Meet the retrosexual (Image: Melissa Audrey)
Just when we thought the term “metrosexual” and all its variations died along with Ryan Seacrest’s frosted tips, the Star coined another term for guys who stray from the dominant idea of masculinity but don’t want to be called gay. Presenting: the retrosexual.
It’s a term used in a trend piece to describe young men who like to dress in ’50s and ’60s garb: bow ties, sock garters, fedoras and skinny suspenders. It’s geek chic without the Green Lantern tees and hoodies with binary code jokes. Basically, dudes whose knowledge of the era is based on their season one Mad Men DVDs.
Retrosexual joins the ranks of other groan-inducing man terms: manscaping, mancakes, mantyhose, manpris, manties, murse, bromance, guyliner and the one that started it all, metrosexual.
We’re all for trend stories (even though geek chic and Mad Men trends have been played to death), but don’t patronize the world with cutesy terms that, underneath it all, make fun of men who don’t look like lumberjacks. That’s a trend we’re not cool with.
I heard this term a few months ago, but it was applied to more 70s, mustached, Tom Selleck aesthetic ideal. Basically, they’re straight bears.
PS: Bears:
May 12, 2010 at 7:10 am | by Lhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29
Quite a stretch using the term “retrosexual” as it’s described in the above piece to try and apply it to Tom Selleck.
May 13, 2010 at 2:14 am | by Don MitchellHe is indeed “a bear” as defined by tne gay community: a large, hairy man (usually with facial hair as well…)who may or may not be on the rather overweight side. Tom Selleck would certainly be a very “fit” bear! But “retrosexual”? Tom Selleck wearing sock garters and a fedora? Sneakers and a baseball cap would be more like it! I’m almost positive he neither wears guyliner nor mantyose either!!! Remember Tom (with Kevine Kline) from this role in “In and Out”?! He’d make a great gay man though…bear or otherwise!!!