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Metrosexuality:
Gender-bend it like Beckham...
Courting the urban streets has never been a more self-indulging and dramatic experience.
David Beckham is probably the best example of a metrosexual: he is a high-profile, photogenic guy who has posed for a UK gay magazine (though this is not it).
I get out my Italian leather steel-toe boots, tight faded jeans, and ultra-femme lace top. In the storefront reflection, I give one last tease to my David Bowie haircut and rush full-tilt towards the nightlife.
Metrosexuality is my favourite accessory.
The term, first coined by US journalist Mark Simpson in 1994, is usually applied to men. But I will delicately kick the shit out of anyone - without breaking a nail - who says that metrosexuality can't be used to describe any narcissistic person who is in love with both their self and their urban lifestyle.
Metrosexuality in a woman makes army fatigues, mesh baseball caps, and smoky eyeliner sexier than a ball gown. A metrosexual man might wax his chest, paint his nails and never leave the house without ironing his Dockers. Basically a metrosexual is a man who is in touch with his feminine side or a woman who is in touch with her masculine side.
This urban phenomenon almost redefines masculinity and femininity, by adding elements that are not characteristic of the traditional definitions of gender roles and behaviours.
English soccer captain, and husband of Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams, David Beckham is probably the best example. He is a high-profile, photogenic guy who has posed for a UK gay magazine.
Also in this category are "male cheerleaders": men who are constantly surrounded by females, but aren't getting any.
Having controversially argued that women can also be metrosexuals, I might include Sinead O'Connor, Missy Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis as a good example.
A metrosexual can be lesbian, straight, gay, bi or trans because it is the love for oneself that conquers all others. But there is a subtle message of ambiguous sexuality in this image and lifestyle. It could be attached to the desire to be attractive to all. Or, perhaps it's the desire to be catered to and pleased by all. The metrosexual may adopt different sexual personas to match their look.
This is where the situation gets as sticky as oil-based lube.
Is the trans-queer community being ripped off all in the name of high fashion and the hetero meat-market? Are they paying tribute to our open playfulness and expressions of sexuality? Or is it simply a ploy to attract the opposite sex?
The origins of this new trend of self-devotion can be traced back to the fop of theatres and playhouses. Throughout the years, "flattery to the Queen" adopted many different meanings until the foppish-revival - or pre-metrosexual - movement occurred in the height of the glory days of the androgynous '70s and '80s. Despite the name change and facelift, metrosexuality is nothing new.
Clearly, this look caters to the over-indulgent ambiguity of our shape-shifting youth culture. So, is the metrosexual cool? Absolutely. And no. Now go away, you bug me. ¤ Meredith (reprinted with permission from Excalibur)