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Metrosexual or just fashionable?

13 July 2009

I f you think that it is only women who spend more time in front of a mirror, think again. Today, there are men, who are obsessed with their appearance and spend freely to improve it.

They are men who go to a mall, buy magazines and spend a substantial amount of time and money on their image and lifestyle. They are called metrosexuals.

Metrosexuals are usually single men, living or working in a city because that’s where all the best shops are, including clubs, gyms and hairdressers. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual. But most people feel that metrosexuals are all gays.

“A man who spends more time looking in the mirror or more money on beauty products is definitely a gay, and a big no-no for me,” admitted Sonam Deki, 23, a government employee in Semtokha.

A female employee of a private firm says “I think metrosexuals are men who make their appearance the highest priority in life and complain about details such as a weekly manicure or eye-brow. She said that was little too much.

However, there are many young girls and women who admire men who make an effort to take care of their appearance. They like well-groomed men. They think that sloppy and untidy men are a big turn-off.

“I like a tidy looking guy, who looks great and smells good all the time. I won’t hang out with a smelly guy. If my guy takes more time in the bathroom perfecting his hair style than me, it’s fine for me as long as he looks polished,” said Yangchen, 19.

metro1Many Bhutanese associate make-up and grooming with women. They believe that spending time looking into the mirror and spending ridiculous amount of money and time on creams, lotions and potions to keep looking good and young is a woman’s “thing”.

Many mistake metrosexuals for homosexuals, especially in a developing country like Bhutan. But most of them are straight men who love spending more money on clothes and beauty products.

Look around the city and one will find more than a dozen well-groomed men. They are in their best attire with different punk hairstyles. They are up-to-date on fashion and love to visit saloons to do a facial. Some even have a weekly pedicure or manicure and have their brows lined-up.

“My customers are usually small school going teenagers. Most of them come for haircuts and to colour their hair. A few office-goers – middle-aged men –want to do facial and seek advice on the type of cream they can use to enhance their skin tone. I don’t feel any difference between attending to them and girls. Everybody needs a grooming to look their best,” said Karma,45, the owner of Sakten Saloon.

Men are increasingly targeted by cosmetics companies as potential consumers. Advertisements for men’s facial creams and hair products are splattered over walls of the city’s shopping malls and printed in magazines and broadcast on television. This has led to a dramatic change in the attitude towards men’s fashion.

Men say that using cosmetic products does not mean that they are deconstructing the image of the men as a masculine gender. More men take care of their looks and image because they know their advantages in the work place and social world. They like being admired and be attractive to women.

Today, a male consumer can find more beauty products for men than in the past. As the number of products increases along with constant media bombardment, young boys and men like to try them out to enhance their looks.

“I think all men should want to feel clean and good about themselves by getting a good haircut, dressing well and smelling nice. Many mistake us for being gays just because we have a feminine side to us. We are straight guys who are fashionable, stylish, and more advanced,” said Tshering (name changed on request), a public servant. “David Beckham is a metrosexual and he’s got kids. Just because he is so into fashion does not make him a gay.”

By KINZANG CHODEN

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Posted by Chime · Filed Under Happenings 

Comments

One Response to “Metrosexual or just fashionable?”

  1. Nate Rivers on July 14th, 2009 11:16 am

    I’d have to agree that there is nothing wrong with guys spending some time on their appearance. I spend a lot of time on mine and I feel great when I go out…knowing that I look and smell good. And its not hard to be a little metro yet still very masculine.. women love it.

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