Abstract
The focus of this book is men’s fascination with their appearance – socalled metrosexuality (Simpson, 1994a, 1994b, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2011). Of course, men have always been concerned with their appearance to some degree, donning snappy suits and Brylcreeming their hair for example. Indeed, there have existed many sub-cultures such as the Teddy Boys and Mods who were particularly interested in their appearance. But what distinguishes the modern era is the breadth and depth of this fascination. One only has to look at the number of products now available for men in relation to what was available to their forefathers. In fact, men’s practices are more extensive (I provide more detail in Chapter 2) and they are also practiced by a greater age range of men, from all socioeconomic backgrounds, as I will show. Men’s engagement in such extensive image-conscious practices poses a challenge to traditional notions of gender since men and women are presumed to do appearance differently, or, put simply, women are presumed to be concerned with beautification, whilst most men aren’t.
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© 2015 Matthew Hall
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Hall, M. (2015). Introduction. In: Metrosexual Masculinities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137404749_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137404749_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-48744-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-40474-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)