What was that song that went, “where did all the cowboys go?” It might have been the Dawson’s Creek theme. Unimportant—but we might have her answer. It appears that many of the “cowboys” have been busy gelling their hair within an inch of its life, trying out for reality shows, and tacking man- onto of a host of products and treatments that used to be exclusively for women (man-bag, man-facial, meggings—those are leggings for men). In this humble opinion, it’s all gone very wrong.
Yet, if current advertising is any indication, the man’s man is making a comeback.
Dockers’ new ‘Man-ifesto’ harkens to the days when men “wore the pants.” When women rarely had to open their own doors and little old ladies were cordially escorted across the street. But with every disco song and non-fat latte, “men were left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny.” No more! Dockers encourages men to “answer the call of manhood,” and reclaim the pants (i.e. Dockers khakis). A stretch? Sure. But we appreciate the sentiment.
Poke London helped FCUK launch its own “Manifesto,” a design-savvy blog that not only showcases its men’s collection, but also provides tips and guidelines for proper masculine living. Things like the cultivation of sophisticated facial hair and what kind of umbrella the urban gentleman might be most happy with on a rainy day. Note: it dispenses alcohol.
And our personal favorite, the Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign. These tongue-in-cheek ads strongly suggest that the road to manhood is paved by rigorous and rugged personal grooming. And that means no more lady-scented body wash for you, man. Old Spice thinks you ought to smell more like “jet fighters and punching.” And they’re not the only ones.
Beyond advertising, there are a few other cultural indicators that the man’s man is back on the rise. There’s all that facial hair out there, for one thing. New York Magazine recently presented a guide to the Urban Woodsman—the guy who “dresses like Bunyan, acts like Thoreau, and works in marketing.”
The first hint that the overly-shellacked pretty boy wouldn’t/couldn’t last might have been last summer when The New York Times covered the proliferation of potbellies amongst the cool crowd, in a piece entitled “It’s Hip to Be Round.” “Like manscaping, spray-on tans and other metrosexual affectations, having a belly one can bounce quarters off suggests that you may have too much time on your hands,” says Guy Trebay.
So, is all this to say that men are returning to traditional definitions of manhood? Perhaps. At any rate, any trend that makes guts fashionable gets a hearty School of Thought endorsement.
