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The media is flooded with reports of celebrities hiring male nannies (‘Mannies’), men opting to wear baby bumps to simulate pregnancy, and fashion trends that include mantyhose and corsets for men. But some concerns have been raised that much of the leaning towards men abandoning (or at least lightening up on) their masculinity, is really a social trend being pushed and promoted by the fashion and cosmetic industry (among others) who are merely looking for new ways to open up a whole new market for their wares.
If men can be made to feel more vulnerable and less attractive without the products being peddled, they will become much more likely to submit to pressures to purchase items that would be unthought of even a few years ago.
Before her recent troubles Britney Spears employed male nannies to care for her two sons, leading trend watchers to declare the "manny" the latest must-have accessory for the modern professional girl. Fashion conscious blokes can now pull on man pantyhose, complete with an opening in the front, or man corsets, which have started cropping up on catwalks around the world. And let's not forget the man hug. Once confined to the sports field, psychotherapists and pop culture commentators in the US recently noted that it's becoming more acceptable for heterosexual men to hug each other.
"The growing emphasis on male image and fashion and cosmetic use, metrosexuals and so on, that's very much about men taking up a previously feminised form of behaviour," he says. "But it's also an example of where a social trend is being pushed by commercial forces in terms of trying to get men to be insecure, narcissistic consumers."
(stuff.co.nz)
References: stuff.co.nz
Filed In: ,
bizarre,
fashion,
fashion for men,
marketing,
pop culture
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