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The Forum > Article Comments > Metrosexual males in mascara > Comments

Metrosexual males in mascara : Comments

By Daniel Donahoo, published 18/3/2005

Daniel Donahoo argues that men wearing makeup is not a pretty sight.

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Wow, I agree with everything Davo says. Companies sell products by making people feel dissatisfied with their lives. Women's magazines and corporations like Maybelline have this down to a fine art. Now to find some extra dollars the men are being targetted.

Now, there are many things in life we can't control. However, if we all worked on our self-esteem by not giving a toss what others think, this metrosexual crap would die a quick death.
Posted by DavidJS, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 8:46:04 AM
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Davo,
Of course the article was only a “joke”, as nearly all articles that stereotype and malign the male gender are disguised as jokes.

How many “metrosexual males” have you actually met? Hardly any, or none at all?. Is this surprising?.

Within the article:-
Positive statements about men-0
Negative statements about men-26
Positive statements about women/feminism-5
Negative statements about women/feminism-1

You can do the counts yourself, but in amongst all the maligning and negative comments about men (ie the word “men” was mainly used by Daniel, rarely “metrosexual males”), Daniell was quite admiring of women and feminists. Similar has been repeated 1,000’s of times elsewhere.

No 17 on the list at http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=2940#883

“17. Oppose any stereotyping or vilification of the female gender, then attempt to stereotype and vilify the male gender as much as possible. If a male questions this hypocrisy, then state that any stereotyping or vilification was only a joke, and feminism is actually altruistic, and plays an important part in the democratic process.”

Someone doesn’t have to be female to be using the techniques on that list, and some people have also learnt that they can earn considerable income from carrying out male stereotyping or portraying the male gender negatively. It’s become an industry for some. see.. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/03/1062548898574.html )

Now if you are in complete agreement with this, then you can be in complete agreement with every media article, advertisement, sit-com TV program etc that routinely portrays the male gender as being buffoon-like, lacking, or incompetent in some way, while highly relevant issues that can very seriously affect almost any male at any time are continuously swept under the carpet and ignored.

Even Tony Abbott personally learnt about some of these issues recently, but he is just 1 in 1,000’s of other males…. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12621014%255E601,00.html
Posted by Timkins, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 2:49:21 PM
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Timkins, I think you might be being too hard on Daniel. Whilst we may not agree with some of his perspectives much of what he says has some truth behind it, it just lacks balance.

Men do need to find ways of improving relationships and getting past some of the stuff which is hurting so many at the moment. What is sad is that Daniel does not appear to take the effort to say or fails to understand that this cuts both ways. Our society is changing and traditional roles and images don't fit well anymore for anybody.

I think that it is more helpful to engage in dialog. Maybe Daniel does not understand that one of the issues a lot of men struggle with is not knowing what women want of us (or the demands being really unreasonable). Maybe he was fortunate enough to partner with someone who loves him for who he is and does not constantly demand change to fit an image that is not him.

Mens Image
We have a start on glossy magazines which do a fairly good job of eroding male self confidence. How many of us in our 40's feel confident about our bodies when we look at the washboard stomachs on the front of "Mens Health". There is useful material in the magazine for overall health but the models used are not realistic for most of us. Sleeping poorly one night last week I turned on early morning TV and watched a promo for a stomach exerciser, plenty of washboard stomachs there which I doubt came from use of the machine being advertised (yep and plenty to help women feel unattractive unless they get a perfect stomach as well).
Posted by R0bert, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 3:50:35 PM
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RObert
I would be careful about following the exercises in any popular magazine, or using the exercise equipment being advertised on TV. I was once shown a health magazine by a physio who had previously analysed the exercises in that magazine and had crossed about 90%, as most exercises usually gave no back support, or could unduly stress different areas of the body.

A dietician would do the same if someone took along a series of diets that were being advertised in popular magazines.

In the case of Daniel, he has had two articles on men, but if they are analysed, he made 28 negative statements about men in the first, (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=3117#3970) and 26 in the second (http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=3256#4603)

A total of 54 negative statements, with “not one” positive statement made about men at all, which means that he is most likely a total non-authority on people in general, and any advice he provides is just pop psychology.

If someone has a problem with their identity, they should go see a specialist, but don’t listen to the likes of male maligning pop psychologists, as they can create much harm throughout society, and create much harm for the male gender.

Why do you think fathers only get 80/20. I know of no reliable study that has ever shown that 80/20 is nothing but harmful to the children, their fathers, and even the mothers, yet 80/20 is a standard that has been applied to many 100,000’s of children and their fathers for decades. There is no human rights, scientific, or health reason why it is applied, and it is more than likely applied because of antiquated, highly gender biased and false perceptions about men and fathers that are so often disseminated

Also what is the thing women want most from men?

If you look through all the research carried out in this, you will find “money” the most common factor, (and women’s media is of course not helping at all). Trace through all the relevant research and see for yourself, but of course it’s men that have to change their attitudes.
Posted by Timkins, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 9:41:06 PM
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Ringtail, ur just lucky you have such a cute animal as ur nick, or I'd make road kill outa ya :)
U still don't get it do ya ?... 'women hold up half the sky' ? err meaning ? actually if the sky had mass it would be impossible, because women are physically weaker than men.
My point, is about 'compelmentary' relationships not competitive. I'm saying that a footy team with everyone playing full back won't score many goals... right ?

I would have thought that by now you realized that withOUT reference to something of an abiding nature re morality and life guidance, there is not much out there apart from what u can think up. You seem to want to attack me as being 'blinkered' when you urself are blind, (to that reality) so, its quite deliberate that I refer to something bigger than "us".
We are just pooling our 'original' ignorance otherwise. (some might call it enlightenment I spose). But u know the drill, 10 people, 10 opinions
So, having now carved you up, I should refer to the article.
I just agree, that the whole thrust of such trends is to create and promote a market. So, my response is to approach it (and our fellow commentors) with a perspective of ultimate truth, and trustworthy guidance. Bit in principle, men with make up ? c'mon... gee.. its rather wasteful and pandering to vanity I think.

My mind immediately goes to think of how our social mentality can even comtemplate such an idea, when most people in the world are interested in their next meal, or how to protect their interests from 'greedy consumerized westerners'. How arrogant is it of us to think about 'makeup' for men ! How empty, how irresponsible. Come to think of it, some of the most beautiful girls I've known didn't need make up or even use it, so 'ner' as they say :)
Posted by BOAZ_David, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 10:07:45 PM
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In my eagerness to send my latest riposte to Boaz I placed this in the wrong forum, humble apologies to any confused debaters:-)

Boaz baby, 'carved me up?' In your dreams. For someone who has their head buried in a bible you sure have trouble with a metaphor - 'women hold up half the sky'. You're the one who sees this as a competition. My view is that men and women (and couples in general) are halves of a partnership based on friendship and respect. However, any chance you get, B D, you just love to have a go at me. But that's OK I love the sport.

The irony here is that overall we agree that the metrosexual is a media construct.

Ciao
Posted by Ringtail, Wednesday, 23 March 2005 5:05:53 PM
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