December 21, 2003
"THIS IS NOT A MAN":
GET THE 'MAN' OUT OF MANICURE (KAREN ROBINOVITZ, December 21, 2003, NY Post)
Bring back the real men! New York women are sick of competing with - and dating - men who fuss over their hair, skin, nails, teeth, clothes and cuisine."I can't stand metrosexuals!" cries 23-year-old saleswoman Lauren Levin, who has written "metrosexuals need not apply" on her friendster.com profile. "I want to get manicures with my girlfriends, not my boyfriend."
If there was a buzzword of 2003, it was "metrosexual" - used to describe the alarming amount of straight men who delight in traditionally female pursuits like yoga, pedicures, facials and sample sales.
The backlash has begun.
Levin recently went on a date with Alexander Vorgias, a chiseled 23-year-old commercial real estate agent. Within minutes she knew that he was not for her.
"First," she begins, "he ordered plum wine. He wore so much gel in his hair. His tan was perfect. His suit was Armani."
After he asked about her breasts ("Are they real or fake?" is how Levin recalls it) he confessed he was surprised she went out with him, since, when they first met, he wasn't immaculately dressed.
"You're such a metrosexual!" she blurted.
"I haven't been tanning in three weeks!" he shot back. He did, however, admit to using concealer to cover a bruise he got while playing paintball.
She ordered two more sakes.
Vorgias, a born-and-raised New Yorker, is still confused by Levin's reaction. "Maybe it's a byproduct of urban Manhattan life, but suddenly I'm being called a metrosexual," he says. "I care about how I look. I tan every few weeks. I buy Aramis creams and under-eye lotions. But the word 'metrosexual' is not manly."
Under-eye lotion?
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 21, 2003 10:59 AM
They want Gary Cooper,but he's long gone.
"Where have you gone,Joe DiMaggio?"
The boomers smothered him with a pillow.
Posted by: M. at December 21, 2003 12:01 PMMr. Judd;
Covering a bruise from paintball? That's the sign of a metrosexual. I wear those as proud marks (I had a set one time that was so bad people thought I'd been mugged).
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at December 21, 2003 1:55 PMReading this stuff makes me want to go to a bar and drink a Boilermaker, just to feel clean again...
Posted by: John Weidner at December 21, 2003 3:21 PMThe poor kid. He evidently has no idea that these fashions are dictated by and for gay men. He only knows how to make himself attractive to them...er...us.
Yes, I'm gay, and I'd probably enjoy dating the confused Mr Vorgias. I'm only thirty-two years too late. I feel like Phillip Larkin (poet who wrote "sexual intercourse began in 1963, which was rather late for me...").
Posted by: Alan Sullivan at December 21, 2003 5:49 PMI seem to remember a lot of women urging men to explore their feelings and get in touch with their feminine sides.
Once again, be careful what you wish for.
Posted by: Peter B. at December 22, 2003 6:15 AMPeter:
It seems to me, that, as usual, they actually meant the opposite of what they said.
Making it all our fault.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at December 22, 2003 7:42 AMJeff: I think I agree with you. I think that's a first.
Posted by: Chris at December 22, 2003 7:48 AMA couple of things:
1. What is a sample sale?
2. Call me old fashioned, but asking a gal on the first date about the status of her breasts is a bit forward. Unless, of course, they are on fire or some such thing.
Posted by: pchuck at December 22, 2003 3:51 PM
pchuck:
Agreed, and the strange thing about these guys is you get the impression they are asking out of genuine academic interest.
Posted by: Peter B at December 22, 2003 4:49 PMI agree with you guys about the propriety, but I suspect these guys are used to (some) women wanting to boast about their new size. So they figure it is safe to bring it up first.
Posted by: jim hamlen at December 22, 2003 8:53 PM