The Rise of the Metrosexual

For us girls living in Leeds, it is no longer a shock to see a perfectly groomed man walking around campus or town. In the past few years boyfriends and guy friends have started to care much more about their appearance.  It’s a known fact that women spend hours getting ready to go out and swear to a strict beauty regime, but  according to a recent survey, men spend 83 minutes a day on personal grooming, including cleansing, toning and moisturising, shaving, styling hair and choosing clothes. Whatever happened to when it was considered cool for a man to look rough and unshaven and men were actually afraid to be labelled as a “pretty boy”!?

My housemates and I have come up with our very own clues on how to spot a metrosexual from miles away:
 

1)    THE GYM BUFF

You may have seen these guys patrolling the gym together as a team, perving on girls on the treadmill.  They will usually be dressed in a barely-there wife beater whilst flexing their “guns” and bragging about how much they bench press. You would think that going to the gym daily is more than enough; however, I have recently been informed   by a couple of RAG fashion show models  that they now often hit the gym twice a day in order to make their abs even more fabulous. I quote: “my body is my temple”.
 

2)    THE FAKE TANNER

When walking into a room for pre drinks the smell of fake tan is overwhelming and it’s not just coming off the girls. It was only the other day when a very good guy friend of mine called me up whilst he was in Boots to ask my advice on what fake tan to buy. I wasn’t even shocked. Later on that evening, I was then asked to fake tan him in preparation for his job as a topless host at Halo night club. In my eyes he will never live this down, but he can’t wait to get his abs out again. It’s not only fake tan the boys seem to be using these days; they also seem to avid sun-bed users. I’ve noticed that 99% of the time when I get off the sun bed the same group of boys are waiting to go on. You would think they would be slightly embarrassed to be caught in one of these salons, but no, they proudly sit there with their tan enhancing lotions in their hands. What will it come to next – manicures and eyebrow tinting?

3)    THE PRETTY BOY

I laugh when I say it, but I have to admit that my own boyfriend is one of these types. Obviously, the first time we met I was very attracted to him as he ticked all the boxes: tanned, good hair, good body .However, this is all explained when I first walk into his bedroom and spy one of his shelves stacked with beauty products. At first I thought I had walked into a girl’s room with fake tan, numerous amounts of moisturisers, hair spray and a teeth whitening kit on show. I didn’t want to say anything at first but I now bully him for the extent of his grooming. He comes back with a weak defence that men should be proud of the fact that they take care of themselves and have just as much right as women to take time to get ready, yet he still refers to himself as “macho”.

4)    THE “JUST STEPPED OUT OF A BOYBAND” LOOK

Now, these boys can be found prancing around any club we go to in Leeds. You will generally find a group of them kitted out from head to toe in All Saints’ gear. Do low V-neck t-shirts and army boots ring any bells? They think they look really fashionable and trendy but they just look like carbon copies of each other and don’t seem to realise that their military boots are in fact one of most girls’ pet hates.
 

5)    THE MANOREXIC

As girls we are always moaning about our weight and giving up carbs and chocolate for a week to try and fit into that new dress. However, I was shocked to hear one of my guy friends opt for soup over a roast dinner because he didn’t want to look bloated for a night out. As far as I was concerned, boys always eat whatever they want and whenever they want, but clearly this is changing.

 
Hopefully after taking a note of these stereotypes, it won’t hit you as a surprise if you start seeing a new guy and you come to learn that he takes just as much time as you in the bathroom before a night out!