Metrosexuals of the world, unite
The latest tiresome, minor, conjured-up brouhaha is that a Romney-supporting PAC sort of thought for a while about doing a clip talking about Obama and Reverend Wright. The memo features a description of Obama that has many on the left—including the Times’ Charles Blow—up in arms. It’s, “The metrosexual black Abe Lincoln has emerged as a hyper-partisan, hyper-liberal, elitist politician with more than a bit of the trimmer in him.”
We’ll skip the fact that it was Obama himself who’s been conjuring up the Lincoln comparisons, as well as all the evidence for considering him hyper-partisan as well as hyper-liberal and elitist (not sure what “more than a bit of the trimmer” refers to, actually). This post isn’t about politics, it’s about the word “metrosexual.”
Blow writes:
[Metrosexual] is usually defined as a man keenly interested in grooming and preening…But this term is rarely appropriately applied. On the contrary, it’s often delivered with a snicker to question sexuality and feminize the subject, and femininity in a misogynistic culture is the greatest of sins. Metrosexual has become a roundabout homophobic taunt.
First of all, the actual definition and derivation of the word includes the fact that the subject referred to is a heterosexual (note that it sort of rhymes with heterosexual), a combination of “metropolitan” and “heterosexual,” and a guy who (as Blow writes) spends a lot of time on his appearance. And I’d agree with Blow that it’s intended to imply that the man so designated isn’t a super macho guy; no Marlboro men need apply (although, come to think of it, they were pretty concerned with appearance, too, despite the macho exteriors). But the metrosexual is usually thought to be explicitly heterosexual despite all that.
So rather than being a homophobic taunt, it’s actually more of an anti-narcissistic taunt. The term “dandy” used to cover much the same territory (definition #1 here).
“Metrosexual” is also, I believe, sometimes used by men about themselves to indicate that they’re rather cultured and female-friendly, not troglodyte thugs who only want to watch football games (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). In other words, a guy you can take to the opera.
If you happen to want to go there.
Just find AP photos of The Messiah-The One-The Boy King riding on his dandy bike with his(‘Alien’ like helmet)and tell me that ain’t PURE…
METRO,’Yo.
“Trimmer” is I believe from Dante, referring to one who trims his sails to match the wind, i.e.a finger-in-the-wind type of politician.
Well, as the “first Gay president of the US,” I would say the metrosexual label fits Obama to a T.
femininity in a misogynistic culture is the greatest of sins
They need to make up their minds. Are conservatives for distinguishing between men and women, masculine and feminine, or do they desire to conflate and confuse the two?
As for “homophobic taunt,” that is only relevant to a single-minded individual. Men and women are not polar opposites. We share many of the same characteristics, including behavioral. Yet we are not the same.
The dysfunction seems to be a progressive condition. Fortunately, or unfortunately (according to your perspective), the natural order dominates the enlightened order. Those individuals and societies capable of identifying a reasonable compromise between the two will prosper and replace others that submit themselves to a decadent decline.
Blow’s “insight” could only be offered by someone who is confused by the natural and enlightened orders, and a reasonable and realistic compromise thereof. An individual who dreams of instant gratification without consequence. His place at “Time” is assured.
The reason why this pisses Democrats off so much is because it hits a little too close to home. Obama is the pretty one, the one everyone likes because he’s pretty. If he were in a boy band, he’d be the younger, cute one with the dazzling smile that all the girls sigh over.
In 08, journalists swooned when Obama strutted past them wearing jeans on his campaign bus. The media flooded the world with pictures of Obama posing like a JC Penny model, one foot raised on a chair next to him. Likewise when they caught him emerging from the ocean like David Hasselhoff… “look at those pecs!” they cried, and then they fainted, and then they woke up and posted the photo on their facebook wall.
Obama is pretty, his pants are perfectly creased, and he has teeth that glow in the dark when he smiles. The left loves him for it, worships him for it, but deep down, they know how superficial it is. And that’s why they bristle at the mention of the word “metrosexual”, at least, coming from Republicans.
