Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sexcapades

Talecia Bell [Click to enlarge]

Arguably, most women want a man that's masculine, dresses trendy, smells good and has nice hair - or at least one that's not too over-sensitive and well-groomed. However, stereotypically, for many years men have been portrayed to be the exact opposite when it comes to physical features - long fuzzy hair, dreadlocks or just plain old matted hat-hair. We've seen them in either plain white T-shirts or graphic T-shirts, board-washed jeans and scuffled tennis shoes. But has Hollywood finally done away with this image? With Armani this, Michael Kors that and $1500 spa treatments, has society finally embraced the metrosexual man?

"Metrosexuality features a heterosexual man who is in touch with his feminine side and does not fear it, but embraces it. (He) possesses good haircuts, skin care products and fashion," said The New York Times.

When it comes to prosumerism, what greater place to gain a better understanding for the term metrosexual than Hollywood?

Pretty much everyone who's anyone tuned in last year to watch season two of VH1's smash hit reality show, "I Love New York." With co-stars like Tailor Made and Pretty, viewers were able to see metrosexuality at its finest. From fitted designer jeans, expensive hair gel and manicured nails, to daily face masks and flamboyant colors, these two guys left viewers wondering the big, "is he or isn't he?"

"Wanting them to wonder and having them wonder is a wonderful thing. (Metrosexuality) is a term assigned to heterosexual men - heterosexual men who no longer fit the alpha male description," said Daniel Peres, editor in chief of Details, a metrosexual manual.

Peres explains that although the expression includes the term sexual, it has nothing to do with sexual preference, but rather a lot to do with breaking down and evolving away from the stereotype that a real man is one that is macho and out-of-sync with femininity.

"Paradoxically, the term metrosexual, which is now being embraced by marketers, was coined in the mid-'90s to mock everything marketers stand for," said Warren St. John of The New York Times. With the help of Mark Simpson, a gay authorist, Warren explains that metrosexuals have become the targeted audience for marketers to advertise their male products to.

As I said before, most women want a man who's masculine, smells good, dresses trendy and has good hair. However, it seems that metrosexuals go beyond these qualities and are considered more feminine than most men.

As for me, I'm not interested in a man who is metrosexual or heterosexual that takes longer than I do to get dressed on any given day or occasion. I have to be the queen in my relationship and I expect my man to play his roll as the king, which doesn't include arching his eyebrows while he watches the Oxygen channel.



Talecia Bell can be reached tbell@statehornet.com

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