Media is creating an image of the 'perfect male' by subjecting us to men who are buff, tan, good looking, have perfect teeth and flawless skin. How are normal men supposed to compete? Until now, I've never thought how men must feel. I always focused on the women. But, it goes both ways! What do women think of these images? Do they believe all men should be hairless and buff?
I found this website, the Art of Seduction, which lists 100 things that attract women. Going through the list, I didn't see an entry that said women are attracted to men without hair or their bodies. Now it does mention having muscles, nice teeth and a healthy color. But aren't all of these things just a matter of being healthy? Women are attracted to a guy who looks healthy and clean. This should not be a surprise. I admit, that a man with bad teeth will immediately turn me off. It is far more important than having washboard abs or a tan because it is an indicator of hygeine and since I like a guy who is fun and laughing, the teeth should be showing, all the time!
The fashion and beauty product industries have focused on the beauty of women for years and years. Traditionally, women have used skin care products, make up, heels, nails and hair do's to improve their appearance. Plastic surgery to improve their facial and body features is now a huge rage. There are cosmetic surgery centers on every corner in southern California.
Men are starting to use these services as well. I learned of one 'biker' kind of guy who not only goes to the tanning salon weekly, he has had breast implants, butt implants, calf implants and has even received a face lift.
Men are also removing their hair on a regular basis. When is the last time you saw a man with hair on his chest in any commercial or even at the gym. I'm not sure how the rest of the country is doing, but here on the west coast, it is very rare to see a man with hair on his body anymore. I wonder, do women prefer men without body hair? Personally, I think chest hair is sexy and an indicator of maturity in a man.
I wonder, what do men think women are attracted to? I found this article which says women are attracted to money and sex. What are women really attracted to? The author seems to believe that although women are perfectly capable of supporting themselves these days, they are truly out to keep what's theirs AND get what the guy has too. I don't agree with many of the points of his article, but I thought it was an interesting read.
So I thought I'd talk to a few men I know and get their take. It was rather interesting, because men really do want to look their best. Most of the men I talked to are concerned about their weight. They try to get to the gym regularly. They shave every day. They try to dress nice and some of them actually do some manscaping, such as trimming their chest hair, pubic hair and even under the arms.
While women use makeup, men use the ability to grow a great mustache and beard to change their appearance or cover flaws such as scars or a double chin. We are at the end of Mustache March where many of the military members I know grow a mustache. Some of the guys look awesome in a mustache, while other's should never, ever keep one.
When I asked these same men what they did to get ready for a date. They all showered, shaved, and cleaned their fingernails. A few made sure the hair in their ears and nose were trimmed. Others 'knocked one out' before a date to ensure they weren't to eager. Quite a few indicated they flossed and brushed their teeth and gargled. General hygiene seemed to be the general focus. I would expect this from any man. When I asked what they thought of plastic surgery, hair removal or calf implants, all of them scoffed at the idea of going to such drastic measures.
However, I came across a documentary with Jason Bateman and Will Arnett where they followed several men in search of the modern man. One of the guys was a professional beardsman. This guy had a ridiculously long beard that looked as thick, silky and smooth as a woman's head of hair. His whole life was consumed with keeping his beard looking good and traveling to 'beard contests' around the world. Bizarre.
Another guy was obsessed with his looks and went to extremes in improving his looks. While clothing was a big part of this guy's image, he also regularly got manicures, threaded his eyebrows and worked out. He also had the cappillaries on his nose lasered off because he didn't like the way they looked. I imagine as he gets older he will seek laser treaments for lines and possibly a face lift. I would label this guy a metrosexual.
The documentary was interesting except that it failed to follow the rugged guy. While the media and urban social scene seems to favor the metrosexual there are still many MANY men who are still true men. They don't shave their legs and chest. They enjoy hunting and fishing. They ride dirt bikes. They work outside or on cars and end up with hands gnarled and scarred.
While the media would like us to believe that men have become weak and soft, I believe the masculine man is still the majority. Women like a man who is a man. He needs to be strong and protective. His masculine features are sexy. We like hair on the chest and the fact that he can fix the car or the dishwasher. We appreciate good hygiene and if that means trimming the pubic hairs, nose and ear hairs, I'm all for the manscaping. But don't lose your masculinity. It is sexy.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue.
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