Myself, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw stickers in the Obama-campaign-store that read “2012: Vote for the Pretty One!”
I equate metrosexual with the fully PC indoctrinated male. He’s a slave to fashion but mostly of the acceptable thoughts and expressions variety.
World english dictionary has Trimmer as…. “a person who alters his or her opinions on the grounds of expediency”.
SteveH said, “He’s a slave to fashion but mostly of the acceptable thoughts and expressions variety.”
Exactly! So many MSM news readers fit that description to a “T.” Real men are slaves to nothing and no one. In fact the men I admire most are rugged individualists both in word and deed.
Obama with his perfectly creased pants, his slender figure, his tailored suits, his effeminate ball throwing technique, his girlish bicycling, his slavish allegiance to progressive policies, etc. are more representative of metrosexuality than of the rugged individual. Can anyone imagine him cutting brush on his ranch ala W or Reagan? Can anyone even imagine him riding a horse with the aplomb of Reagan? Can anyone imagine him sitting down with the Speaker of the House with the purpose of doing the people’s business? Nope, I can’t either.
J.J.,
Forget cutting brush. I can’t even imagine him harvesting arugula from Michelle’S WH garden.
Expat, nor can I.
I can’t imagine BHO dressing an arugula salad and ironing his pants simultaneously. All I can imagine is Barry starring into the mirror.
Regardless of its original meaning, metrosexual seems to be evolving into a synonym for homosexual. Many people already take it that way.
The anti-bigot campaign has been insufferable for decades.
Bob: I have absolutely never heard it used that way. That would be a very odd use of the word, since it very specifically means something quite different, and is usually used to mean something quite different.
Hitler, who designed the Nazi uniforms, well, should he be considered a metrosexual? Broadens the term past heterosexuals. Maybe we need a term for each. Effeminate for the rural heterosexual. Metrosexual for the “can’t tell because I don’t know ya” city dude (dudette). And metrasexual for them both.
Most gays in history were not effeminate. Effeminate gays are “true” gays in that something got crosswired. These we need to show tolerance and provision for. That butch gays, who hate and abuse effeminate gays, should use effeminate gays to advance their agenda, is outrageous and hateful.
The Jeremiah Wright stuff would work if it was part of an overall campaign.
The campaign should be “In 2008 the Media didn’t do their job and deceived you. Here is part of what they should have said.”
The idea is not to focus solely on Wright but on all of Obama’s background.
We want to convert those that voted for Obama in 2008. Part of the way to do that is not to get hose people to admit they made a mistake, but to give them the easy out of saying “I was deceived and if I knew then what I know now, things would be different.”
Make the MSM the bad guys. Allow the potential change voters to be able to blame the MSM instead of themselves.
You should be able to bring up Wright if you use Wright (and any other 2008 issues) as an attack on the Media being in-the-bag for Obama.
The oddity is that Wright himself seems to be damning Obama with faint praise, talking about how disappointed he is in Obama and how the Obamas didn’t go to church very much. I think that everyone who cares about Wright already knows all about him. It just doesn’t seem like very fertile ground to turn votes.
>>> Bob: I have absolutely never heard it used that way.
I concur. It’s certainly a slur on the masculinity of the individual, without being one against the target’s sexuality (for a similar word: “wimp” is a slur on masculinity without sexual connotations).
Slo Joe Biden started the whole metrosexual meme with the following quote……….
Jan 31, 2007 — “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” Biden said. “I mean, that’s …
Momo-Great suggestions. Please send them to the Romney campaign. There’s an option for doing that on their website and hopefully somebody reads then. I have annoyed them at least four time with mine. :^)
One would almost get the sense that a guy who grew up with the last name “Blow” might have turned out a little, shall we say, hypersensitive about gay-taunts, to the point where he sees them where they don’t even really exist…
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