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from Chapter 1: Defining Metrosexuality

It's been the hottest word around for some time, and yet many don't seem to have a clue as to what it's all about. Mark Simpson, the British journalist who coined the term, defines him thus: “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 gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modelling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere” (Simpson, 2002).

Richard Trubo defines him as “a straight, sensitive, well-educated, urban dweller who is in touch with his feminine side” (Trubo, 2003). The website 'The Word Spy' offers the following definition: “An urban male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle” as well as a “clotheshorse wrapped around a dandy fused with a narcissist” (The Word Spy).

from Chapter 2: Prototypes, Emergence and Evolution

Thus, metrosexuality arrived grandly on the scene, and today there is no escaping it. It has been the toast of the electronic and print media all over the world and the buzzword in marketing circles and cocktail party conversations. Celebrities from the world of media, sports, and even politics have confessed to being or have been branded metrosexuals.

from Chapter 3: Why Metrosexuality?

Consumeristic Capitalism: This is the most obvious and most significant causal factor, because metrosexuality has emerged chiefly in response to this factor. There is a direct causal relationship between consumeristic capitalism and the physics of metrosexuality. Metrosexuality is a powerful tool in the hands of the capitalists, who are aided by marketers in fostering the consumerism that serves their ends: “For some time now, old-fashioned (re)productive, repressed, unmoisturised heterosexuality has been given the pink slip by consumer capitalism. The stoic, self-denying, modest straight male didn't shop enough (his role was to earn money for his wife to spend), and so he had to be replaced by a new kind of man, one less certain of his identity and much more interested in his image - that's to say, one who was much more interested in being looked at (because that's the only way you can be certain you actually exist). A man, in other words, who is an advertiser's walking wet dream” (Simpson, 2002).

from Chapter 4: Bend  It Like Beckham: Icons of Metrosexuality

International Metrosexual Icons:  The soccer star David Beckham is the quintessential international metrosexual icon. He is “the man whom British academics have credited with changing male behaviour”. Dr Andrew Parker says that he has helped break “masculine codes”, “defying various manly expectations such as what clothes a man is allowed to wear” (Gotting, 2003).

from Chapter 5: Significance, Implication and Evaluation

It is significant that metrosexuality has triumphed over centuries of traditional masculinity. EURO RSCG's Matt Donovan says, “the definition of what it means to be male is changing” (Cited in Gotting, 2003). Metrosexuals are secure in their masculinity, and hence have no qualms about being 'unmanly' or 'effeminate'. Orthodox patriarchs and male chauvinists might deride metrosexuality as effeminate but metrosexuals perceive themselves to be every bit real men.

from Chapter 6: The Traditional Metrosexuality of Indian Men

One could say that Indian men have been traditionally 'metrosexual' in many ways. Most notions of metrosexuality, barring elements that are creations of modern life, can be found in traditional Indian masculinity. Androgyny, which is what metrosexuality is all about in spirit, is the hallmark of Indian masculinity.

from Chapter 7: Contemporary Metrosexuality In India

Metrosexuality in its western avtaar is here in urban India. The hegemony of western culture over the world, the influence of global media, combined with our aping of the west, makes it inevitable. Moreover, the factors that have contributed to the emergence of metrosexuality in the west are gaining ground here too. The arrival of MNCs and BPOs that send employees home with big pay-packets and consequently greater purchasing power, and the aspirations of the middle class to reach the western standard of a 'good life' are also potential factors behind the emergence of metrosexuality in India.

Works Cited:

Gotting, Peter. 2003. "Rise of the Metrosexual". The Age, Melbourne. [Accessed 13 June 2004].

Simpson, Mark. 2002. “Meet the Metrosexual”.     Salon.com, San Francisco. [Accessed 13 June 2004].

The Word Spy. 2002. “Metrosexual”. [Online]. [Accessed 13 June 2004].

Trubo, Richard. 2003. “Metrosexuals: It’s a Guy Thing!” [Online]. MSN Health with Web MD Corporation, Georgia. [Accessed 13 June 2004].

© Himanshu Verma, 2004