Cultural Studies Introduction Metro-Sexual Can Term Paper

The famous Calvin Klein ad featuring Marky Mark took everyone by storm as it showed that men could be sexual and have feminine qualities to them. A current day example of metrosexual icons is David Beckham. Beckham has both commercial and psychological appeal. He has earned millions of dollars for sponsoring fashion accessories. His style has influenced millions of males around the world and encouraged them to aspire to the same level of corporate sponsored exhibitionism. According to Turner, people are bombarded with stereotypical images of attractive people in the media every day. This factor exposes them to body types which make sensitive beings more conscious about their bodies and compare themselves to unrealistic media images of thinness and muscularity. (Turner et al., 1997). (Lorenzen, Grieve, and Thomas).

The movement for Metrosexuality began in the late nineties when a trend emerged to portray men as sexual commodified bodies. This new change in advertising prompted the straight male to worry about his image as much as a female would do. A male started using skin care products, getting manicures and facials, using different health care products etc. The reason why David Beckham is the hottest metrosexual around is that he keeps experimenting with his appearance. He has great looks, a new hairstyle every time, a huge wardrobe of clothes, talent, personality, a great family man, style, is charitable and very kind. These factors have endeared him to many and made him the idol for millions of men.

Conclusion

The boundaries between men and women have started to blur as metrosexual males have become too concerned with their looks. They have always had power and want to get more while looking good at the same time. The metrosexual man is more sensitive, self-aware and conscious of his looks. The media is responsible for creating this new problem, which is spinning out of control and shows no signs of disappearing soon.

Bibliography

Lorenzen, Lisa a., Frederick G. Grieve, and Adrian Thomas. "Exposure to Muscular Male Models Decreases Men's Body Satisfaction." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research (2004): 743+.

Khanna, Parag. "The Metrosexual Superpower: The Stylish European Union Struts Past the Bumbling United States on the Catwalk of Global Diplomacy." Foreign Policy July-Aug. (2004): 66+

Crane, Diana. Fashion and its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000…