nor should that be a goal, but perhaps the tidal wave will return to calmer waters when women have gotten “far enough” and don’t feel the need to continue proving anything beyond what is right for them as individuals. There’s still a lot of “normative” messaging that makes modern life turbulent with respect to gender, but someday perhaps it will just come down to differences between people.

There are many points of view that lead to dissatisfaction and malaise, and I think it’s tricky for anyone to figure out what to adopt that will ultimately bring them happiness or fulfillment. If traditonal roles were working, the populace would not have clamored for change. (Although, I do believe it was something of a psy-op in order to increase tax revenue.)

Every trend/movement is a reaction/revolt to the previous thing…sometimes I wonder if it’s just boredom.
Just give me a clean dude with a beard who knows how to kill a grizzly AND cry during the Lion King, maaaaaan.