White-collar Men and the Meanings of "Metrosexual"

• In Event: 100 - Regular Session. Continuity and Change in Contemporary Masculinities

Abstract

How do men feel about the “metrosexual” label? How do their views relate to changing norms of masculine self-presentation and increasing acceptance of ‘out’ gay men? We interviewed 30 white-collar men in three U.S. cities. They generally expressed ambivalence about the social category of metrosexual and claimed that the practices associated with it were now the norm, while differentiating between the labels of gay and metrosexual. Men in different parts of the country, however, differed in their perceptions of "metrosexual." We argue that metrosexuality raises new possibilities for gay-straight alliances and more varied performances of heterosexual masculinity, at work and beyond. However, these developments seem to reinscribe rather than reconfigure power relations privileging heterosexual men.

Authors

• Erynn Masi de Casanova, University of Cincinnati

• Emily E. Wetzel, University of Cincinnati

• Travis Speice, The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences