Jarna's Infallible Law of...Metrosexuality

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a metro sexual man as a usually urban heterosexual who enhances his personal appearance by being picky about his grooming, beauty treatments and fashionable clothes.

I know that a few readers simply cannot wait to see where I’m going with this just to disagree explosively and call down fire to ‘bun’ me but just hear me out.

Don’t be fazed by the term. It’s an amalgamation of the terms ‘metro’ as in ‘metropolitan’ or ‘big-city’ and ‘heterosexual’. The heterosexual part indicates that he is not homosexual but is still attracted to the opposite sex.

Essentially, a manly man who looks good. What’s not to love?

I’m a bit of a girly-girl when it suits me, meaning I like beautiful things, dressing up, makeup and the whole nine. Society has no problems with that; that behaviour is actually encouraged since that’s what little girls are made of.

Usually, men are the opposite. They are rugged, care little about coordination and dress and take little or no time to primp. Most are able to get away with that-society says that’s what little boys are made of.

On the other hand, I know women who are not as girly as I tend to be from time to time: maybe even a bit tomboyish. While our world frowns on it a bit, it is generally okayed.

Adversely, a man who takes time to pull himself together is, in our culture, soft or effeminate or gay.

Well I beg to differ on the premise that if women can strike a balance and be accepted, so can men.

Also, I propound that as men, you should take time to care about your looks.

And as women; we should appreciate and maybe even seek out a man who takes such good care of himself.

Picture it: a gentleman who’s a manly man. He is always appropriately dressed; casual when required, carefree when he wants to be and dapper when necessary but always so suave.

You can walk into a nice place with this guy and feel like the envy of the ball.

If guys can sit back and admire a woman who is always so sleek and polished even when going to the beach why can’t he aim to be a GQ or Men's Wearhouse kinda guy as well? Good point right?

You don’t need suits and loafers to be that kind of guy though- simple things like wearing your size and style will make a huge difference.

Amazingly, a lot of guys just pick up stuff at the store because it looks good (not necessarily on him) and because of the prevailing trend but I find that whether or not the clothing is not that new, if it fits you like it’s yours then you already stand out.

Gone are those days of worn hand-me-downs and baggy oversized jeans and jerseys. Get rid of that! You’re a short, skinny guy, you obviously shouldn’t wear Large or X-Large.

Equally amazing is the tendency for local guys to wear sneakers or slippers everywhere. Ridiculous!

There are different types of shoes suited to various occasions, so why wear sneakers and slippers everywhere. Up your standard a bit man!

It would be naive of me if I didn’t expect somebody somewhere to find me shallow and materialistic because of this specific article but let me be quick to say the clothes don’t make the man but we tend to judge the book by its cover regardless of whether we actually should…

I’m not only talking about clothes and because naturally there are more important things in life...like hygiene.

I’m of the opinion that nails cutters, moisturisers, loofahs, conditioners and the like are not only for women and children.

If the product will do good things for your appearance and is not gender-exclusive, then why is it ‘gay’ for a guy to use it?

There are beauty product lines for men (which I think are even more attractive) just for manly men who see the value of investing in their own business.

Why should men expect women to go through all sorts of tortures to look good and he doesn’t put in any work on himself at all? Is he perfect?

We all come across those guys who are so close to perfect but not quite.

And before you can say it let me expound: nobody’s perfect but I think perfection is a journey rather than a destination.

Back to that almost perfect guy...” He’s so good-looking except for...plaque/ingrown toenails/dry skin/dirty ears/bumpy skin/blackheads/frumpy clothes/dandruff...”

 And the list goes on...

In the era of gender-equality and such it’s not ridiculous or shallow for women to want to always be attractive so that should be socially-acceptable for men as well, right?

Ultimately, I’m not encouraging dressing up for other people. I’m an advocate for individuality and doing what works for you. I mean you are not being recruited to be metro in order to be attractive to women. Primarily, you ought to be attractive to yourself.

One man told me something like women are the ones sought after and wooed for their high value but men tend not to put as high a value on themselves. Why is that?

The term Metro sexual immediately connotes homosexuality but it's just a badly-coined term.

As a female, if my guy is a manly man and looks good it’s a win/win to me no matter what label he fits...