Feminine Masculinity

[Corey]

Hmmm...

A friend and I had a conversation today about when guys become too feminine.

A lot of guys I know pluck their eyebrows, wax certain areas of the body, and even wear makeup. I only do the first, but I honestly don't find anything wrong with any of these.

Hopefully this sparks a little conversation.

What do you think about this sort of thing?

[Mnemolth]

In a word - gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)

But a [i]real[/i] man wouldn't pluck his eyebrows, he'd let them grow wild. He certainly wouldn't wax any part of his body. So what if his back is hairer than a gorilla, back hair is sexy. Just ask any girl! :D

[Guest cloricus]

Apart from the gorilla comment I agree with Mnemolth. Not that there's anything wrong with that! :P

But really, just with the culture I've grown up in. There is a difference between acting gay and being gay. What you've written up there is what I would class as acting gay, and judging by it I'd speculate that they would be gay too... but yeah. Not sure, I?m blurred on the whole area there so I won?t comment with out confusing a lot of people, and then getting in trouble for that.

-eps

[Semjaza]

I guess that makes basically any guy in movies, television, sports, weightlifting or even music gay.

I don't do any of this, but I hardly see what's gay about any of it. Maybe I live in some bizarre parallel universe, but the gay people I personally know act basically no different than anyone else I know. Not every gay person has some interest in generally female activities to an extreme amount.

What people do grooming wise is their own business. I don't care as long as they don't look hideous or smell horrible heh.

[shadowfire]

To me it's not gay or girly. If you do that then fine , I don't do it but if you like to then go ahead. I mean cummon, guys weren't really meant to shave facial hair but most do, I have to at least once a week. Guys weren't meant to have ears pierced but I got 2 in my left ear, so if a guy likes doing things like that then who are we to question them.

[pomme putr]

Gay?

Certain images appeal to certain people. The people who act on what appeals to them, in this case: the people who are being accused of homosexual tendencies, are only being themselves.

Why must style/preferences be linked with sexual orientation?

Would popular rock-artists of the 80's be considered "gay"? I take it most of you aren't exposed to visual/shibuya-kei, either. Open your eyes.

[Transtic Nerve]

Acting gay? lol what the hell does that mean?

Do you mean, prancing around like a fairy? Talking with a lisp? Wearing women's clothing (even though more straight guys do that than gay lol)

Plucking eyebrows and wax hair because body hair, or alot of it, seems to be [i]not[/i] the thing anymore like it was int he 70s and 80s. It makes you look good. Your idea of a true man is not my idea of anything remotely attractive, although some think that, the majority doesn't.

Anyway, doing those things has nothing to do with being gay. I am gay and I do none of those. I don't pluck my eyebrows, I don't wear make up, I don't wax my body. How you act, what you do to your body has no refrence to what sexuality or sexual prefrence you have or are. The only thing that makesme gay is my attraction toward guys, nothing less, nothing more. Wearing makeup does not make you gay.

Regardless gay or not, sometimes things like that are done on purpose. I guy may wax body hair because he swims. Alot of swimmers will shave their legs and arms just to cut down on resistance. Maybe a guy wears make up to cover up zits or whatever. (why do women bother to wear make up?) Maybe he plucks his eye brows cause they look like James Dean? Or they have a unibrow. If you had big ole' bushy eye brows or a unibrow that looked out of place, you'd do it to, no matter how straight you think you are. Guy simply don't do those things because they are "gay"... thats the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

[Kent]

I would say that guys doing the eye brow thing is acceptable.

The body hair thing is a personal choice that is also acceptable, but a little less main stream.

The makeup thing... ummm, no, I dont think that is too cool, but still acceptable.

All in all, I would say none of these things make you gay or strange, just excentric. (sp?)

[Guest cloricus]

Excentric is the correct spelling. :P

To any one who might take my post "badly" all I can say is it's a stereotype I have been brought up with, if you don't like it go to the government and tell them to censor stereotypes. Though I do agree, if people have a purpose for it actor/sports person/other I don't see it that way. But if it's a regular thing I do. It?s just me, and well I guess any one else who has been brought up in the same culture as me.

-eps

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]BTW, Mne, on the contrary, I'd prefer a man without backhair like a gorrilla. ;)

My response to all this,though is: so? So what if a guy wants to pluck his eyebrows, wax his body, wear makeup? So what? Does it really make a damn difference?

