Masculinity is being redefined.
In the machines of mass media and marketers, traditional concepts of manliness are being redesigned to where some men are referred to as metrosexual. Characteristics once attributed to homosexual men are now being attached to this “man of the 21st century.” The metrosexual is sensitive, in tune with fashion, concerned about his skin, and frequents beauty salons.
Left for scraps are conventional ideas of masculinity. Gone is the tough, macho man image. And this is not just an American phenomenon. Agence France Presse quoted a director of a French fashion agency saying, “The masculine ideal is being completely modified. All the traditional male values of authority, infallibility, virility and strength are being completely overturned” (June 8).
An Australian newspaper, the Age, reported “Men’s fashion chains are growing, with women’s stores such as Espirit launching men’s ranges” (March 11, 2003). The market for metrosexuals is growing every year. Advertisers are dropping the macho image when it comes to selling even beer and cars.
Both the macho and metro versions of masculinity represent two opposite, and wrong, extremes of the male role. Yet the latest trend is of greater concern because of what the Bible says about the end time. In Isaiah 3, the prophet describes a society that is completely upside-down. Women and children rule. Real men, on the other hand—the wise and mighty leaders of old—have been “taken away” from society.
For more information on true masculinity and the dangers of gender blur, read our December 2003 article, “Wanted: Real Men.”