Man About Town

Today's male finds himself in a strange place. One could say that times have changed, and indeed they have, but one would not be saying a great deal at all. At least, one would be stating the abundantly obvious. For every dandy there is also a cowboy and I doubt that this has ever rung less true. The only difference nowadays is that even the cowboy image has had a makeover since the release of the film, Brokeback Mountain. Diversity is seldom as celebrated as it is amongst human beings as a species. What has perhaps altered men's perception of themselves in modern society is the influence of the media and in particular the branding of so-called products for men. The use of moisturiser, for instance, is a concept made ever so slightly more acceptable to men thanks to a dominance of greys, blues and hot rod red in the label design of brands.

"Liberty Leading the People" by Eugene Delacroix
an icon of Romanticist art

Flamboyant displays of beauty and colour to attract a female is something traditionally reserved for the animal kingdom. We human men have generally provided female beauty with a frame. A woman is something to be shown off, something to be in possession of and to be paraded for other men to envy. Many would say that we have come a long way, but this approach is still echoed in dance, such as ballet and ballroom and one would be hard pressed to find a wedding guest discussing fervently what the groom was wearing. Furthermore, the female form has been the primary subject of some of the greatest masterpieces ever conceived in art, film and photography.


Some women might argue that a certain pleasure is taken away from them, many of whom would also like more opportunity to behold the male, though women perhaps do not behold men in quite the same way as men behold women. Do women objectify men less? I don't believe so. The success of this year's summer hit, Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike, attests to this fact. But as much as women objectify men, they look for different qualities in a man than men look for in women, or at least, so I am told.

What has changed is that we now enjoy more gender equality than before, and I hasten to include that, to a large extent, the developed world has become more tolerant of homosexual culture. More women are now in positions that dictate what general society is fed by the media. New media and in particular social media has also given anyone with an opinion a voice. For these reasons, I believe that men suddenly find themselves bearing more personal responsibility on matters of self preservation. Men have become more self aware. Whether we succeed at cultivating a more attractive facade or not, we find ourselves exchanging workout routines, smoothie recipes and, in some instances, even grooming tips.

The last decade has seen the rise of the metrosexual, a term used to describe a heterosexual man with a penchant for grooming, fashion and, it would seem in some circles, even makeup. The trend has become so ingrained in modern society that more recent terms, such as "peacock", have been employed to describe men who take metrosexuality a step further.

It's not what you think. It's...traditional.
A rice ad on the Seoul subway by G-Market,
the Korean equivalent of E-bay.

Living in Seoul, South Korea, one is constantly bombarded with imagery depicting men in decidedly effeminate ways, pushing the boundaries of what westeners would consider peacocking even further. Most any hot-blooded western man would look look at the way that men are portrayed here and think, "gay". But gay western men are not necessarily prone to wearing make-up. Wearing make-up does not classify a man as gay, it is only considered to be something that women do. In fact, the notion of men wearing make-up is probably more rife amongst sub-cultures, such as goths and emos. But in Korean culture, wearing make-up is not a rite of passage into a sub-culture. It is the way that men do it nowadays. Make-up is standard issue in the South Korean military, albeit in the form of "camouflage make-up" (also available at all good cosmetics stores). So, really, there is nothing taboo about it.

For a western-minded man, being surrounded by men whose foundation rubs off on their shirt collars can be a tad disconcerting, but when considering the role that men play in Korean society and the pressure they are under to act as the voices of reason is Korean society, it almost makes sense that men would become quite so obsessed with their appearance, particularly to be perceived as handsome, another measure of a man's success in the workplace. A recent BBC News article reasoned that South Koreans' view on male make-up is not necessarily the result of the metrosexual trend, but quite the opposite - it is more closely related to their traditional view of looking impeccable to get the job, get married, get promoted and get with the dream. Rosy-cheeked men fresh from skin grafts, carrying their girlfriends' handbags are the norm. One would think, then, that Koreans have figured it out, that their men are the very epitome of the new male, but the sad truth is that they still condemn homosexuality, some even citing that it does not exist in Korea when they are irrefutably wrong. Korea remains a culture in which tradition reigns supreme.

Concerning the male's role in Korean society, it is perhaps due to some residual Confucianist baggage that Koreans still generally prefer to be told what to do by men. The elderly man sits at the top of the food chain, dictating to the younger man what he is to do. The woman, on the other hand, takes her orders from any man, regardless of his age. It is not quite as cut-and-dry as that, of course, but it is surprising to note just how much young boys get a way with. The result is that some androgynous, face-lifted old man with a lengthy ponytail camply promotes a new bubble-based shampoo on a subway TV screen, boy band cut-outs market lip gloss outside cosmetics stores and the latest male movie star is the spokesman of a bra brand. No matter where you look, men are telling women what to do about their hair, their make-up and their underwear. South Korea is not unfamiliar to scrutiny from the west for its gender discriminatory practices. Raping one's wife has only just been outlawed, women still earn less than men do for the same job, and the popular belief is that men are incapable of housework. Even a reserved feminist might be tempted to gather the troops in protest, but I have seldom encountered a culture less concerned with gender inequality. For the most part, Korean women gladly accept their societal role.

One would think that living in this culture would feel like living in an upside-down world, and to a degree it does, but even the west is not immune to this strange trend. The boy band craze of the 1990s still lingers fresh in our minds. Brad Pitt's recent Chanel No. 5 stint, an unsuccessful one in my opinion, reverts back to an era where men advertised women's products, although with his weather-worn skin, the campaign is a far cry from the Korean style of marketing, where skin that does not sparkle is somehow mistaken. There is something a little less weird about the Chanel marketing campaign, perhaps because of Pitt's reputation as being a man's man and even the American and British boy bands aimed to fulfill the fantasies of teenage girls, a demographic not without oddity.

It is difficult to conclude this argument, if I made one at all. The point is that choice should never be taken away. To each his own. The only reason this matters at all is because the cultures of the world are converging. There are almost a million foreigners living in Korea, a country generally considered to be one of the least cosmopolitan in Asia.

And for those of us for whom make-up is a strict no-go, the time might have come to look over it. Be your own man. If make-up is not for you, then leave it to the peacocks. I am all for male grooming. As a lifelong urbanite, I probably groom more than most and am no stranger to the three-step routine. Would I wear make-up? Strictly, only when acting. Otherwise, not at all. I might be more old-fashioned, but I still consider the image of Jon Hamm (of Mad Men fame), for instance, to be a classic image of modern masculinity. I also relish the success of recent British offering, Downton Abbey, as an example of what it means to be manly and be refined at the same time.

I believe that we should care less about a perfect facade. We are meant to have wrinkles and scars as testament of a life well lived. However, we should also care and pallid skin, oil-stained clothes and consistent razor burn are less indicators of masculinity than they are the marks of a slob. I say, go for for it. Wear that BB cream and rock those man jeggings if you feel like you have come one step closer to perfection, but sadly in my book, perfection has turned out to be such an uninteresting pursuit.

Hanfred Rauch