I could really care less about those things. Our society has conditioned us to accept and reject different notions, and unfortunately, for some odd, odd reason, it's taught us that these activites are acceptable if, and only if you are female, which is totally ridculous, and limiting our choices. It's stupid. So what if a guy cares how he looks? Is hygine and appearance such a big deal?

Thi entire thing reminds me of an exclusive on TV I saw a few years ago (yes, I have a good memory for some things), and it was about little boys that like to play with dolls. That doesn't make them gay, they just prefer something other than action figures.

I mean, take both of these situations and reverse them. Women plucking their eyebrows, waxing, or waring make-up isn't a big deal, nor is girls playing with action figures instead of barbies. So why should it be wrong for men? Do you weird people have some nutty code of silence that says not to do these things? I'd like to know.

And what the heck does this have to do with being gay? Absolutely nothing, that's what! There is not some list of activities that come with being gay, and that all these are on it. That's just totally moronic. The only definition of being gay is having sextual attraction towards the same sex. It never says that anything else makes you gay, and anything else is a stuid stereotype that our society has created, and that we must look past.[/color]

[Subversive]

I wouldn't do any of that, but alot of my friends do. Frankly, its their choice.

[Dragon Fou Lu]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by KnightOfTheRose [/i]
[B]
A lot of guys I know pluck their eyebrows[/B][/QUOTE]

this one i can understand because at my school someone didn't pluck their eyebrows and got called " Mono-Brow".

as for the waxing certain areas, it sounds too painful for my liking.

wearing make up? some people i know do that just for fun and to get a few laughs.(at least they had a few laughs until we got the camera out :p)

[WW2]

Hey how else are you supposed to carefully get rid of unwanted hair?

I myself have not done such things, nor do I plan to, but I have seen a few people who need to lose some excess hair.

As for it being purely a feminine act, that is just another view society has programed into people's minds.

Guys putting on make up is pretty weird, but hey whatever floats ya bout.

But thats just my opinion.

:D

[Manic Webb]

Hehe. I remember it was opening night of a production of a play at my high school last year, and the cast decided to all go to the International House Of Pancakes (IHOP) after the show. We got out of costume and into our normal clothes, but we all left our make-up on. It was kind of funny, especially the guy whose make-up was set to make him look like an old man.

ANYWAY...

I don't see anything wrong with plucking your eyebrows. Like it's been said before, [i]unibrow[/i]. What if you only have one giant eyebrow? Or two giant eyebrows, like Collin Ferral?

Personally, I'd never get myself waxed for 2 reasons. One: pain! Two: I come from a family of non-hairy people. I'm almost 19 and I'm still [i]barely[/i] growing my first mustache. But plenty of guys wax their body parts. Swimmers, for example. Have you ever seen a swimmer with a gorilla-back? Of course not! All of that hair would slow them down (not to mention strangle all of the other swimmers. Ahhh!)

Ok, the make-up one is a little strange. Unless you're on stage or in front of a camera, make-up just seems weird. I remember a friend-girl of mine once saying that she'd never date a guy who looks better than her or uses better make-up.

But to each his own.

[Guest Voodookanaka]

sigh, feminine = gay? i know lots of gay ppl (who i dont get along with really) but there not typically feminine, theres a big difference worth noting between feminine and camp. I for one am feminine im beautiful, thin, un violent (anymore) and kind, i dont however wear fluffy things, have a limp wrist, obsessed with pop art etc... these things are camp and are more associated with stereotypes of gay.

and its worth noting, transtic is gay and does none of the things uve mentioned, ive done all of them at one time or another and am as straight as can be.

[Corey]

I was hoping the gorilla back issue was going to come up. I, for one, am quite the hairy person. I'm 16 and have more hair than half of the people in my grade.
Sooner or later, I'm going to have to do something about my back. It's already sprouting dark hairs (not a pretty picture, I know). But I really don't want to go through life with a nice shag carpet on my back.
Slather and rip.
*shudder*
And pain.

[Anna]

I find nothing wrong with guys plucking their eyebrows or wearing make up etc. What do you think all of the males in the media industry do? They have stylists that work on them, and all the pictures you ever see of them are the result of some sort of waxing/make-up/whatever. Nothing wrong with it.
Guys are allowed to make themselves look how they want just like girls are. I know guys who pluck their eyebrows, *and* wear make up. But the make up isn't all decked out like some women wear it; for example, when my dad was younger and went to more business meetings, if he had a bad blemish out of nowhere he would take some of my mom's foundation and just dot it it where he needed it. That's it. He didn't put on eyeshadow or lipstick. Basically he wore make-up the same way I do, just to make yourself look better. I see nothing wrong with this at all.

