Metrosexual vs Alphasexual

Oct 11 2007 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

As more and more men get into male grooming, are women now more interested in a bit of rough? Emma Pinch finds out

FROM Estee Lauder to Avon, every cosmetic brand these days offers something for the bloke, and all that distinguishes their unguents from ours is the manly blue or gun-metal grey boxes they come in. Men can trip into tanning booths or treat themselves to a seaweed wrap without a glimmer of shame.

But hang on a mo. Isn’t this all getting a bit out of hand? Who, after all, are they doing all this for?

The Oxford English Dictionary cites a “Metrosexual” as: someone whose habits and grooming are similar to “those considered typical of a fashionable, urban, homosexual man”.

Less than a decade ago, most blokes would have shuddered at a description like that. Grooming meant Head and Shoulders, a bottle of Lynx and a pack of Bic razors. Sun-block was eyed with suspicion and Grecian 2000 was the height of vanity, used only by oily Europeans.

Though “metrosexual” still attracts a smirk, the explosion of male grooming salons, hair styles and fashion mags is proof of the burgeoning number of men enthusiastically embracing their inner Paris Hilton.

Dion Padan, owner and stylist at Hooka, Liverpool’s male grooming salon, has seen an exponential rise in the number of men seeking St Tropez fake tan treatments, waxing, manicures, pedicures and even hair extensions over the last 10 years.

“Men are just catching up with the girls now,” he says. “It hasn’t gone too far at all – it’s a return to previous centuries when men took care of their appearance, like in the Victorian or Regency times. “It’s just in the last couple of decades that they haven’t, so it’s about time they started to take an interest in how they looked.

“Ten years ago it would have been embarrassing for a man to go on a sunbed, and now men think nothing of it,” he says. “Slowly they are getting into fake tan and catching the women up, and not just gay men, it’s all kinds.”

“It’s because it’s got more competitive when men go out,” Dion adds. “There’s a lot of pressure on men because of the celebrity obsession and all the style magazines, to think about their total look.”

No-one would disagree that men making friends with deodorant, anti-dandruff products, washing paraphernalia and nose-hair trimmers is anything but a good thing. Any weapon in a woman’s armoury that stops him going out looking like a hobbit (curly nails and shoulder fur) can be used with impunity.

But there are some things, where no matter how infinitesimally employed, that cause a primordial recoil.

A whisper of make-up. Tinted contact lenses. Man bags. Face masks not applied as a prank.

Like so many things these days, a lot of the blame lies with footballers.

Metrosexuality passed the point of no return when Frank Lampard tripped out onto the pitch with a whisker-free torso, then the rest of the Chelsea squad followed suit. There was none of the usual bluster about aerodynamics or blocked sweat glands – it was unfettered vanity, and they didn’t care who knew it.

Football has given us our very own crown prince of metrosexuality, of course, standing proud in his Alice band, sarong and diamond studs – step forward David Beckham.

But David and his well-paid team-mates, to some extent, can get away with it, despite the his ’n’ hers outfits and perfumes. Firstly money and fame, as we know, can make almost anything pardonable, and having a gladiatorial-style job that involves peak fitness, competition and rippling muscle also takes the girlish edge off.

For most women, however, the image of a man sitting in a salon with hair in foils, or spreading out his fingers and chatting about his holidays, is a total turn-off.

A recent study by Braun Pulsonic found that 79% of Liverpool women cited too much time in front of the mirror and having to wait for a man while he gets ready as his least sexy habit, and just 53% cited looks as a priority in a potential partner.

The shift, it seems, is now towards the so-called Alphasexual – rugged and ready for action and doesn’t know a liposome from a hole in the floor. It’s backed up by stats – 39% want a man who is physically active; compared with just 16% who want a man whose passion for shopping matches their own.

The proof of the return to favour of the real man, says psychotherapist Dr Christine Webber, is in our political climate.

“For a while now, I’ve noticed the pendulum swinging away from the idea that the perfect partner is ultra-fashionable and ever-so sensitive,” she says. “Instead, women are seeking guys who are rather more rugged and manly.

“Is it entirely a coincidence that our metrosexual Prime Minister has been replaced by an alphasexual one? These are serious times and we seem suddenly to want good old-fashioned substance, rather than spin and soundbites.”

But Dion Padan predicts men’s obsession with beauty is only going to get bigger.

“It’s a case of, where is this going to go next? I think the next big thing will be teeth whitening. The clientele used to be quite studenty, but it has got more and more varied and now we’ve got clients in their 50s.

“What men want I will try and offer to them.”

emmapinch@dailypost.co.uk

METRO MEN

Jude Law
David Beckham
Brad Pitt
Frank Lampard
Gavin Henson
Peter Andre
David Dickinson

ALPHA MEN

George Clooney
Sean Bean
Ray Winstone
Guy Richie
Russell Crowe
Mel Gibson
Ray Mears