The Metrosexual Man

What would life be without the silent mental dialogue? In the mall you hunt down the men’s section looking for the perfect shirt for that perfect date tonight! “Ah this is the one!” but you can’t say it loud because the color you choose is pink! Before you pick it up, you hear your friend’s voice in your head, his tone incredulous! “Dude you want me to find you a guy?” You flush like a girl and start a mini world war inside your head. “Will I look gay in that shirt? But I am straight, right? “But then she doesn’t know that”! “What if she thinks I am gay?” –Silence—

It’s a common misconception that if a man wears “happy” colors, loves shopping, self-pampering and grooming and is very concerned about his looks, then he is homosexual! Well he may or may not be. Actually, he is the Metrosexual Man! This term was coined in 1994 by Mark Simpson who says: `The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis — because that’s where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially be straight, bisexual, or gay, but this is utterly immaterial.’

SRK endorses fairness creams for men, and Virat Kohli is known for his penchant for facials. Siddhartha Mallya and Ranbir Kapoor share more than the memories of a certain damsel in common.

Take for instance David Beckham, the ultimate macho man who has sported countless, sometimes -feminine hairstyles over the years and set a million hearts soaring, gender irrespective! SRK endorses fairness creams for men, and Virat Kohli is known for his penchant for facials. Siddhartha Mallya and Ranbir Kapoor share more than the memories of a certain damsel in common. These fair-skinned boyish men are very much in touch with their ‘yin’ sides. Our favourite superheroes seem pretty comfortable in tight, body hugging colorful latex and underwear worn over outerwear, don’t they?! Not to mention, well known designers like Jean Paul Gaultier have designed skirts for men.

Closer to home, our very Indian men may not be very receptive to the more extreme ideas but are now sporting multiple piercing, tattoos without dragons, barbed wires or anything too blatantly manly, colourful spectacle frames, pink clothes, shapely eyebrows, straightened hair and junk jewellery. Metrosexual much?

Is dressing to the nines and a manicure-pedicure appointment every fortnight the only things that define a metrosexual man? Men are taught to be men in India even before they are out of their diapers! After all ‘big boys don’t cry’. But what if men have a softer side and could like flowers ‘n’ chocolates, and read Mills and Boons? Can’t they sniffle into a tissue at the movies? What if they actually like Valentine’s Day, contrary to popular belief that men only celebrate for the sake of their women!

Men today love to cook, take care of the kids and some also opt to be stay-at-home fathers. Maybe next time when we see someone filing his nails, we can stop that frown from lining our face! Moreover, a person’s sexual preference doesn’t a man make! Being homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual is just a choice; it doesn’t dictate who you are. So go ahead, pick that pink shirt off the rack like you always wanted to. Wear it. Flaunt it. Be happy to meet the real you! With the right attitude, pink can be manly to a la Saif Ali Khan in Kal Ho Na Ho! You may not be tall, dark and handsome, but you sure as hell can be the ultimate metrosexual man – female toe-curling manly, right down to your marrow!