[Juu]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mnemolth [/i]
[B]In a word - gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)[/b] [/quote]

[color=ff00cc] [size=1]Homosexual? I don't see how plucking eyebrows can make someone homosexual. [/color] [/size]

[quote] [b]But a [i]real[/i] man wouldn't pluck his eyebrows, he'd let them grow wild. He certainly wouldn't wax any part of his body. So what if his back is hairer than a gorilla, back hair is sexy. Just ask any girl! :D [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=ff00cc] [size=1]Not this girl. I actually prefer guys who actually care about the way they look. Besides, I love narrow eyebrows. ^-^ *swoons*

Anyway, I think a guy should be allowed to do those things. I believe guys should care about how they look, even if it doesn't include doing all those things. [/color] [/size]

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]Well, the whole guy make-up thing is beyond me...I don't know why any guy. gay or straight would wear makeup unless he was on stage or at a costume party...

As for eyebrow plucking...if you have a uni-brow, do us all a favor and get rid of it. I have bushy eyebrows, but I don't have a busy eyebrow.

Unwanted body hair? If I had back hair I'd get rid of it...I even up my the little amount of chest hair that I have (it grows uneven) and in the summer I get rid of it...I don't want to be mistaken as a gorrillia and shot when I take off my shirt.[/color]

[KittyLynn]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=dodgerblue]In my opinion, if you have a back that looks like something that should go on my floor, PLEASE PLEASE Do something about it. These people are just more sensitive and actually show their emotions. These people are more brave, and don't care what people say. I don't know what some of you are saying, but these things do NOT make someone "gay". Gay is a preference in a gender, not if you act girly. Girly is a total different thing, I probably know more straight men that act this way than gay people. :) Well thats my 2 cents.

Toodles.
CL[/COLOR] [/SIZE]

[Justin]

I have problems withplucking/waxing anything on my body. If I want to get rid of unwanted hair, I'll shave it.

And I do thin out my eyebrows from time to time. I've got no problem with taking out body hair that I don't want, and I probably wouldn't be too shy about using some of that tinted acne cream, if I had a really bad zit.

Assuming anything about a person's sexual orientation based on trivial things like that, is ignorant.

-Justin

[Manic Webb]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by KittyLynn [/i]
[B][SIZE=1][COLOR=dodgerblue]In my opinion, if you have a back that looks like something that should go on my floor, PLEASE PLEASE Do something about it.[/COLOR] [/SIZE] [/B][/QUOTE]
LOL

Now [i]that's[/i] comedy. The idea of a fuzzy human-skin rug or a back that looks like shag carpeting is just too funny.

[Charles]

A lot of guys wax their body hair to show muscle definition. I don't believe there's anything feminine about it.

Anyway, I've been [i]told[/i] by someone who works at a beauty parlor that I'm going there for her brand of treatment (which has caused me to prolong my next haircut). But, when I do go, maybe I'll get an eyebrow waxing or something. Who knows.

It won't put me in some sort of masculine crisis though and I won't question my sexuality. You know, I'm not insecure about myself like that or anything. I don't need to be a male stereotype (i.e., a hairy blob that drinks beer and eats chips in front of the tube all day whilst farting). I mean, how many guys are like that really? The number is probably comparable to the number of homosexual guys who prance around hairless wearing makeup. lol

[Turkey]

There is nothing wrong with doing things to make yourself look better. After all, isn't that the reason you take baths?

I shave my eyebrows when I go get my hair cut, since plucking them hurts too much (I almost cried the first time:blackeye: ). I also shave my legs in the summer (you try living in a hot tropical island!). However, I don't use makeup, since I've never needed to.

And most girls don't care about your hair amount, or they prefer the lack of extra hair. At least, most girls I know dislike gorillas.

[Baron Samedi]

i find nothing wrong with plucking eyebrows- according to my mum having one eyebrow isnt very attractive ;) ill probly need to start mine soon- back hair- hhhmmm pretty gross i would rather have a wax- i spose- ooh pain-oooh back hair- what a choice....