Girls Will Be Girls, And Men Should Be Men

Kim du Toit linked an article on metrosexuals (urbanized males who excessively groom, preen and are overly fashion conscious). Yesterday, I read a Little Green Footballs post on a State Department magazine that will be sent all over the world. One article described the beauty regime of a young metrosexual.

Since these young urban males take more care of their grooming than many do women, Kim even accuses women of trying to make men more like women.

I concede his point, but I don’t know if women are behind men becoming more like women. Most women I know, myself included, like men who take care of themselves, but who do not preen. We want men to shave regularly or to grow and groom a beard. Two days of beard growth is like sandpaper on one’s cheek or other sensitive areas. We want men who bathe enough to eradicate odor, but not so much that he begins to smell like, well, a woman. He should also wear clothing appropriate to where we are going—like no shorts and tee shirts to a romantic restaurant. But, moisturizers, make-up, man-purses; c’mon guys get a grip and find your gorm if at all possible.

I guess the topic hits home because I have a similar problem; I’m a woman who likes guns and hunting. I often clean guns after shooting and my hands are not a pretty sight with Break-Free and powder residue all over them. Often, I smell more like Hoppe’s # 9 than Chanel #5. At the range, I’m more likely to have a smudge of powder under my eyes than eye shadow.

When I’m hunting, I’ wear baggy clothes and big boots. Because I’m tall (5’9”), I have biggish feet and I call my boots Frankenboots since they make my feet look even bigger. If a hunt is successful, I will have bloody hands and bloody camos. Even if a hunt isn’t successful, Bill and I come back dirty, sweaty, and neither of us smell like a metrosexual.

People I know have considered what I do “unladylike” whatever the hell that means. (Maybe it means not saying, "whatever the hell that means").

I can’t understand why so many women don’t follow my lead and get messy occasionally. They’re missing out on so much. I hate the girly-girl excuse of, “Oh no I might break a nail.” Gals, we ain't fragile flowers, even if we don’t want men to realize it. That’s not to say we need to be like men. Also, we need to give men their space. Face it there’re times when men need to get away from our chirping. But, guns and hunting are not automatically a male purview. In fact, when it comes to guns, John Moses Browning himself never made one that tested for testosterone in order to fire them.

To be honest, I do get all girly at times, but folks it takes effort. Armpits and legs need shaving, then there’s make up, nails, hair, and oh don’t get me started. Now that I’m over 50 it seems like even more work is involved (so far, I’m lucky--no gray hair yet). That said, I can’t understand why a man would want to put themselves through such grief.

I hope trends will lead to more women becoming involved in guns and hunting. But, I don’t want to live it a world where men aren’t men. God help us if all men go metrosexual. Beauty salons just wouldn’t be the same.